ESPN

Catholic Memorial head basketball coach Dennis Tobin forwards along this year's Catholic Conference All-Stars:

LEAGUE MVP: MATT DRONEY, SR., CATHOLIC MEMORIAL
Steve Haladyna, Sr., St. John's Prep
Freddy Shove, Sr., St. John's Prep
Mike Carbone, Sr., St. John's Prep
Bryce Boggs, Jr., Xaverian
Jared Lewis, Sr., Malden Catholic
Kyle Sangster, Jr., Malden Catholic
John Mastascusa, Jr., Malden Catholic
Oderah Obukwelu, Sr., BC High
Charles Collins, Jr., BC High
Jameilen Jones, Jr., BC High
Dan Powers, Sr., Catholic Memroial
Armani Reeves, Sr., Catholic Memorial
Aahmane Santos, Soph., Catholic Memorial

BOURNE, Mass. -- The Bay State League stole the show during Saturday's Division 1 quarterfinals, played at Gallo Ice Arena.

The public school league will see four of its teams in the semifinal round, the notable exclusion being No. 1 seed Needham.

Here's the breakdown of the action from a long day of hockey, along with a couple nuggets of analysis:

NO. 4 NORWOOD 2, NO. 5 BARNSTABLE 1


First period: The Mustangs went on an early power play, getting just one shot off on the Barnstable kill. The Red Raiders took the first lead of the game at 8:35 on Max Willman's strike from Chris Harris and Eric Rogorzenski. Andrew Alty tied the game with 30 seconds remaining on a pretty cross-ice pass from Jake Ranalli. Brendan Cathcart picked up the second assist. Norwood took a 7-6 shot advantage in the stanza.

Second period: Scant scoring opportunities for either side. Norwood carried play for portions of the second, but the Raiders had the best of the latter stages. Still, Barnstable out-shot the Mustangs 9-7 in the period.

Third period: The Mustangs found the go-ahead goal with defenseman Kyle Dolan tallying his second of the season, with some good work down low from Cathcart (2 assists)and Tyler Gover. The Red Raiders were ham-strung by a late penalty (playing with a broken stick) that had them on the penalty kill with just 1:38 remaining. Despite having a couple of offensive zone face-off opportunities in the final minute, the Red Raiders weren't able to find the equalizer. Jordan Davis made 25 saves for the Mustangs in the win, as Barnstable outshot Norwood, 26-22, for the game.

Analysis: What made Norwood successful in this game were a lot of the little things that don't show up in scoresheets. The Mustangs did a terrific job on the back check, keeping pace with a speedy Barnstable roster. When the Red Raiders were able to enter the zone, Norwood collapsed down low and were able to throw sticks, bodies, whatever, in the passing a shooting lanes, limiting quality chances on Davis.

NO. 9 NATICK 3, NO. 1 NEEDHAM 2


First period: Most of the period's play was conducted in the neutral zone, with both teams playing a tight checking game. Natick had its best chance of the game, coming on a 2-on-1 during a late power play. However, Needham actually out-chanced the Red & Blue, 2-1, while a man down. Shots were 10-5 in the Rockets' favor in the first.

Second period: Needham earned its first power play of the game early on, but was unable to cash in with two shots against Red & Blue goaltender Derek Kwok. Natick opened scoring at 5:56 with Andrew Newis tallying his 13th of the season from Mike Pennett and Derek Butler. At 11:52, Butler added his second point with his 16th goal of the season. Just 1:08 later, Pennett picked up his second point of the game with a goal, giving the Red & Blue a 3-0 lead at the second intermission.

Third period: Needham got on the board 4:06 Joey Parsons entering on a partial break on an unassisted goal, his fifth of the season. Play continued on in Natick's end for the bulk of the period. Lucas Davis added an unassisted goal of his own, drawing the Rockets within one, but for the second time this week (after Monday's Super 8 play-in game) their third-period rally fell short.



Analysis: Once again, Needham's tendency to come out slow hurt them. As in their Super 8 play-in game against St. John's (Shrewsbury) on Monday, the Rockets dug themselves into a hole they weren't able to recoup.

NO. 3 MILTON 3, NO. 6 FALMOUTH 1


First period: There was little to speak of scoring chances between the two squads, save for Clipper forward Ben Taylor's shot off the post in the second minute. Not whole lot to say beyond that. Shots were 7-2 in favor of Falmouth.

Second period: After skating to a scoreless first period, Storm Foitu netted the first goal for Falmouth 1:11 into the period. Durham Ghelfi set up the goal with some nice work along the half boards, putting a pass back to Foitu on the left wing circle. Milton tied the game with 30 seconds remaining in the period, thanks to some slick passing in the offensive zone. Brian Higgins set up Paul Curran, skittering a pass across through a Falmouth defender with Curran directing the pass into the net from the goal mouth. Milton took an 11-4 shots advantage in the period.

