Daccord to Team USA
North Andover’s Joey Daccord has been selected to the U.S. Men’s National Team for the upcoming IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) Men’s World Championship. The tournament will be held May 9-25, in Herning, Denmark and Stockholm, Sweden.
Daccord, who just closed out his second full season as the starting goaltender for the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, was one of three goalies named to the team, along with the Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman and Hampton Slukynsky of national champion University of Western Michigan.
DeSouza returns to Knights
North Andover High football has added a champion to its coaching staff, hiring former Scarlet Knights star Gabe DeSouza as wide receivers and kickers coach under new head coach Matt Cerullo.
DeSouza returned from a life-threatening heart illness to lead North Andover to the 2018 Division 2 state title, the first in program history. A two-time Eagle-Tribune All-Star and All-Scholastic, he caught 86 passes for 1,650 yards and 22 TDs in two seasons with the Knights after transferring from Everett. He went on to have a standout career at Curry College.
The Scarlet Knights also brought in former Andover High player (class of 2007) and assistant coach Corey Steele as linebackers coach and special teams coordinator. With the Golden Warriors, Steele served as defensive backs coach (2011-13) and linebackers coach (2016-21).
Central duo honored
A pair of Central Catholic stars have been honored by the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Association. Raiders forward Aniela Kwo was named to the MBCA All-Senior Team, while point guard Addison Beers was named to the All-Academic Team.
Beers was an All-Merrimack Valley Conference Division 1 second team and Eagle-Tribune All-Star honorable mention pick, while the Southern New Hampshire University-bound Kwo was an Eagle-Tribune Super Teamer and All-MVC first team pick after averaging 14.7 points and 8.1 rebounds a night.
Lachance lights the lamp
Andover’s Shane Lachance tallied his first goal as a professional hockey player in his second pro game. A member of the Utica Comets, the AHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils, Lachance found the back of the net in a 3-2 win over the Syracuse Crush (Lightning) last Saturday — a week after playing in the National Championship Game with Boston University.
One Final Thought
As Michael Muldoon used to say, “If you can bring a smile to someone’s face today, just do it!
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