High school tournaments today
BOYS’ HOCKEY
DIVISION I SEMIFINALS
No. 2 Concord (16-3-0) vs No. 3 Salem (14-3-2), at JFK Coliseum, Manchester, 5:30 p.m.
HEAD TO HEAD: The Crimson Tide lost at Salem, 4-3, on Feb. 17.
PREVIOUS TOURNAMENT GAMES: The Tide overwhelmed No. 7 Londonderry, 7-1. Salem beat No. 6 Pinkerton Academy, 6-3.
NOTES: A lot went right for the Concord boys in their 7-1 quarterfinal win over Londonderry. After a back-and-forth first period, the Tide took control with six goals in the second period and didn’t give Londonderry another chance. Don’t expect third-seeded Salem to allow that many goals. The Tide face a greater challenge at both ends of the ice against the Blue Devils. The key for Concord is to be opportunistic on the power play while staying out of the penalty box.
DIVISION II SEMIFINALS
No. 2 Bow (16-2-1) vs. No. 3 Windham (13-5-1), at The Rinks at Exeter, 5:30 p.m.
HEAD TO HEAD: Bow beat the Jaguars, 2-1, on Jan. 25 and the two teams tied, 0-0, when they met three days later.
PREVIOUS TOURNAMENT GAMES: Bow beat No. 10 Portsmouth-Newmarket, 3-1. Windham downed No. 6 Dover, 4-1.
NOTES: The Falcons and Jaguars meet again in yet another win-or-go-home situation that Bow hopes to be on the right side of this time. Windham knocked Bow out of the quarterfinal round in 2015 and got the better of the Falcons again in the title game last season. Seniors Chris Mead, Doug Champagne and junior Brandon Tibbets were the goal scorers for Bow in the 2015 quarterfinals, a 5-3 loss. Champagne, Alex Killion and Dominque Biron scored in last year’s D-II final, a 4-3 loss. Coach Tim Walsh shouldn’t have to say much to motivate his team for this one.
DIVISION III SEMIFINALS
No. 2 Belmont-Gilford (15-3-1) vs. No. 3 Berlin-Gorham (15-3-1), at Plymouth State University, 5:30 p.m.
HEAD TO HEAD: The Bulldogs lost at Berlin-Gorham on Dec. 14 in the season-opener, 6-2, but they beat the Mountaineers on Jan. 25 at home, 6-2.
PREVIOUS TOURNAMENT GAMES: Belmont-Gilford blanked No. 7 Monadnock, 6-0. Berlin-Gorham beat No. 6 Moultonborough/Inter-Lakes, 4-2.
NOTES: Only one of these teams will make a return to the Division III title game after the Bulldogs lost to Berlin-Gorham in the championship round in Manchester last season. The history between these teams stretches beyond one year. Several players on both sides will recall how Belmont-Gilford won their first state championship two years ago as a third-period goal for the Bulldogs by Caleb Drouin tied the game in the final minute and led to an overtime win, 3-2. Berlin-Gorhma got its revenge last season and the Bulldogs carry the same motivation into this semfinal matchup.
No. 4 Somersworth-Coe-Brown (14-4-1) vs. No. 1 Kennett (16-3-0), at Plymouth State University, 7:30 p.m.
HEAD TO HEAD: The Bearcats lost at Kennett on Dec. 14, 4-3, and lost to the Eagles during their Christmas tournament. But Somersworth-Coe-Brown won the last meeting between these two, 6-2 on Feb. 18.
PREVIOUS TOURNAMENT GAMES: The Bearcats shut out No. 5 John Stark-Hopkinton, 6-0. Kennett took care of No. 8 Pembroke-Campbell, 8-2.
NOTES: The Bearcats were just the third team to beat top-seeded Kennett in the regular season and they did it with six goals, the most the Eagles allowed all season. Somersworth-Coe-Brown has scored 18 goals in its last four games and the Bearcats hope that scoring spree can be sustained. If they can combine goal scoring with stalwart defense like they did in the quarterfinals, the Bearcats have a chance to send Kennett home and head to their first title game in Division III. “We have to play well in all three periods, you can’t take a shift off,” Somersworth-Coe-Brown leading scorer Casey Pridham said. “(Kennett is) a solid team. We know we have to play well to at least compete with them.”
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
DIVISION III SEMIFINALS
No. 2 Hopkinton (18-2) vs. No. 3 Stevens (17-3), at SNHU, 6 p.m.
HEAD TO HEAD: Stevens beat the Hawks, 60-56, on Feb. 20.
PREVIOUS TOURNAMENT GAMES: Hopkinton got past No. 15 Franklin, 49-44, and No. 7 Berlin, 34-28. The Cardinals took care of No. 14 Mascoma, 65-56, and No. 6 Belmont, 71-64.
NOTES: Hopkinton flexed its defensive muscles in the quarterfinal win, which was held at NHTI, and the Hawks will want to do more of the same against Stevens, which averaged 61.5 points per game this season. Parker Smith and Nicholas O’Brien both scored 16 points for the Cardinals when they beat Hopkinton last month. Offensively, the Hawks rely on a balanced output led by seniors Henry Yianakopolos (team-high 14 against Franklin) and Cam Cyr (team-high nine against Berlin), with players like Kevin McGrath, Zach Signor, Dustin Rose, Liam Flanagan and Kevin Newton-Delgado all capable of making significant contributions.
No. 1 Kearsarge (18-2) vs. No. 5 Somersworth (17-3)
HEAD TO HEAD: The two teams did not meet in the regular season.
PREVIOUS TOURNAMENT GAMES: Kearsarge beat No. 16 Winnisquam, 64-49, and No. 8 Campbell, 79-67. The Hilltoppers beat No. 12 Conant, 60-57, and No. 4 Inter-Lakes, 63-58.
NOTES: The Cougars have been steaming toward a second straight trip to SNHU and the D-III semis for months. They haven’t lost since Dec. 19, a string of 17 straight games. Kearsarge has a great inside-outside combo in forward Tayler Mattos and guard Tommy Johnson, a pair of juniors who both eclipsed the 1,000-point mark this season. Johnson was a force during the semifinals at SNHU last year when the Cougars finished as runner-up to power house Pelham.