Third period: Curran and Higgins continued their dazzling offensive show in the third, only to see Falmouth netminder Petey Negri make a couple of circus saves. The middle portion of the period was played predominately in the Clippers' end with the Wildcats sustaining offensive pressure. Curran scored his second of the game, his 21st of the season, the game-winner, with 43 seconds to play, with a shot deflected off a Falmouth defender's skate. Terrance Walsh and Dan Curran had the assists. Higgins notched his second point of the game with an empty-net goal with eight seconds remaining. Hankard made 18 stops to earn the victory.



Analysis: Paul Curran showed why he was one of the most feared scorers in the Bay State Conference this season. His work, along with that of linemate, Higgins, was impressive throughout, creating a bulk of Milton's scoring chances.

NO. 7 BRAINTREE 2, NO. 2 MARSHFIELD 0
First period: The Wamps took a 7-6 shots advantage, but neither team was able to find the back of the net. Braintree went 0-for-2 on the power play, while the Rams were shut out in their only opportunity.

Second period: After being held to just one shot on their third power play opportunity, the Wamps took the first lead of the game on Cody Kingston's goal at 9-minute mark, with assists from James Flaherty and Tom Troy. Braintree claimed a 2-0 lead two minutes later on David Fasano's wrist shot from the right side circle. Troy picked up his second assist of the game with another handed out to Nick Ward. The Wamps claimed a 12-7 shots advantage in the period.

Third period: Marshfield upped its pressure in the offensize zone, but were unable to crack Wamps netminder Dan Murphy. Murphy made 20 saves in the shutout.

Analysis: Marshfield wasn't able to sustain pressure in Braintree's defensive zone throughout. Once Braintree takes a lead, as has become the custom under David Fasano, the Wamps become increasingly hard to play against, clogging up the neutral zone in a 1-2-2 and collapsing down low when set in the defensize zone. Murphy wasn't tested all that often, but when he was he was ready. Wamps all-star defenseman Conor Fenton (3-9-12) was his usual self, playing aggresively and mixing it up physically often drawing the assingment of shutting down the Rams' top line of Mike Carbone, Chris Perry and Connor McLean.

DANVERS, Mass. -- If there's any doubt about East Boston head coach Malcolm Smith's ability to utilize his resources, let tonight's result against St. John's Prep stand as Exhibit A -- and close the case shut.

Dressing just nine players, and without starting forwards Kenny Ramos and Kwandell Bush due to a violation of team rules -- certainly not the first time he's disciplined a key player, nor the last -- the Jets turned in one of their most inspired defensive first halves of the regular season. They held the host Eagles to just 16 points in the first two quarters, then staved off a furious fourth-quarter rally to win, 58-52.

"With this team, it's a bunch of guys that, hey, they just want to do it," Smith said. "They want to do it for their hometown, they want to do it for where they come from. I told them going into tonight's game that, listen, we've got to play this like we're in Dorchester House in the preseason fall league.

"I said fellas, you know, we're undermanned and we've always had some adversity, whether it's dressing five there or seven there, so you've got to take that mentality there. And we always play hard, but you've got to bring it in here a little bit more structured and disciplined, and that's what they did."

The Jets (12-4) dominated the first half, forcing a slew of turnovers with dogged backcourt pressure and sideline traps to make up for their lack of scoring ability at the offensive end. They took a 24-16 lead into the break, and led as much as 41-24 with under three minutes to go in the third quarter before the Eagles (10-6) mounted an impressive rally.

Down 43-32 to start the final frame, Prep cut the lead to 47-45 when Mike Carbone came up with a strip steal at halfcourt and heaved a lob to Steve Haladyna (31 points, eight rebounds), picking up a foul in the process. He missed the free throw, but capped a perfect 5-for-5 start from the field for the quarter with the lay-in.

At the other end, Eastie broke through some intense Prep backcourt pressure to convert some key field goal attempts down the stretch, none bigger than a dunk by Will March (16 points) with under a minute to go. With the Eagles gambling big time in moving their 2-3 zone high up in the halfcourt and converging on guard Pat Santos in the backcourt, he was able to get the ball over the top to a wide open March underneath and make it 57-49.

Freshman point guard Marcos Echevarria hit a three-pointer to close it to 57-52 with 31 seconds left, and fouled Santos to send him to the line and push the lead back out to six. But on the ensuing possession Freddy Shove missed a driving layup with 14 ticks to go, and three bodies converged on the loose board for a jump ball, and Eastie possession.

Helping out: The Jets were most impressive defensively in pressuring the backcourt, and providing help on the perimeter. Anybody who has watched Eastie over the years knows an aggressive press defense is its source of pride, and for the first 16 minutes an array of guards made life difficult for whoever took the ball in, harrassing them from the baseline to over halfcourt. From there, players like Zack Gattereau, Travon Moore, Ian Jones, Andre Senior and Kyle Fox were able to lend a hand.

In the halfcourt, the Prep is traditionally a tough out for its surgery running the motion offense -- a scheme that, by nature, is difficult to gameplan for. But whenever Connolly called for a pick-and-roll, an Eastie defender was usually in proper place on the help side to take a good angle and try to pick the ball off.

Those two areas led to a number of turnovers, both forced and unforced, including 11 total team steals.

