John Stark-Hopkinton boys’ hockey coach Denis Kolehmainen wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to go get from his team going into Wednesday’s Division III game against Pembroke Academy-Campbell at Everett Arena.
“We had four kids out sick today and another one that’s still coming off an injury, so we had to juggle a lot of things around, it was bad,” Kolehmainen said. “So I didn’t figure we’d get off to that kind of start, but it really helped make things easier on everyone.”
The General Hawks scored three times in the first five minutes and built a five-goal first-period lead on their way to a 9-4 win against PAC. Brett Patnode and Tyler Scordo both finished with three goals and two assists for JSH, while Benny Madden, Ethan Molnar and Bobby Arnold each had a goal and two assists. It was the first varsity goal for Arnold, who was filling in for Owen Jones on the first line with Patnode and Madden.
“Our offensive pressure was strong today. We did a great job down in the corners with our rotations and we created a lot of opportunities,” Kolehmainen said. “We could have scored more, but their goalie (Adam Omundson, 37 saves) played pretty well.”
Arnold had a hand in first goal, as he and Patnode had assists on Madden’s goal at 3:53 of the first. Molnar scored off the ensuing faceoff to give JSH (4-0-0) a 2-0 lead just six seconds later, and Scordo pushed it to 3-0 with an unassisted goal at 5:03 of the first.
Patnode scored one of his own and Scordo added two more before Pembroke-Campbell (1-3-0) got on the board in the final minute of the opening period when Nathan Perry scored off a rebound from a Kaleb Pelletier shot.
Patnode scored the only goal of the second period and the General Hawks upped their lead to 8-1 in the third period.
Andrew Durfee scored two third-period goals for PAC, while Mathew Dexter had a goal and two assists in the third. Perry and Zach Sonia also added assists.
Missing some players with sickness would not have caused as much concern in the last two years for the two-time defending champion General Hawks. But this year’s team doesn’t, “have the strength on offense, or defense, or goaltending, so they have to work harder than we have in the past.” That may be hard to tell given the regular-season record, but after winning Kennett’s holiday tournament last year, JSH finished last in that tournament this season.
Still, Kolehmainen wasn’t too worried about the holiday results or all the big skates this year’s team is trying to fill.
The top two lines are both scoring for the General Hawks. They have proven players like Patnode and Madden leading the way, and other players like No. 1 goalie Caysen Allard (16 saves on Wednesday), Scordo and Jones stepping into bigger roles.
“We’re right about where I figured we would be,” Kolehmainen said.
Concord 7, Pinkerton 1
Key players: Concord – Matt Hauschild (3 goals), Tyler Coskren (goal, assist), Ryan Philbrick (3 assists), Zach Drew (3 assists), Joey Ala (goal, 2 assists), Alex Forward (goal), Brooks Craigue (goal, 2 assists), Colin Nelson (2 assists), Parker Taylor (16 saves)
Highlights: It was a tight game for two periods. Coskren gave Concord a 1-0 lead 2:51 into the first period, and it stayed at 1-0 until Hauschild scored two goals just 24 seconds apart in second to make it 3-0. Pinkerton scored late in second to make it 3-1 going into the third. The game opened up in final period when Pinkerton took a 5-minute major penalty and the Crimson Tide scored four goals during that power play to seal the game.
Coach’s quote: “The game was pretty even until the 5-minute major.” – Concord’s Duncan Walsh
Records: Concord 4-0-0; Pinkerton 2-2-0
Concord 69, Alvirne 6
Key players: Concord – Ghana Darjee (win by pin at 106 pounds), Sam Wagner (win by pin at 113), Keith McFetridge (win by pin at 120), Ethan Comeau (win by pin at 126), Jack Sargent (10-3 decision at 145), James Bonnell (win by pin at 152), Alex Galatis (win by pin at 160), Joseph Gimaranzi (win by pin at 170), Dan Rosales (win by pin at 182), Peter Sargent (win by pin at 220)
Highlights: The Crimson Tide improved to 7-0 in dual meets with this convincing win. Eight of Concord’s pins came in the first period and the Tide also got forfeit wins from Trey Fortier (138) and Abbas Abdulrahman (195).
