Here’s a few tids and bits off the local tournament and pro playoff world:

• Has there been a much more dominant local high school sports program in recent history than Bishop Guertin boys lacrosse?

The Cardinals wrapped up their fourth straight Division I title last week, and the way they did it was stunning. They took a 5-5 game and turned it into a blowout and there were a couple of unsung heroes.

One was Guertin senior middie Blake Boudreau, who played on basically one leg due to injury and was dominant on faceoffs.

“It was a warrior-like effort,” Guertin coach Chris Cameron said. “And I didn’t even know if he was going to play. We were playing make it-take it and he was winning faceoffs on one leg.”

The other was goalie Paul Callahan. Pinkerton had a couple of chances, believe it or not, during Guertin’s wild flurry and Callahan came up huge.

“He made a couple of nice saves, saves I haven’t seen them make during the course of the year,” Astros coach Brian O’Reilly said. “And you know what? Credit them for coming up with big saves in a championship game.”

“He made some huge saves,” Cameron said in agreement.

What about next season? Guertin loses a handful of seniors, including Boudreau and Callahan, but has a good nucleus returning. The Cards have a particular goal in mind.

“Pinkerton’s the only team, they’ve won it four in a row twice,” Cameron said. “We’ve got just about everybody coming back, so we’re going to try to make a run at a fifth next year.”

• The drafting of Kevin McGowan in the recent Major League amateur draft shows just how successful the work of former Nashua High School North head coach Will Henderson was.

The program Henderson built now has had two former players drafted, with Brad Zapenas now in his third year in the Cubs organization, currently rehabbing and playing in extended spring training.

There could be more. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of stuff Jake Mellin shows in a Nashua Silver Knights uniform, and also you wonder what will happen down the road with lefty Kevin McCarthy, just to name one of a few that might have a shot at getting a phone call during the draft in a few years.

And what of former Nashua South standout Billy Ferriter? After his career at UConn, one would think he could wind up signed out of a tryout camp, or hook on with an independent league team. Keep your eyes and ears open.

• The local area, for the first time this scribe can remember in several years, if ever, had no high school baseball teams in the semifinals.

What happened?

Perhaps just the luck of the draw. In Division I, Bishop Guertin was limping into the tournament, and both Merrimack and Alvirne had to face tough pitching in the first round and were out. Nashua North had the best shot, but the bizarre battle between Titans pitcher Mike Robert and Exeter hurler James Mundy reversed itself in the third inning and that was that. North just couldn’t hit. And there’s no shame in losing to the eventual champions, as the Blue Hawks stunned top-ranked Londonderry on Saturday by a 3-2 count. There’s no question Exeter’s Ethan Joyce was worthy of his Player of the Year award in Division I, for both his pitching prowess and everyday player ability.

But the toughest tourney blow had to be Campbell’s quarterfinal loss at home to Conant. The Cougars were up 6-0 with the Division III Player of the Year, Connor Sahlin, on the mound in the sixth inning. You’d have almost guaranteed a win. Conant went on to win its first championship since 1956.

That’s why in baseball there’s no sure thing. Again, you’d have to say there’s no shame in losing to the champions.

• Ready for Bruins-Blackhawks? A couple of quick notes:

One, it’s the first Original Six meeting in the Stanley Cup Finals since Montreal beat the New York Rangers in 1979. Second, the B’s and Chicago haven’t met since a Boston sweep of the ’Hawks that previous season, 1978, in the quarterfinals. In that year, the B’s went on to beat Philly in five but lost to Montreal in the Stanley Cup Finals in six games.

Should be a great series.

Tom King can be reached at 594-6468 or tking@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow King on Twitter (@Telegraph_TomK).

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