"We worked on that yesterday," Smith said of the pick-and-roll defense. "And I don't really think it settled in. But you know, in the pre-game today, [I told them] 'Fellas listen, on their pick-and-rolls we've got to play it NBA-style'. They liked that, and I just thought it was phenomenal today.

"Ain't much I had to do with it, but we worked on it yesterday and it didn't really go that well. But today they communicated exceptionally well on it, they were able to hedge on everything else."

DANVERS, Mass. -- It was one of those games where you could tell early on that it was going to come down to the wire.

Both teams made runs at various points in the games, and answered back when their opponent made theirs. Ultimately, it was No. 2 Catholic Memorial that came out on top 56-55 over No. 16 St. John’s Prep Tuesday night.

It was a rematch between between two Catholic Conference foes who met Jan. 13. Catholic Memorial took home the 89-64 victory.

Prep came out strong, determined to show the teams’ first game was a fluke, and was helped by CM’s early shot selection. While CM coach Denis Tobin was clamoring for ball movement and involving players in the post, his team was settling for perimeter shots that were not falling.

After calling a timeout, his team appeared to settle down and closed the gap on Prep. The Knights’ full-court press flummoxed the Prep offense, forcing them into making errant passes and into turnovers. At the end of the first, CM held a 13-12 lead.

“I have super athletes who can really really harass the ball,” said Tobin. “Then I have (Dan) Powers (15 points) and (Matt) Droney (17 points) who have played four years in the system and really know where to rotate to when the ball is in the air.

"So you take Chris Siggers, Aamahne Santos (11 points), and Armani Reeves (4 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals) pressuring the ball and you have two 1,000 scorer veterans who know where the pass is most likely going to go. Then you have big Gerard Adams in the back if they do happen to break it, so it can be pretty effective.”

The two teams battled back and forth for the remainder of the first half, with no team ever taking a lead of more than four points.

Catholic Memorial took a 25-21 lead into the half, but came out in the third and quickly stretched its lead to nine. As was the case all night, Prep answered back and cut the score to 37-33 heading into the fourth.

Again sticking to the theme of the game, CM started the quarter strong and brought the lead back up to 9 points behind two three-pointers by Powers and Droney. This time, it took Prep a few minutes longer to answer back.

With 2:23 left in the game, CM took a 52-41 lead. After only scoring one basket over the next minute and 45 seconds, Owen Marchetti hit two quick three-pointers to make it 53-50. Because it was so late in the game, Prep was forced into foul-mode, which put Droney at the free-throw line.

It was a spot the newest member of CM's 1,000-point club had been in before. He sank both free throws, making it a two-possession game with about 15 seconds to go.

As the final seconds ticked down, Marchetti heaved the ball from just over halfcourt. It banked off the backboard and went in as time expired, allowing CM to come away with the one-point victory.

“Those free throws at the end mattered a lot,” said Tobin. “We didn’t make all of them, but we made the front ends of one-and-ones with a lot of pressure on. The kids stepped up and did a great job at the line and that just goes to show you that the game isn’t over until the horn goes off.”

Kinks in the press break: In an attempt to beat the CM press, Prep employed Isaiah Robinson in the center of the floor, flanked by Steve Haladyna and Freddy Shove. The idea was to facilitate quick side-to-side ball movement with the three veteran players, preventing the defense from collapsing on one player, while Prep moved the ball over halfcourt.

That was not always the case, however. On multiple occasions Tuesday night, Robinson had the ball in his hands with a light defensive presence around him. Because he is not normally relied on to dribble the basketball much on offense, he committed more than one traveling violation.

On other possessions, the ball pressure from Siggers, Santos, and Reeves was so immense that they were either able to steal the ball or jump in front of Prep’s passes, allowing them to take the ball the other way.

“We weren’t really looking to go back to him (Isaiah) and I think guys were a little timid and not attacking and being aggressive, so they went back to him,” said Prep coach Sean Connolly. “They forced us into a lot of turnovers , and that hurt with (Mike) Carbone out too. He’s another guy that could make better decisions with the ball.”

Carbone sidelined: Carbone, a normal Prep starter, was dressed in street clothes for the game as the result of a concussion. He has been out of action for about a week and a half. This put Drex Costello into the starting lineup and rely on his bench to increase its production.

“Mike’s our best shooter so defenses don’t extend out as much,” said Connolly. “When he’s out, we have other guys who aren’t as consistent shooting the ball so the defense can pack it in a little more. That hurts us I think, especially when we have Isaiah and Haladyna trying to post up.”

Battling the boards: Although it did not come away with the victory, Prep flexed its muscles on the boards the whole game. Two of its players had double-doubles (Haladyna -- 22 points, 12 rebounds; Robinson -- 12 points, 15 rebounds) and a third with double-digit rebounds (Shove, with 15). The leading Knights rebounder was Armani Reeves with 6.

“Overall, we defended and we rebounded, that’s what we were looking to do,” said Connolly. “We haven’t been doing those two things, so I was fairly pleased with that.”

