WHS Boys Hockey Now 6–0 After Topping Marblehead; Vikings To Play at Walter Brown Arena This Monday
The Winthrop High boys hockey team improved its record to 6-0 with a 3-1 victory over Northeastern Conference (NEC) North Division rival Marblehead in a hard-fought battle this past Saturday evening at Salem State.
WHS captain and leading scorer Petey Silverman, assisted by Mike Holgersen, gave the Vikings an early 1-0 lead in the opening period, but that would prove to be the extent of the Viking scoring through the end of the second period. The Magicians meanwhile, scored a goal in the middle stanza to bring the contest, which was a very physical affair, back to level at 1-1 entering the final 15 minutes of play.
The Vikings opened the third period by capitalizing on a power play with Silverman, assisted by Phil Boncore and Holgersen, netting the goal to break the deadlock. Minutes later, the Vikings took advantage of another PP opportunity, with Holgersen, assisted by Colin O’Leary and Boncore, reaching the back of the Marblehead net.
WHS goalie Mike Donahue turned in an outstanding performance between the pipes, making some timely saves en route to turning aside 24 shots from the Magicians.
Coach Dale Dunbar and his crew, who at 2-0-0 are the only undefeated team in the NEC North, were scheduled to take on North Division rival Gloucester last night (Wednesday) and will trek back to Salem State Saturday to face NEC South opponent Swampscott for a 6:00 face-off.
On Monday evening at 7:00, the Vikings will meet a non-league rival, Division 1 Lexington, at B.U.’s Walter Brown Arena, which promises to be a real treat for the players, their families, and their fans.
WHS Girls Hockey Returns to Winning Ways
The Winthrop High girls hockey team, which saw its 41-game regular season unbeaten streak (39-0-2) that spanned three seasons end with a pair of 2-1 losses last week to Gloucester and Peabody, got back on the beam with a pair of victories this past week in contests with Northeast Hockey League (NHL) rivals Medford and Masconomet.
The 5-0 win over Medford last Wednesday at Larsen Rink was not as close as the final score might indicate. The Lady Vikings poured 55 shots on the Lady Mustang net, with only a superlative performance by the Medford goaltender keeping the game from getting out of control.
After a scoreless first period, Winthrop finally broke through in the middle stanza. With Winthrop killing a penalty, Talia Martucci took a beautiful pass from Avalina Coffey that sent her in on a breakaway. Talia’s shorthanded goal beat the Medford goalie with a pinpoint, low shot through the five-hole for a 1-0 lead.
Not long after that, it was Martucci again scoring off a nice feed from Angela Coscia to make it 2-0. Medford then had a 5-on-3 power play in which captain Sami Dimento was given the task of killing off the penalty along with Adrianna Rizzotto and Avalina Coffey.
“Unfortunately for Medford, Sami’s hockey IQ is so incredible, that she was able to get underneath their breakout, and steal the puck to go in alone and score what will be a goal-of-the-year candidate at our annual banquet,” said WHS head coach Anthony Martucci. “Sami beat the goalie with an insane forehand-to-backhand deke to make it 3-0.
“Taking a 3-0 lead into the third period, we wanted to continue to apply pressure and not give Medford a chance to get any life,” said Martucci.
Izzy Cash upped the count to 4-0 when she put home a superb pass from Talia Martucci.
“It was a great play by two very good offensive players, but the way ‘Bones’ was able to elevate the puck made for a very pretty goal,” said Martucci.
Winthrop continued to apply pressure, and got another goal off the stick of Talia Martucci to complete her hat trick, assisted by Gabby Buonapane.
“Talia had a good night, and it was great to see her going offensively,” said her coach. “The one thing that stood out in this game was the passing. We had gotten away from that in the previous two games and we needed to find that passing again. We did and it translated into a great conference win for us.
“This was a good game for our team,” Martucci continued. “We started out playing very well and had a bunch of chances in the first period, but could not get one by the Medford goalie, who was terrific in this game. She faced 55 shots, and made 50 saves.
“I want to make sure I mention the excellence of our defense and our goalie,” Martucci added. “Our D-corps is the best in the business, and I would put them up against anyone. Our goalie, Riley Towse, just continues to build her resume. Another win and another shutout. She battles every game, and always gives us a chance to win. You can see her confidence growing with each passing game and she is blossoming into a star.”
