As the defending champs and current Division III leaders, it’s well-known that the John Stark-Hopkinton boys’ hockey team (4-0) is good, but the General Hawks showed that their prowess on the ice goes beyond D-III competition, winning the sixth annual Peter Hall Christmas Classic title by beating Division II’s Dover, 4-1, in Saturday’s championship hosted by Kennett High School in North Conway.
Goaltender Jameson Bourque was named the tournament MVP, making 15 saves in the title game, while Tyler Scordo netted a pair of goals and Nolan Sauer dished a pair of assists in the championship.
John Stark-Hopkinton, with two shutouts under its belt so far in regular-season play, defeated Division III rivals Berlin, 5-1, and Division II’s Kingswood, 4-2, to win the Valley Division and earn a spot in the finals against Dover (4-0 and in first place in D-II), who defeated Somersworth-Coe-Brown, 7-3, and hosts Kennett, 5-0, to win the Mountain Division.
Scordo’s first goal (assisted by Benny Madden) knotted up the score, 1-1, after the first period.
Brett Patnode scored the eventual game-winner with 4:35 left in the second period (assisted by Sauer) and Scordo’s second tally with 20 seconds left in the period gave the General Hawks a 3-1 lead.
Jake Cole scored an unassisted goal 51 seconds into the third period to complete the scoring.
John Stark-Hopkinton returns to regular-season action on Wednesday when the General Hawks host undefeated Monadnock-Fall Mountain (3-0).
Boys’ hockey
Bedford 5, Concord 1
Key players: Concord – Alex Forward (G), Ryan Philbrick (A), Evan Makris (A), Parker Taylor (16 saves)
Highlights: The Tide (4-0-0 in D-I) trailed 1-0 after the first period, 2-0 after the second and Bedford (3-0-1 in D-I) broke the game open in the third. Forward scored a power-play goal to cut Concord’s deficit to 4-1 in the third, but the Bulldogs claimed the victory in the Brian Stone Memorial Tournament semifinal. The Bulldogs will play Goffstown on Saturday for the tournament championship.
Coach’s quote: “Bedford capitalized on the power play. They were stronger on the puck. You can’t make mistakes against them. They make you pay.” – Concord’s Dunc Walsh
Gilford 53, Belmont 51
Highlights: Gilford’s Korey Weston (18 points) and Adrian Siravo (14 points, 16 rebounds) played well and the Eagles (2-1 in D-III) scored a bucket with two seconds left in the Gilford Christmas Tournament semifinal, lifting Gilford to a victory over the Raiders (4-0 in D-III) and a spot in Saturday’s championship against Kingswood.
Winnisquam 73, Newfound 27
Key players: Winnisquam – Gunnar Horman (19 points), Kyle Mann (19 points), Phil Nichols (10 points), Caleb Bushway (8 points)
Highlights: In a consolation game at the Gilford Christmas Tournament, Winnisquam built a 10-point lead during the first quarter and extended it from there with a well-balanced effort.
Coach’s quote: “We had good defensive intensity for the whole game and we did a good job sharing the ball.” – Winnisquam’s Kevin Dame
Coe-Brown 50, Monadnock 36
Key players: Coe-Brown – Dominic Cronshaw (11 points, 9 rebounds), Mason Winiarski (10 points, 5 rebounds), Luke McCusker (9 points), Albert Lapiejko (7 points, 6 rebounds)
Highlights: The Bears (0-1 in D-II) won their Keene State Holiday Tournament consolation game over the Huskies (0-4 in D-III), setting up a final consolation game against Smithfield, R.I., on Saturday.
Gilford 45, Belmont 43
Key players: Belmont – Julianna Estremera (13 points, two 3s), Mackenzie Donovan (9 points), Alexis Donovan (8 points), Morgan Hall (6 points), Savannah Perkins (defense); Gilford – Shelby Cole (15 points, three 3s)
Highlights: The Raiders (2-3 in D-III) led most of the way in the Gilford Christmas Tournament semifinal, but the Eagles (2-3 in D-III) took their first lead with 1:50 left in the game and Cole hit two big 3s in the final minutes to punch Gilford’s ticket to the championship game against Laconia. Belmont led 13-7 after the first quarter, 27-13 at halftime and 37-26 after three.
Coach’s quote: “We worked hard. I was proud of the effort. That’s what the Christmas Tournament is all about.” – Belmont’s Mark Dawalga
Coe-Brown 32, Derryfield 16
Key players: Coe-Brown – Lauren Curtin (7 points, 7 rebounds), Valentina White (7 points, 5 rebounds), Angelina Rene (9 rebounds, 4 points), Shayla Ashley (defense off the bench)
Highlights: The Bears picked up a victory in their first game of the Epping Holiday Tournament over the Cougars. Coe-Brown led 20-10 at halftime and held Derryfield to six second-half points.
Coach’s quote: “We did a nice job in the first half controlling the game. Our pressure gave them a hard time. In the third (Derryfield) made a defense adjustment and it took us out of our rhythm a bit. In the fourth quarter the defense kicked back up and Angelina Rene started controlling the boards. It was nice to get back in the winning column. We’vejust got to get better every game.” – Coe-Brown’s Joe
Vachon
Coe-Brown 10th
Key players: Coe-Brown – Jonathan (2nd shot put, tied 3rd high jump), Wyatt Mackey (6th 1,500)
Highlights: The 4×800 of Colby Hoffman, Mackey, Gavyn Lewis and Dawson Dubois finished third and Thorn had a pair of top-three finishes in the field events to lead the Bears to 10th place in a 15-team meet at Dartmouth.
Coe-Brown tied 5th,
Kearsarge 10th
Key players: Coe-Brown – Sophie Laird (2nd 600), Abigail O’Connor (3rd 1,000), Addison Cox (5th 1,500); Kearsarge – Mya Dube (1st 1,000, 3rd 300)
Highlights: The Bears tied for fifth overall with Hanover and Keene with 25 points each in a 16-team meet at Dartmouth. Coe-Brown and Hanover were the top D-II teams in the meet, while St. Johnsbury Academy, Vt. (69), Nashua South (41), Salem (38) and Mount Anthony, Vt. (26) were the top four teams at the meet. The Bears had strong performances from the second-place 4×800 (Amelia Edmonds, Ella Malone, Laird, Cox) and fifth-place 4×400 (Laird, Malone, O’Connor, Samantha Lemay). Dube won the 1,000 in 3:08 and won her heat of the 300 to finish third overall to score Kearsarge’s points.