Connolly feels that if he can duplicate that production and get his whole team back and healthy, it could make a run as the end of the season approaches.

“Only if we rebound and defense like we did tonight,” he said. “Those are the two things that have been a glaring weakness. We’ve been stressing those, and I think the kids responded. Obviously our offensive execution was not very good, so to beat teams like this we have to get better on the offensi

FALMOUTH, Mass. -- When 18th-ranked Falmouth and No. 16 Marshfield met back on Jan. 7 at Hobomock Arena, Rams’ goaltender Kyle Moran stood on his head to help his team to a 1-1 draw that night against the Clippers. On Saturday night the clubs renewed their rivalry at the Falmouth Ice Arena, and Moran and his team left town with their heads spinning.

Dating back to Dec. 29 Moran had limited the opposition to just a single goal in eight of the nine games that the Rams had played. He gave up just two in the other, as Marshfield went 8-0-1 during that stretch.

On Saturday night Falmouth scored 3 times in the first 9:38 of the game en route to a 7-1 shellacking of the Atlantic Coast League leaders. Brothers Justin and Ben Taylor each had 2 goals in the game as the Clippers improved to 9-2-3 overall on the season (6-1-2 ACL) and qualified for the MIAA tournament in the process. Marshfield fell to 10-2-1 (6-1-1 ACL) on year.

Both teams seemed fired up when the puck dropped, but the Clippers had a little extra hop in their steps. After suffering a disappointing 4-2 loss to Dennis-Yarmouth earlier in the week, which may have cost them a chance to wave the ACL championship banner at season’s end, head coach Buddy Ferreira responded by giving them the day off on Thursday. That extra day of rest seemed to work wonders as the Clippers played with endless energy for 45 minutes.

FHS lit the lamp for the first of many times just 3:29 into the game. Center Nicky Lineaweaver let one fly from the slot that missed wildly to Moran’s left and careened into the corner. The quick forward chased his own miss and was the first one there. He sent it back to the point for linemate Travis Howe, who ripped a slapper that never left the ice and beat Moran to the near side for a 1-0 lead.

Lineaweaver’s effort on the play summed up how the Clippers played all night. “They just wanted it more than us, plain and simple,” Marshfield head coach Dan Connolly said. “That’s the bottom line. Kyle Moran probably wants a few of those back, but they kicked the crap out of us, bottom line. They wanted it a heck of a lot more than our kids. They won every battle, our kids were just playing slap hockey with the puck…we played terrible and they made us pay.”

Less than four minutes later Falmouth doubled its lead on one of those shots that Moran certainly would like to have a do-over on. Falmouth senior defenseman Justin Taylor won the puck outside the blue line and turned toward the goal and just let one rip from about 60 feet out that caught the goalie napping and sneaked through the 5-hole to make it 2-0.

Junior Durham Ghelfi added a power play goal for the Clippers about two minutes later, burying a rebound of a Trevor Theroux shot and the Rams were reeling.

Falmouth skipper Buddy Ferreira, who is in year 31 of his coaching tenure at Falmouth, said that his team’s all-out effort was a pleasant happenstance. “I’m totally surprised, for two reasons. One, to do that to Marshfield, and two, this is what makes you come back as a Coach every year. People say coaching makes you old, no it keeps you young because kids just do different things. This is a totally different team.”

Ferreira’s troops showed no complacency the rest of the way with the lead. Sophomore goalie Cody Garcia robbed Joe Admirand with a swipe of the glove at the 2 minute mark and then later stopped a penalty shot awarded to Chris Perry. Garcia came out to attack the shooter on the penalty shot, forcing his backhand bid wide.

After the Clippers’ goalie bailed them out with a couple big stops they rewarded him by padding his cushion with a pair late in the second period to open up a 5-0 lead before MHS got a late one to make it 5-1.

Theroux set up Ben Taylor with a brilliant diagonal feed that the freshman buried to make it 4-0 at 9:45 and then, just 48 seconds later, the Clippers got a shorthanded goal from Storm Fotiu, who blocked a shot and was off to the races, beating Moran with a pretty move.

Marshfield got on the board at 11:16 when Trevor Salmon buried a Kevin McDougall rebound. They almost got another in the last minute, on a laser from Mike Carbone, but Garcia deflected the shot and then swept his glove behind his back to bat it to the boards before it could cross the goal line. There was a controversy over whether or not the puck had actually crossed the line, but Connolly said it was a moot point.

“Unless it counted for six it didn’t really matter,” he said.

The Taylor brothers finished off the scoring in the third period, chasing Moran from the game. Older brother Justin got his second of the night when he intercepted a clear-out by the Rams and walked in to undress Moran at the 3:32 mark. A minute later younger brother Ben tipped in a rebound of a Cody Murray slapper to make it 7-1.

“Today, we got back to playing the way we were the last time we played Marshfield,” Ferreira said.

LAWRENCE, Mass. -- Last season's two meetings between Central Catholic and St. John's Prep -- once late in the regular season, and again in the Division 1 North semifinals a few weeks later -- can be summed up in short as epic. The two games, both wins for Prep, were decided by just five points total, and featured last-minute heroics from ESPN Boston Mr. Basketball and Notre Dame freshman Pat Connaughton.