On Saturday night the Lady Vikings made the trip to the Haverhill Valley Forum worth the long bus ride, coming home with a 5-1 win over Masconomet.
Captain Hannah Parker got Winthrop going early with a rebound goal off a Talia Martucci shot for a lead after the first period.
“It was a pretty dominant first period for us, as we controlled play in their zone,” said Martucci.
Winthrop asserted full control in the second period. Amelia Serino notched her first career goal to extend the lead to 2-0, assisted by Avalina Coffey. “ ‘Meals’ is a workhorse,” noted Martucci. “She is the one who provides energy with her relentlessness. It was great to see her get rewarded for her hard work. We got an extra lift from Amelia scoring and that made the offense ramp up.”
Cash then took a perfect pass from Martucci and scored on a snipe, top-shelf, to extend the lead to 3-0 before the horn. “Once again those two players connected, and it turned out to be a very pretty goal,” said Martucci.
With Winthrop looking to close out the game. Masco was not going to go quietly, as they tried to push to get back in it. However it was not to be, as DiMento slid a perfect pass onto the tape of Martucci to send Talia in on a shorthanded breakaway that she deposited into the back of the Masco net on a highlight-reel move for a 4-0 lead.
“Passing is the key for this team and Sami’s pass was one of the best I have seen in awhile,” noted Martucci “She is such a smart hockey player and she is so unselfish, and that pass was just beautiful.”
Cash found her scoring touch once again with a wrap-around goal to make it 5-0,. Masco scored on a late power play to close out the game.
“We really brought a high-intense forecheck to the table, and it was just too much for Masco,” said Martucci. “The 5-1 final was a great conference win in a very tough rink to play, Once again our defense was great, limiting Masco to only 18 shots, and very few quality scoring chances. Riley Towse played very well in this one, especially in the second period when Masco had a few good looks on the power play.”
The twin wins lifted the Lady Vikings’ record to 5-2. They are set to make the long journey to Gloucester’s Dorothy Talbot Rink (a/k/a the “Fish Bowl”) this Saturday afternoon at 4:00 — “We’re looking forward to the rematch with Gloucester,” said Martucci — and will host non-league opponent Winchester next Wednesday at Larsen at 6:10.
Boys Basketball Tops Danvers in Overtime
The Winthrop High boys basketball team earned what first-year head coach Quinton Dale II termed “a great and much-needed win” with an exciting 68-67 overtime victory over Northeastern Conference (NEC) rival Danvers this past Monday at the WHS gym.
“It was a great team effort on both ends,” said Dale. “The boys played extremely unselfish basketball on the offensive end. Our defensive rebounding and ball security still need improvement. We gave them a ton of extra possessions that made the game much closer than it should have been. That being said, we’re improving in those areas every day.”
Andrew Faretra led the Vikings in the scoring department with an efficient 25 points and also played great perimeter defense. Vasili Tsiotis also turned in an outstanding all-around performance with 18 points and several assists, including the pass to Noah Bayersdorfer for the game-winner. Vasili also took two charges that were both huge momentum-changers.
Dale praised the effort of Matt Reardon, who chipped in seven points. “Matt anchored our defense with his physical interior presence and got us a bunch of second-chance opportunities with his offensive rebounding,” said Dale.
Noah Bayersdorfer, typically one of the Vikings’ best shooters, had an off night (0-4 from three-point land) in regulation, but stepped up and hit the game-winner. “More importantly, Noah sprinted back on defense and contested Danvers’ potential game- winning three at the buzzer,” said Dale.
.”George Galuris and Spencer Parco, who also are two of our team’s better scorers, also had off shooting nights, but they stayed engaged on defense and did a great job of facilitating and putting their teammates in position to score,” Dale added.
The Vikings will host NEC rival Peabody this evening (Thursday) at 7:00 and will make the short trek north to Swampscott next Tuesday.
WHS Girls Hoop to Host Swampscott
The Winthrop High girls basketball team will seek to get back on the winning track with contests this week against Northeastern Conference (NEC) rivals Peabody and Swampscott. Coach Anthony Hatzisavas and his crew will trek north to Peabody this evening (Thursday) and will host Swampscott next Tuesday evening at 6:00.
Winthrop stands at 3-5 on the season after coming up short this past week in contests with non-league foe Malden Catholic by a score of 45-27 and NEC rival Danvers, 49-45.