Tom King

It’s Halloween Weekend and that can only mean one thing:

November is next.

Ugh.

The only other month that’s worse in these eyes is January. Let’s face it, they’re both blah, with dark late afternoons, etc. The only thing redeeming about November is Thanksgiving.

Can the world of sports – local, regional, national – help us out? Let’s take a look at some key November dates:

MONDAY, NOV. 1

Soccer anyone? The Division I boys soccer semis are set for Stellos Stadium, and when the weekend began the Nashua High School South boys soccer team was hoping to be there. Meanwhile, in Division III, the Campbell boys were hoping to make the trek up to Laconia’s Bank of New Hampshire Stadium. If both are playing on Monday, there’s a chance Finals Friday will be busy.

TUESDAY, NOV. 2

The Division II soccer semis are at Stellos Stadium, and, same deal, two locals, Milford and Hollis Brookline, as of this writing, were each one quarterfinal win away from facing each other in a Final Four battle. They played twice this year, a tie and a Milford win.

Either way, it’s a good take.

WEDNESDAY,

THURSDAY, NOV. 3-4

It’s the girls turn in soccer, and you can bet Bishop Guertin is hoping to be there in the semis at Exeter’s Bill Ball Stadium, as the Cards have a quarterfinal against either Alvirne or Salem on Sunday against either Alvirne or Salem.

Meanwhile, Division II’s turn at Exeter for semis is Thursday, and that will be either Hollis Brookline, Milford, or both.

Oh and Wednesday could be Game 7 of the World Series, as this year you can call it the November Classic. Maybe.

FRIDAY, NOV. 5

Boys soccer finals day with Divisions I and II at Stellos, and III and IV at Bank of NH Stadium. Also, football teams can play their quarterfinals if they so chose on Friday.

SATURDAY, NOV. 6

Football quarterfinals day plus Volleyball Championship Night. All the volleyball finals this year – Divisions I, II and III will be at Pinkerton Academy. You can bet a local team or two, or three will be there.

And let’s not forget the cross country Meet of Champions at Nashua South. Last year’s race was on an unusually warm November day, what will the weather be like this year?

SUNDAY, NOV. 7

Girls Soccer Championship Day. The Division I title game at Bill Ball Stadium is scheduled for 5:30, while Division II is at 1 p.m. That’s a big gap, but usually these games don’t just go 80 minutes, right?

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10

Welcome back, Rivier University women’s basketball. Since you’ve been away, the school has put men’s and women’s hockey teams on the ice, and a whole new recruiting philosophy overall has been instituted.

The Raiders’ leading scorer in their history, Deanna Purcell, finally gets to take the bench as this team’s head coach. Fisher will be the competition in this season opener at the Muldoon Center at 7 p.m.

SATURDAY, NOV. 13

The Rivier University men’s basketball team has its home opener vs. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, a 1 p.m. start. It will be the Raiders’ first game at the Muldoon Center since February of 2020, thanks to the pandemic cancelling the 2020-21 season.

You can bet head coach Lance Bisson, a Nashua North and Rivier alum, can’t wait.

It’s also football semifinals day, at the site of the higher seed. Let’s see if Bishop Guertin, likely the only Division I entry, is there. Definitely don’t count out Milford in Division II. It’s also the day of the Division III finals, with Campbell in the mix.

SUNDAY, NOV. 14

The Cleveland Browns are in Foxborough to face your New England Patriots in what should be a meaningful game for both. It had better be, otherwise there are disappointing seasons looming.

SATURDAY, NOV. 20

It’s Division I and II Finals day, and we still don’t know for sure where they’ll be held. Neutral site? Higher seed? UNH has Maine that day, so Wildcat Stadium is likely out of the question unless you go at night. Last year’s Division I finals were held at Bedford as a neutral site, so keep that in mind. Of course, they’d like to be playing that day.

Who will be? The odds favor Winnacunnet and Londonderry in Division I, and perhaps Lebanon vs. Timberlane in Division II? Not if Milford has anything to say about it. We’ll see.

THURSDAY NOV. 25

Ahhhh, you can smell the turkey now, can’t you? And the football – oh, the football.

OK, the first NFL game is Chicago at Detroit at 12:30, so that’s when you eat. The second may be the best one: The Jon Gruden-Less Raidahs vs. the Dallas Cowboys, the over-under will be interesting there (bet the over). And the night game will be Buffalo at New Orleans. Please, Jameis Winston, don’t ruin this one.

FRIDAY, NOV. 26

We wish we could tell you the TD Garden doubleheader is back, but alas, only the Bruins are home, with a 3:30 game vs. the New York Rangers. Bruins-Rangers is always entertaining if you’re an old-time hockey guy.

The Celtics? They’re at San Antonio. A great game a few years ago, not looking that way so much now.

SUNDAY, NOV. 28

The Patriots will host Mike Vrabel’s Tennessee Titans. Remember the last time Tennessee was in town? Yeah, it was in early January, 2020, the final game in a Patriots uniform for you-know-who.

MONDAY, NOV. 29

Winter sports practices begin for high school basketball and hockey. Yes, we begin to start to go down that road.

Meanwhile, well, maybe November might not be so blah after all.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph _TomK.