Triton vs. Newburyport: Part 3.
How did we get so lucky?
One of the fiercest hockey rivalries in the entire state will get an unexpected third matchup this season, and in the finals of the Newburyport Bank Classic Tournament. Puck drop is set for Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the Graf, after Triton beat Marblehead in its opening round, 5-2, while the Clippers handled business against North Andover, 4-1.
Newburyport has won both matchups this season, and nine straight in the rivalry series.
But could this finally be Triton’s time?
The Vikings (13-5-1) are red-hot coming into this one, having won five in a row and seven of their past eight. And because of that recent winning streak, the program has seen itself skyrocket up to No. 5 in the latest Division 3 rankings. Senior captain Luke Sullivan continued his torrid pace during Monday’s win over Marblehead, scoring three more goals with an assist. Mason Colby and Vinny Magee provided the other tallies, and the trio of Colby, Magee and Michael Taylor had assists as well.
For Newburyport (11-9-1), it’s well in line to host a Division 2 playoff game, slotting in at No. 13 in the latest poll.
Tommy Gagnon opened the scoring for the Clippers against North Andover, converting a partial breakaway thanks to a nice stretch pass from Will Forrest. The Scarlet Knights would tie things at 1-1 after the first period, but Henry Waddell would give the Clippers the lead for good on a one-timer off a Luke MacIsaac feed. A sophomore, MacIsaac would later find his own goal after Jack Sullivan forced a turnover and fed a nice cross-ice pass to him. The favor would then later be returned when MacIsaac would find Sullivan for the team’s final goal of the night.
Jagger Gudaitis had two secondary-assists during the game, and Damien Lamb was solid in the net.
Pentucket falls in Spartan Classic final
At the end of the day, it’s still two great games to get for the Pentucket girls basketball team ahead of the state tournament.
After beating Newton North in the opening round of the St. Mary’s Spartan Classic — a game in which Amelia Crowe dropped 32 points — Pentucket found itself playing Dartmouth in the finals on Monday. The Panthers were able to keep it close for the majority of three quarters, but ultimately fell to the No. 2-ranked team in Division 2, 68-43.
Allie Gagnon hit a 3 and had a team-high 12 points, while Devyn Walsh chipped in 7 points.
And in a great sign for the Panthers (17-5), thanks to the two highly-ranked opponents that they just played, they actually moved up to No. 6 in the latest Division 3 rankings that were released on Tuesday morning.
Guertin, Amesbury fall in shootout
The Amesbury hockey team was on the wrong end of a tough one on Monday night, falling to Norwell, 3-2, following an overtime shootout. Riley Guertin and Brogan Arrivella scored the goals, while Thomas McElaney, Charlie Nottingham, Logan Pickering and Colin Brown had assists.
Amesbury (7-10-2) is ranked No. 27 in the latest Division 2 power poll, and will end its regular season against Haverhill on Wednesday.
Loewen, Royals fall to No. 1
One shocking upset was already enough.
Two would have been quite the story had the Georgetown boys basketball team been able to pull it off.
After stunning Brookline in the first round of the St. Mary’s Spartan Classic over the weekend, the Royals found themselves facing top-ranked Malden Catholic (in D2) in Tuesday’s final. The Royals actually led by a point early in the second quarter, but couldn’t overcome the Lancers’ impressive firepower in an eventual 80-39 loss.
John Alcantara paced the Georgetown offense with 10 points, while Brendan Loewen was right behind with 8 points. Still, the Royals (13-6) are in great shape to host at least two playoff games coming in at No. 7 in the latest Division 4 ranking.