So what to say of this, then, an 80-56 win over the Eagles that was polished from start to finish? The Raiders (11-0) never trailed in this one, and strung together runs of 12-3 and 9-0 in the second and third quarters, respectively, to maintain control throughout.

"It feels great," said senior Luis Puello, a major player in both of last year's battles, who came off the bench tonight in recovering from an ankle injury. "There's not a better feeling than that, you know. They come to our house, and we beat them by however much we beat them. But they're a good team, you know, we're going to face them again [next month, in Central's host tournament], and we've just got to bring it again."

Prep (9-2) cut Central's lead to 25-20 midway through the second quarter on a three-pointer from the corner by Freddy Shove, but the Raiders answered with a Nick Cambio (16 points, eight rebounds) three from the opposite corner, off a Joel Berroa kickout pass, that made it 30-23. After Central head coach Rick Nault was called for a technical foul, Lucas Hammel finished off the 12-3 run with a steal in the open court and breakaway layup.

Central led 37-24 at the half, and the Eagles never came within eight the rest of the way.

"That was probably our best 32 minutes of basketball all season," Nault said. "We lost to these guys twice last year, they ended our season. And since March now, we've talked about that feeling we had in the locker room last March, and it stuck with these guys. They were pretty fired up all week, and it showed tonight in terms of their energy and effort."

The junior Berroa poured in a double-double (18 points, 11 rebounds) in the winning cause, while Hammel and Tyler Nelson added 11 points each. Prep was led in scoring by Mike Carbone (17 points) and Steve Haladyna (10).

Cambio climbing: After earning some hype with a strong summer campaign, it has been a breakout season for the sophomore Cambio to say the least. The 6-foot-5 forward had some crucial minutes in the Raiders' 69-67 overtime thriller over Lawrence last weekend, totaling 16 points and 12 rebounds.

This afternoon, it was more of the same for the stretch four-man. In the second quarter, he kick-started the 12-3 run with a baseline three off a kickout pass from Berroa. In the third quarter, he sparked another run with a momentous two-handed slam that made it 53-36, taking a diagonal pass from Berroa across the paint and gathering just under the left block.

On the next trip down, Cambio hit a three from the left corner off a kickout pass from Nelson, before closing out the third quarter with a dagger three from the opposite corner, just before the buzzer sounded.

"I like that penetration," Cambio said of his affinity for playing close to the baseline. "Then I kick right out, when I can either step out and get the three or go in for the layup with a dunk. I like that."

Said Puello, "I've liked Cambio since the beginning. He was always in the gym in the summer, and seeing his development has been great. It's an asset to the team, it's good. As long as he's playing well, we're all playing well."

Easing back into it: Since Puello went down with a high ankle sprain in the first minute of the Greater Lawrence Christmas Tournament semifinals last month, the Raiders coaching staff have erred on the side of caution. After all, the Raiders have a rough next month of a schedule that starts next weekend with Rhode Island powerhouse Bishop Hendricken and continues with rematches against Lowell, Andover, Lawrence and Prep. The Raiders are going to need a fully-healthy Puello come February; with the 6-foot-1 senior's relentless marking defense, the Raiders are one of the state's toughest outs.

Puello cringed from the sidelines as he was held out of games against Andover, Lawrence (twice) and Springfield Cathedral (at the Hoophall Classic in Springfield), but knows it's for the best interest of both him and the team. This afternoon's performance, though, had to be encouraging.

Coming off the bench, Puello first entered the game with 1:39 left in the first quarter and immediately got to work. On one of his first possessions, an Eagles inbound play, Puello hip-checked Shove out of bounds as he came around the baseline on a backdoor cut, eventually leading to an out-of-bounds violation. At the other end, Hammel hit a layup that extended the lead to 19-13. The next trip down, Puello notched a steal in the open floor.

"He's just so active, and his athleticism alone makes plays for him," Nault said. "You could still see he's rusty, he's hobbling a little bit, and I think it's affecting him more on the offensive end than the defensive end. When we get him back full-speed, I think defensively we're going to be pretty tough."

Puello

"It's a process," Puello said. "But little by little, we'll get healthy and I'll get back to where I need to be."

Matt Kinchla will be replaying the shot in his mind for a while and each time he’s going to ask himself the same question, “how did he make that save?”

The villain in the Falmouth High forward’s recollections will be Marshfield High goaltender Kyle Moran, whose glove stop midway through the second period of Saturday night’s game at the Hobomock Arena drew oohs and aahs from the crowd, and probably a fair share of cuss words on the Clippers’ bench.

Thanks to that stop, and several other worthy of his personal highlight reel, Moran helped the ninth-ranked Rams escape with a 1-1 draw against 20th-ranked Falmouth in a showdown for first place in the Atlantic Coast League.

Marshfield is now 5-1-1 overall, and 3-0-1 in the ACL. Falmouth has the same league record and is 6-1-2 for the campaign.

