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Survivor Pool: High school tourneys continue tonight, Saturday

By Tom King - Staff Writer | Mar 1, 2024

The Bishop Guertin girls hockey team hopes to be celebrating tonight when it faces Exeter in the Division I quarterfinals at Skate 3 in Tyngsborough, Mass. )

High school tournament play is basically one big episode of Survivor.

Put all the local teams that qualify on an island and see who is able to, well, surivive.

Well, we have quite a few.

The list for hockey and basketball includes the Alvirne boys and girls hoop teams, the Nashua North and South boys hoop teams, and then there are five local ice hockey teams that have yet to play: the Bishop Guertin boys and girls, Merrimack boys, Alvirne-Milford boys as well as the Hollis Brookline-Derryfield boys.

Here’s how your tourney weekend that reaches the quarterfinal stage shapes up, and that also includes the New Englands in track and wrestling:

TONIGHT

Two girls teams will be in action. The 10-9 Alvrine girls basketball team, seeded No. 11, will try to keep the upset train going as they travel to face No. 3, 17-2 Londonderry. The two teams tangled in Hudson back on Feb. 1 and the Lancers won 44-27. Lancer standout Sam Sullivan had 24 points while Londonderry, after a low scoring first quarter, scored 35 points combined in the second and third periods. Ella Hartson was the only player with more than three points (nine) for the Broncos. “We worked hard, but just not enough,” Alvirne coach Frank Girginis, whose team upset Goffstown in the prelims, said after.

In girls hockey, Bishop Guertin begins its title defense as the No. 3 Cardinals (14-4) will take on No. 6 Exeter (14-5) at 7 p.m. at Skate 3 Arena in Tyngsborough, Mass. The Blue Hawks beat Concord in a prelim on Tuesday, and the Cards came away with at 5-4 win at Exeter back on Jan. 31. Gracie Menicci led BG with two goals, and the team’s best facilitator, Jasmine Shattuck, had a goal and two assists. However, Shattuck was deemed likely done for the year after reinjuring her shoulder two weeks ago vs. Pinkerton.

If BG advances, it will likely have to face No. 2 Hanover in the semis, but they’ve got a tough opponent to deal with tonight.

SATURDAY

BOYS BASKETBALL

There’s three games, all in Division I, and it’s a full day, starting at noon when No. 8 Nashua South (12-7) visits top-ranked Pinkerton Academy (17-1). Why the very early time? Pinkerton is the site of the state cheerleading championships on Sunday, and the elaborate setup will take lots of time. The Panthers, who got a combined 47 points from its backcourt of Josh Caruso and Zac Castonguay, did not play Pinkerton during the regular season. The Panthers had rebounding issues in their 76-61 win over Portsmouth on Wednesday and it gets tougher now with the Astros’ main player is six-foot-9 center Jackson Marshall.

“Now we have two days,” South coach Nate Mazerolle said the other night, “to figure it out.”

Meanwhile, No. 3 Nashua North (15-4) will try to figure out how to handle, in turn, a team it also did not see in the regular season, No. 6 Windham (13-6). The Titans are red hot, having won their last 11 straight, Windham is working on a four-game streak, including an 87-51 thrashing of Londonderry in the prelims. North all season long is as good as its defense is, and that may help in a close game. Four of the Jags six losses have been by four points or less.

Finally, the boys hoop tour ends at 7 p.m. with upstart Alvirne, No. 10 at 10-9, headed to face defending champion Bedford (17-1, No. 2) at 7 p.m. The Broncos, led by Sam DeWitt and Garrett Hall, played Bedford tough in a 69-60 loss, also at Bedford, just over a week ago.

“That team, they know how to move well,” Alvirne interim coach Christian Patnaude said the other night at Keene. “We had a good game against them the last time. If we can play consistent ball, make those free throws, make those layups, then we have a chance.”

BOYS HOCKEY

The game of the day is the 4 p.m. quarterfinal between No. 4 Bishop Guertin (12-5-1) and No. 5 Hanover (12-6). Not only did the two teams have this past week off, they haven’t seen each other in over two months. Guertin won a tight 3-2 overtime game at Hanover back on Dec. 16, which basically is the reason the Cards get this one at home. The Cards’ Jordan O’Hearn got the game-winner at 6:46 of the extra session.

Meanwhile, top seeded Merrimack (15-2-1) will host No. 8 Spaulding (x-x) at 4 p.m. at Manchester’s West Side Arena. The Tomahawks beat the Red Raiders 3-2 back on Feb. 7, and have lost to just one Division II team all season – Dover, 5-4, on Jan. 20.

However, the player who got the game winner with 3;28 left vs. the Red Raiders, Eliot Medlock, is not longer able to play after getting a second disqualification recently. But the player who got the ‘Hawks other two goals, Conor Dunn, is all set and ready to go, one of the team’s best players all year long.

Alvirne-Milford, No. 6 at 9-7-2, heads to Phillips Exeter at 6 p.m. at Phillips-Exeter. The Admirals have gotten a boost the second half of the season from senior goalie Trent Scarbro, and hope to reverse a regular season 4-2 decision against the No. 3, 14-4 Warriors.

Finally, Hollis Brookline-Derryfield, No. 7 at 6-11, goes to Everett Arena in Concord to take on No. 2 Pembroke-Campbell (13-4) at 7:45 p.m. in the Divsion III quarters. The two teams played in a regular season finale last Saturday with the Warriors falling 7-1.

We’ll see on Sunday who the survivors are for semifinals next Tuesday (girls hoop, hockey) and Wednesday (boys hoop, hockey).

NEW ENGLAND BOYS & GIRLS WRESTLING

As many as nine locals in the boys division will make their way to Providence, R.I. for Friday-Saturday’s New England championships. One is a state champion, Alvirne’s Shawn Boudreau, at 215. Bishop Guertin’s Austin Steinruck (106) and Jack Kaler (120) will compete, as well as Campbell’s Logan Allaire, the state runnerup at 165.

Hollis Brookline will have two, Caden Bruseo at 132 and John McCole at 285. Nashua North’s Steven Rosario will be at 165, while Nashua South will have Robert Perez at 150. Souhegan’s Christian Knuckles will wrestle at 144.

Also, there will be eight girls competing as well, including Alvirne’s Jillian Boncore at 145 and Morgan Gora at 120. Bishop Guertin’s Ayla Saeturn will wrestle at 165, while Merrimack will have two: Avary Berardinelli (126) and Emily Angelo (132). Nashua South’s Mia Biaz will go at 235 while Souhegan also has two, Isabelle Brandt (145) and Maddie Brown (114).

NEW ENGLAND BOYS & GIRLS TRACK

The New England Indoor Track Championships are late Saturday afternoon at Boston’s Reggie Lewis Center and some locals will likely try to make some noise.

In the boys event, likely competitors among the locals should be Bishop Guertin’s Matt Giardina, the Division I state champ in the 3000, plus Nashua North Division I shot put champ Darius Smith. With Nashua South, it starts with the boys the team of Michael Menezes, Ryan Jansen, Marcell Perry and Ethan Schnyer competing in the 4×200 relay.

The Nashua North girls state champion foursome of as the foursome of Jhanelle Thomas, Christina Juris, Allison Frye and Tiana Brown in the 4×400 relay also will likely compete. Merrimack’s Alexis Best was the state champ and could give it a go in the 55 dash and also the long jump; where she was second. Souhegan and Milford have Division II state title relay teams that may go on Saturday as well.

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