Merrimack 54, Bow 29
Key players: Bow – Nick Wray (win by pin at 106 pounds), Wyatt Rheinhardt (win by pin at 113), Andrew Krause (win by pin at 120), Anthony DiPhilippo (win by pin at 145), Anthony Sutera (win by pin at 220)
Highlights: Wrestling up against Division II Merrimack was a good learning experience for the D-III Falcons, despite the loss.
Coach’s quote: “I was happy with the effort tonight. We do have five kids out with injuries, so it’s going to be a little while before we get our lineup together.” – Bow’s Brock Hoffman
Hopkinton 69, Campbell 56
Key players: Hopkinton – Kevin Newton-Delgado (32 points), Luke Reidy (13 points, 3 charges), Owen Milchick (11 points), Michael Baer (8 points), Shepyrd Murdough (5 points); Campbell – Brendan Rice (17 points), Keegan Mills (12 points), Carter Vedrani (12 points), Joaquin Heller (11 points)
Highlights: It was a career scoring night for Newton-Delgado, who put on a show Tuesday night in Litchfield. Both teams came out hot and the Hawks took a slim 23-22 lead after the first quarter. Hopkinton pushed its lead to 41-35 by halftime and kept building in the second half.
Coach’s quote: “What an exciting and fast-paced game where both teams were scoring, but we locked it down on defense as the game went on. I am very happy to see the success our front court had and look forward to carrying that into future games. Our guards were able to handle the strong pressure Campbell put on us. I am proud of how hard all 12 guys have been working in practice which is making a difference in games.” – Hopkinton’s Stephen Signor
Records: Hopkinton 4-1; Campbell 0-3
Pittsfield 63, Mount Royal 33
Key players: Pittsfield – Devin Bedell (17 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists), Quinn Bissonnette (13 points, 14 rebounds), Tyler Prentice (13 points, 5 assist); Mount Royal Academy – Andrew Normandin (15 points)
Highlights: Pittsfield dominated the first half and led 39-13 at halftime. The Panthers ran the floor, totaled 22 assist as a team and had a balanced attack.
Coach’s quote: “We did really well getting stops and getting out in transition and sharing the ball.” – Pittsfield’s Jay Darrah
Records: Pittsfield 4-2; Mount Royal Academy 2-2
Alvirne 52, Concord 46
Key players: Concord – Elizabeth Blinn (17 points), Ky Buchholz (13 points), Ava Woodman (8 points in 4 minutes)
Highlights: Concord jumped out to an early lead on Tuesday night, but an injury to Woodman slowed the early run. Alvirne went on a small run in the second quarter, which was capped off by a 3-pointer at the buzzer to go up 23-21 at half time. Alvirne opened the third quarter with a big run and pushed the lead to 15, but the Crimson Tide fought back from thre and cut the lead to just two points with 1:30 left on the clock, but that as was close as it would get.
Coach’s quote: “We obviously faced some adversity early on, but we just did not do the things that we usually do that allow us to be successful. We did not rebound well. We gave up too many second chance opportunities. That was absolutely the key to the game. I was proud of our kids for rallying together to come back late in the second half. We just can’t afford to get ourselves in a hole like that. To start the year 3-1 with four road games is pretty good. We let an opportunity slip tonight, but we have to bounce back for Friday for our first home game.” – Concord’s Tim LaTorra
Records: Alvirne 2-2; Concord 3-1
Hanover 40,
Merrimack Valley 37
Key players: MV – Alyssa Woodman (14 points), Hayley Kenney (12 points), Rylee Boucher, Macy Gordon
Highlights: Hanover built a 27-18 lead by halftime, but the Pride battled back in the second half.
Coach’s quote: “Very proud of the girls and the way the competed. It’s was a true team effort against a very good Hanover team. We had a game plan defensively and we stuck with it and we battled late and had opportunities to tie and unfortunately the ball didn’t bounce our way. We will take a lot positives from this game and hope to build off it moving forward. We have two tough games coming up to end the week and will continue to play hard each night.” – MV’s Bob McNutt
Records: Hanover 5-0; MV 3-2