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Winter’s last hurrah: Tourney time for local teams

By Tom King - Staff Writer | Feb 27, 2018

Staff photo by TOM KING Bishop Guertin's Aaliyah Forman (13) grabs the ball against Nashua South's Amber Hedquist (11) and Jasmine Sylvester (4) during the Cards' regular season win. The two meet again in the Division I tourney on Wednesday night.

A sign that spring is just around the corner? Winter high school tournaments for local teams are set to begin.

Fasten your seat belts, it should be a fun ride, beginning with three games on Tuesday.

In girls ice hockey, the No.7 Souhegan Sabers (10-8) will host the St. Thomas-Winnacunnet co-op team at 5:45 p.m. at Saint Anselm’s Sullivan Arena. Also, a finalist last year, the third seeded Hollis Brookline girls basketball team (16-2) begins what it hopes is the journey back to the Division II title game when it hosts No. 14 Merrimack Valley (9-9) in the prelims at 7 p.m. The only other Tuesday tourney game is in Division IV boys hoop, as No. 15 Wilton-Lyndeborough (6-12) visits No. 2 Pittsfield (17-1) at 7.

Things start early on Wednesday, with the Merrimack boys hockey team (No. 9, 7-10-1) facing No. 8 Oyster River (10-8) at 10 a.m.at UNH’s Whittemore Center in the Division II prelims.

Nashua South-Pelham boys hockey plays its first tourney game as a co-op (No. 9, 6-12) at No. 8 Salem (8-9-1) in the only Division I prelim. It’s also the first tourney game in 13 years for any South hockey team.

In Division III, No. 9 Pembroke-Campbell (7-11) visits No. 8 Somersworth/Coe-Brown at 6

The rest of the night belongs to high school girls basketball, with the all-area matchup in Division I of No. 12 Nashua South (7-11) at No. 5 Bishop Guertin (13-5) at 7 p.m. An hour earlier, at 6 p.m., Nashua North (No. 11, 8-10) visits No. 6 Manchester Central (11-7) Fourth-ranked Merrimack (15-3) gets a first-round bye.

On Thursday, in Division III boys basketball, No. 5 Campbell (14-4) takes on St. Thomas Aquinas (10-8) in Litchifield at 7 p.m.

The Bishop Guertin boys and girls hockey teams have byes to the quarterfinals. Here’s a look at how all these tourneys shape up:

GIRLS BASKETBALL

In Division I, it’s clear No. 1 Bedford (18-0) is the favorite, and many are anticipating a Bedford-Guertin semifinal at Southern New Hampshire University a week from this Thursday. But there’s a long way to go.

“Anything can happen in the playoffs,” Cards coach Brad Kreick said. “The last thing we’re going to do is look past anybody.” And that includes a Nashua South team that the Cards beat 63-23 back in early January; the Dave Hogan-coached Panthers, led by, among others, freshman Aryanna Murray, senior Amber Hedquist and junior Jasmine Sylvester have been playing much better of late, the high mark a 51-39 win over Winnacunnet that Kreick took in first hand. Of interest here is that injured Guertin players Erin Carney (team high 14.5 points a game) and Bri Wilcox are game-time decisions after both suffered sprained ankles vs. Pinkerton. “They’re both progressing nicely,” Kreick said.

The winner gets Merrimack on Saturday night in the quarters, on the road. The senior-laden Tomahawks have won 11 straight, having not lost since a 48-32 game at home vs. Guertin back on Jan. 9.

“Whether it’s us or South, that’s a tough matchup for anybody,” Kreick said of the Tomahawks. “Really a veteran team.”

Nashua North picked up the pace, helped by the return of senior Danielle Upton (previously out with a concussion), to win three of its last four. It should be a good matchup with the Little Green, which only beat the Titans 35-33 in Manchester earlier this season.

“It was a slow start to the season, which kind of puts you on your toes,” North coach Christina Bean said. “But they buckled down.”

In Division II, the Cavaliers have to play prelim opponent in MV that they haven’t seen. What the film shows, though, is that the Cavs have a height advantage. Cavs coach Bob Murphy knows he has to shut down one of MV’s best offensive players, senior guard Abigail Grandmaison. Junior Brodie Kelley likely gets that assignment, while leading the way overall for this team is 5-9 senior Joanna Balsamo, averaging about 16 points and 11 boards a game.

The key for the Cavs is the three toughest teams they’ve faced – No. 1 Portsmouth (18-0, a loss), No. 4 Pelham (16-2, split), and No. 8 Bishop Brady (one-point win last Friday) are all in the other bracket. “Only one of them can get to the finals,” Murphy said.

And a Lebanon team it surprisingly routed 58-40 in mid-January could be there in the semis at SNHU next Tuesday.