“It was a great save. He really bailed us out today, their goalie played great too, but Kyle was the story,” Marshfield head coach Dan Connolly said.

Falmouth bench boss Buddy Ferreira said that the stop was the difference in the game.

“Their goalie made a huge, huge big-time save that otherwise we walk out of the building with a 2-1 win."

Moran’s robbery on Kinchla came with 8:14 to play in the second period, with the Clippers attacking on a power play and looking to double its slim lead. Defenseman Joe Meloni spied the forward sneaking down the right wing side all alone and rifled a backdoor pass that Kinchla swiped at for the near post. Moran (21 saves) lunged back to his left and snared the puck, which was behind him, out of the air to keep the game a 1-0 contest.

Moran made another great stop four minutes later, this time robbing Ben Taylor. The freshman forward attempted to finish off a 2-on-1 breakaway with Durham Ghelfi, but Moran got his left leg pad down in time to kick aside the snipe. He also stoned Storm Fotiu with 3:30 to play, again with the leg pads.

Falmouth keeper Cody Garcia (18 saves) also had a fantastic day in the other net for the Clippers. The sophomore stymied several quality chances by the Rams, including a big one on top scorer Mikey Carbone, who had a point in every game the Rams had played prior to this one, with 1:29 to play in the first period. Carbone broke alone toward the Falmouth net and attempted a cross-over move, but Garcia stopped the bid and then covered up as he was run over by Carbone. Garcia also had a sweet glove save on Chris Perry with 7:22 to play in the game, preserving the tie.

Each goaltender was also the recipient of an assist from his best friend, the pipe. Taylor popped one off the post with 54 seconds to play in the second period. Marshfield defenseman Joe Kiley rung the pipe with just over 7 minutes left in the third.

The only people in the building that were as busy as the keepers were the referees. From the outset it was apparent that the two squads were going to play with playoff-caliber ferocity, and the refs gave their whistles a workout because of it.

“It was a war, it was like watching the Vancouver-Bruins game today, it was the same type of thing,” Connolly said. “I don’t think there was much 5-on-5 in the second period, which took us out of our flow, and it probably took Buddy [Ferreira] and his team out there flow, too. We were getting lines together, and jumbling guys around.”

It was while killing one of four Falmouth power plays in the game that the Rams netted their lone goal of the night.

Connor McLean chased a dump-in behind the Clippers’ net, took on two Falmouth players and won the puck out of a scrum where he was able to center it to Perry in the slot for a quick snap shot that beat Garcia upstairs to knot things up at 1-1 with just 3 seconds left in the second stanza.

“Connor McLean won a battle, then won another battle and put it out front and then Chris Perry was right there to bang it in. It was opportunistic, but it was all the result of hard work of Perry and those boys,” Connolly said.

Perry’s goal was the lone mark against a Falmouth defense that owned the rest of the night. Marshfield clearly wanted to play an up-tempo style, but the Clippers never let them enjoy space in the open ice.

“Defensively we just bottled them up,” Ferreira said. “They tried to spring that forward out of the defensive end all night and our forwards were just right on them. They were physical with them, boy they laid some hits out there…big time hits.”

Falmouth upped the ante on the physical side of the game from the opening drop of the puck and it paid quick dividends. With a hit in the neutral zone Travis Howe jarred the puck away from Marshfield and led a quick 2-on-1 break from the red line. He fed it ahead for Cyrus Wickersham, who rifled a quick wrist shot past Moran for a 1-0 lead just 3:12 into the action.

Falmouth also nearly pulled off a last second miracle of its own at the end of the game. With less than a second to play Nicky Lineaweaver tipped a pass out of the corner by Justin Taylor upstairs on Moran. The keeper’s great night ended with one last Falmouth frustration as he was able to block the puck with his shoulder and cover it up with 0.2 seconds remaining on the game clock.

“They owned us in the first period, we were lucky to be down just 1-0,” Connolly said.

Ferreira admitted that his team’s biggest shortcoming is its lack of a big-time scorer, but the Clippers try to make up for that with hard work, which they certainly did against Marshfield. The coach left town quite satisfied with what he got from the maroon and white.

“Outside of 3 seconds, we walk out with a win. I’m not upset. That was a good performance, 3 lines, 4 defensemen and solid goaltending against a team that could be a Super-8 team,” Ferreira said. “We don’t have a lot of snipers. Could we win or come out with a tie against a team where we outplayed somebody but just couldn’t bury it? Tonight we showed that we could, and that’s a good sign.”

Connolly and his Rams were just happy to get out of the game without losing a share of first place in the league standings.

“They’re very good, so getting a point out of this was good. We were hoping to get two [points] in our home building, but we were lucky to get one, we were,” Connolly admitted. “So we take that out of the game, that we did earn a point. We did [dodge a bullet]. They out-played us, they definitely deserved the two (points) tonight, I thought. Our kids played hard, they got better as the game went on, but they dominated the first for sure.”

