WHS boys hockey tops Gloucester; hosts Peabody Sat.
The Winthrop High boys hockey team opened the defense of its Northeastern Conference (NEC) North Division title with a 4-2 victory at Gloucester at a packed Dorothy Talbot Rink Saturday evening.
After a fast-paced first period in which both sides had plenty of scoring chances but were unable to capitalize, Viking senior captain Phil Boncore put Winthrop on the scoreboard with a nice shot that found the back of the Gloucester net. Senior Aidan Survilas earned the assist.
After the Fishermen responded to make it 1-1, Viking senior capt. Mike Holgersen broke away and scored with less than two minutes left in the period to make it 2-1 entering the final 15 minutes. Boncore earned an assist on the goal.
Gloucester opened the third period with a goal to bring matters back to level at 2-2, setting up a hard-fought, up-and-down battle between the two rivals for the rest of the game. With just about two minutes to play, Boncore scored his second goal of the contest, assisted by sophomore Joe Pumphrtet and Holgersen, to boost Winthrop back into the lead.
The final two minutes proved to be a wild finish with the Fishermen pulling their goalie in favor of a sixth skater. Gloucester threatened to tie the game, but the Winthrop defense, and senior captain and goalie Mike Donhahue, who made some big saves among his 28 stops on the night, proved equal to the task. Pumphret then put the game on ice with an empty-netter for the 4-2 finale.
WHS head coach Dale Dunbar and his crew, who now have won three of their past four games and are ranked #3 in Division 4 in the Hockey Night in Boston polls, were scheduled to host NEC North foe Masconomet last night (Wednesday).
They will entertain NEC South opponent Peabody/Saugus/Swampscott this Saturday afternoon. The opening face-off is set for 1:00 at Larsen Rink.
The Vikings will host non-league opponent Lynnfield next Wednesday evening at Larsen at 6:10.
Lady Vikings drop hard-fought battle with Saugus, 46-40
The Winthrop High girls basketball team put up a strong fight against Northeastern Conference (NEC) South Division rival Saugus last Thursday, but came up on the short end of a 46-40 decision.
The Lady Vikings fell behind the hot-shooting Lady Sachems early in the contest, trailing 19-8 after one period, but closed the gap to 22-20 with less than a minute to play in the half before Saugus went on a 6-0 run before intermission to grab a 28-20 advantage.
“They came out shooting the ball very well,” said WHS head coach Anthony Hatsizavas. “We take pride in our defense and I think we played well, but they just made some difficult shots, especially in the first half.”
Amina Barry had a big first half for the Lady Vikings, providing a spark that kept Winthrop within striking range.
The Lady Vikings had trouble finding the range to start the third period and found themselves trailing by as much as 15. However, Winthrop showed its resilience and battled back over the final eight minutes to make it a two-possession game with a minute to play, but proved unable to make it all the way back.
Barry finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. Angela Tshowa had a nice, all-around game, scoring nine points, pulling down 10 boards, and dishing out four assists. Senior captain Zoey Bogusz contributed seven points and six rebounds.
“Saugus is a very good team whom I consider to be one of the best teams in our conference,” noted Hatzisavas. “With so many close losses (Winthrop’s five losses have been by an average of five points), it takes a toll on you after a while. But we know we can turn this around. We are working harder and harder every day to get better.”
The Lady Vikings will entertain NEC North opponent Peabody this evening (Thursday) at 6:00 and will make the short trek to non-league opponent Revere on Monday.
WHS boys hoop hits the road
The Winthrop High boys basketball team will hit the road this week, traveling to Peabody this evening (Thursday) and making the long trek to Gloucester next Tuesday. The Vikings, who dropped a 61-27 decision to Salem this past Monday evening, stand at 1-8 on the season.