Still, HB could face a hot Goffstown team (No. 6, 13-5) in Friday’s quarters. The Grizzlies have won eight straight.

“The goal for us,” Murphy said, “is to get to Lebanon and get through Lebanon.”

THE PICKS: Division I Bedford over Pinkerton, Division II Portsmouth over HB.

BOYS HOCKEY

In Division I, the South-Pelham Kings get their third crack at Salem, a team that has beaten them 4-3 twice this season. Can the third time be the charm?

“I like the matchup,” Kings coach Shawn Connors said. A key will be the health of senior Matt Diprizio, one of the team’s top scorers who suffered a leg injury in the loss last Thursday at Salem and sat out practice over the weekend. “We’re hoping he’ll be back, he’s a big key,” Connors said. If South-Pelham wins, it will face top seed Concord (16-2) on Saturday night at Everett Arena (7:30).

Sixth-ranked Bishop Guertin (11-6-1) also plays Saturday, visiting No. 3 Pinkerton Academy (15-3) at the Ice Den in Hooksett, tentatively set for 4 p.m. The Cards, who struggled down the stretch but may be bolstered by the return of starting goaltender Colin Freitas (had been out with a concussion). If they can get past the Astros, who beat them 4-1 last week. Goaltending and the on-ice leadership of scoring forward Ben Peterson will be the key; second seed Hanover could await in the semis at JFK Coliseum next week if the Cards can pull of the upset. Guertin hasn’t missed the semis since March of 2014.

In Division II, the Tomahawks are back in the dance after just missing out last year, and one of the reasons is a 4-3 win over the Bobcats last week. Zach Stimeling, Stephen Licata, Matt Warrington and Andrew Frothingham all got goals and goalie Greg Amato had 25 stops. But Licata likely won’t be allowed to play after being given a game misconduct/ejection after a fight with Alvirne in the regular season finale.

“Next man up,” ‘Hawks coach Dan Belliveau said. “We’re positive about this. We seem to be hitting our stride here the last few weeks. We seem to be peaking at right time. We’re going to continue playing that way.”

Merrimack even gave top seeded Keene (14-1-1), whom if they survive the prelims would visit Saturday in the quarters, a tough game in a 2-0 loss two weeks ago.

In Division III, No. 9 Pembroke Campbell (7-11) plays a play-in prelim for the second straight year, this time at No. 9 Somersworth/Coe-Brown on Wednesday. They split during the regular season. The winner, though, visits top seed Kennett (17-1) on Saturday.

THE PICKS: Hanover in Divison I, Keene in II, and Kennett in III.

GIRLS HOCKEY

The Sabers made the tourney for just the second time in their history; now they’re seeking their first tourney win. They’ll rely on senior mainstays goalie Makayla Lachance and top scorer Shannon Paquette.

If the Sabers win – in a rarity, they did not see ST-W during the regular season, as it was a late add to the league – they visit Hanover on Friday; Lachance had 60 saves in just a 2-0 loss to the Marauders at Dartmouth College last month. “We’re excited,” Sabers coach Keli Braley said on Monday. “As we know, anything can happen in the tournament, so we’ll be ready to go Tuesday.”

Bishop Guertin (No. 5, 13-5) waits til Friday’s quarterfinal with the No. 4 Oyster River-Portsmouth co-op, a team the Cards lost 6-5 to earlier this season. That was on the road; this time they meet at Skate 3 at a time yet to be set.

“It was a back and forth game,” Guertin coach Scott Ciszek said of the first meeting. “If we play to our potential, we’ll be fine. We’ve got some girls who have been scoring (Ashlie Killen, Brooke Yabroudy, etc.) and some young players who are coming up to speed.” Plus, Ciszek is encouraged by the play of senior goalie goalie Houle, who didn’t have her best game vs. the Bobcats. If the Cards win, they could face top seed Exeter (two losses by a combined 21-0 score in their meetings) in next Tuesday’s semis at Plymouth State.

THE PICK: Hanover over Exeter

BOYS BASKETBALL

In Division III, Campbell has had a good season, led by the likes of Jonah Crema, Jake Scafidi and Spencer Stanium among others (they’ve been diverse all year with scorers). They own one win already over the Saints, 54-47 on the road earlier in the season. A win would likely put the Cougars on the road at No. 4 Conant, a team they’ve beaten twice. Don’t be surprised if this teams lands in the semis a week from Wednesday.

That would be tough for Wilton-Lyndeborough, which snuck into the last spot and has to travel to Pittsfield, which has just one loss all year (back on Jan. 5) on Tuesday.

THE PICKS: Somersworth in III, Pittsfield in IV.

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