DORCHESTER, Mass. -- Maybe the most effective way to slow down No. 1 St. John’s Prep is to play a zone defense, because that is what No. 9 BC High did Tuesday night, and came away with a 53-47 victory.

When Prep’s crisp ball movement was giving the BC High (4-2) defense fits early in the first quarter, BC High coach Bill Loughnane called a timeout.

From that point, his team played a zone defense that double-teamed the Prep (5-1)perimeter players whenever they caught the ball in the corner. This left a player open for a cross-court pass. When Prep tried those, the passes were in the air for so long it allowed BC High to rotate back to that side of the floor. To combat the defensive rotations, the Prep player would try to quickly throw the ball inside to either Isaiah Robinson or Owen Marchetti in the post.

There, they were often met by either BC High’s Justin Roberts, Oderah Obukwelu, or Pete Timmins, who had 8 blocks between the three of them.

“Their zone and their length really bothered us,” said Prep coach Sean Connolly. “We had trouble finishing in and around the hoop because they’re so long. We didn’t do a very good job reversing it against their zone. I thought BC High did a very good job of keeping us to one side and not being able to get ball reversals.”

Prep fell down 43-33 midway through the fourth quarter, but they would not go away quietly. After a Mike Carbone 3-pointer and a Steve Haladyna and-one, the lead was quickly cut down.

It a 45-42 game with one minute left, but Prep could not seem to get that basket they needed to tie the game up. With time running out, Connolly called out for his players to foul to stop the clock.

That put the game in the hands Jameilen Jones and Charles Collins at the free throw line. Jones was a perfect 4-of-4 in the final minute, while Collins was 3-of-4.

While the two appeared poised at the line and ultimately put the game away, the same could not be said for the BC High sideline.

“We were very happy to his those free throws, believe me,” said Loughnane. “We were biting our nails on the bench hoping they would go in.”

Regardless of how unsettling it may have been down the stretch, Loughnane felt it was a good win for his team.

“I thought they played better than us this game, but I thought one of the things we had to show was that we could play with a team such as St. John’s,” he said. “It’s just competing every play and finishing every play, and I thought, after a shaky start, that our guys did a nice job getting on that.”

Prep poor from the line: One aspect of the game that did not help Prep’s at all was their ineffectiveness from the free throw line. As a team, they were 10-of-22. Another problem was their inability to hit from beyond the 3-point arc. Sharpshooters Freddy Shove, Haladyna (15 points), and Carbone (eight) hit only five 3-pointers all game. Shove in particular had a quiet game. He had only one field goal in the game and was 2-of-7 from the free throw line.

“As a team, we were settling for way too many 3’s instead of attacking more,” said Connolly. “But you have to give BC High credit. They did a very good job. We didn’t shoot it well from the free-throw line, but that wasn’t really the issue. I think they out toughed us and they deserved to win tonight.”

“The biggest key for us defensively was keeping them off the free-throw line,” said Jameilen Jones (16 points). “Because Coach told us prior to that, they went 35-of-38 from the line [last week, against New Mission]. So we didn’t want them to get to the free-throw line.”

Swarming D: BC High’s defensive effort was one that other teams around the MIAA ought to take notice of. It had eight steals and 12 blocks, which helped set the tone throughout the game.

“We have to take advantage [of the teams’ height difference],” said Jones. “They were definitely confident coming into the game and ready to go. We play really aggressive defense and Justin [Roberts] and Oderah [Obukwelu] have great chemistry, so down in the post, they’re fine.”

The game-defining block came in the last minute of play. With Prep trying to close the deficit, Haladyna took a pass in the left corner and attempted to launch a 3-pointer. Seeing this, Obukwelu leaked out and jumped up just in time to block the shot and sent it out of bounds preserving the lead.

Ambitious schedule paying off: BC High might have two losses on the season, but it knows its best basketball is ahead of it. Especially when those two losses are against an undefeated team (Acton-Boxborough) and a one-loss team (Charlestown).

“We’re definitely confident, beating a No. 1 team,” said Jones. “I don’t think we’re going to go forward being nervous or anything like that. We’ve played pretty good teams coming up to this, so we should be fine.”

CHELSEA, Mass. -- With just over five minutes remaining in last night's Class A Division title game of the BABC Holiday Classic, St. John's Prep star Steve Haladyna was forced to the bench for a moment when one of the referees noticed a tiny red stain on his No. 21 jersey.

Sean Lovett quickly hopped off the bench, pulled his own No. 24 jersey over his head and tossed it to his teammate, who had to wait through several possessions before a whistle allowed him to re-enter.

No matter what number Haladyna wore on his back, the Tufts-bound senior did plenty of damage, lighting up Bishop Guertin for 30 points and 13 rebounds as the third-ranked Eagles blew past the Cardinals for an 80-63 victory Thursday night at Chelsea High School.

"We thought we could get by them in the lanes and drive and make plays in the paint," Haladyna said. "We wanted to spread it out, run our motion offense, get in the lanes and make plays."

Four of those boards came off the offensive glass during the first half, and the Prep (5-0) grabbed 10 offensive rebounds in all.

"He’s a very good offensive rebounder, probably one of the best around," said SJP coach Sean Connolly in praise of Haladyna. "He keeps a lot of shots alive and gives us second and third chances. Its just huge having a kid like that, who’s been around for four years and knows what to expect in big games."

The Prep's Mike Carbone and Bishop Guertin's Joe McCarthy threatened to turn the first 16 minutes into a 3-point shooting contest. McCarthy scored 24 of his 30 points in the first half and hit six threes in the game to keep things close early on.

But it was Carbone's hot shooting that allowed the Eagles to open things up in the second quarter. After a McCarthy three put the Cardinals (4-1) within three points (23-20), Carbone drilled a pair of trifectas during a 17-7 spurt from which Guertin was never able to recover.

"Carbone’s been shooting really well the last week or so and he got some open looks," Connolly said. "The game was up and down, it wasn’t really great defensively either way but we shot very well today. There's something about this gym. We’ve shot very well the last couple of days."

Added Haladyna, "Mike was getting his threes because we were doing a good job of getting into the lane, kicking to him, and he was knocking those shots down. Mike’s been great for us all season."

The Cardinals managed to get the deficit back to 10 after back to back threes by McCarthy and Cooper Paul closed out the third and a bucket by Jeff Lunn (19 points) opened the fourth, but the Prep immediately squashed any hopes of a comeback thanks to a high-intensity full court press that forced four straight turnovers during a 10-2 run.

That one 3-pointer by McCarthy was only field goal of the second half, as the Eagles adjusted to him defensively.

"In the first half, we didn’t do a good job of switching out on screens on him and we gave him too much room," Connolly explained. "He’s too good of a shooter. In the second half we tried to face guard him a little more and not help off of him. Try and make him make plays going by us instead of on open threes."

CHELSEA, Mass. -- St. John's Prep head coach Sean Connolly was reminded of his team's 18-2 run to start the nightcap of Tuesday's slate of games at the BABC Holiday Classic, and offered some pointed praise.

"We've been disappointed with our defense early on in the season, and we came out and played a lot better defense today," he said following his Eagles' 69-60 win over the Titans, which puts them in Thursday's finals. The Eagles also beat New Mission in the opening round of the "Class A" division last year's BABC tournament.

Down the other end, New Mission head coach Cory McCarthy was reminded of the start, and offered one of his trademark long, exaggerated groans.

"They kept five guys in the paint, and they dared us to shoot the ball," he said. "And the problem was, we couldn't stretch the floor."

Losing one of their leading scorers Percio Gomez (18 points per game) for disciplinary reasons, and playing star forward Isshiah Coleman for less than 20 minutes due to foul trouble, didn't help matters. But it was domination on both ends of the floor to start the game for Prep (4-0), which opened the game in a sagging man-to-man defense aimed at filling the lanes to force perimeter shots from the Titans (3-1) and taking away dribble-drive penetration.

When the Titans did try to go inside, the Eagles were usually in proper position for drawing contact and using aggression against them; three charges were called on Mission in the opening stanza.

"We were scared of them penetrating, so we really wanted to get the help defense in, and make them have to beat us from the outside," Connolly said. "We did a good of helping up, and stepping in and taking charges."

It was very efficient to start, as the Eagles led 18-2 after one quarter and 37-22 at the break. Mission stormed back in the fourth quarter with a 15-5 run, cutting the Eagles' lead to 56-53 on a Leroy Hamilton (16 points) layup from the baseline with 3:51 to go. But the Prep was particularly efficient in free throws in the fourth quarter to ice it, with the Eagles hitting 15 of 16 from the line -- including a perfect 8 of 8 by Owen Marchetti (12 points).

For the game, the Prep was a very respectable 35 of 38 from the free throw line.

"Our team shot pretty good from the line," said senior guard Mike Carbone, who led all scorers with 18 points. "I don't know how many we missed, but that was definitely our best game from the line."

Senior Steve Haladyna had yet another double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Freddy Shove also had 11 points and six boards.

Rinse and repeat: As impressive as the Eagles' game-opening defensive stand was, they were also just as efficient in breaking the Titans' 2-2-1 full court press. Over and over again, the Prep ballhandler would push the ball up one sideline to halfcourt and heave it down court towards the opposite sideline as a second trapping defender approached.

"We wanted to throw it over the top," Connolly said. "We'd seen them before, and thought they really overextended those two back guys, so we wanted to try to beat it over the top. We felt dribbling through it wasn't a good option for us, we wanted to pass over it."

McCarthy admitted his players were "a little undisciplined" in their press, "because we were too anxious."

"Usually, our idea of our pressure is to challenge the ballhandler," he said. "We backed up. We were just so inexperienced, that we'd be looking at the score as we were running back on defense. The score concerned us so much today. But you know, it happens. We're talented, but we can't be on a pedestal because we have a lot of growing pains to do."

Carbone steps it up: Connolly praised Carbone's effort the last few games, after getting off on a shoddy start to the season.

While not incredible, consider tonight a spin in the positive direction. The spunky 5-foot-8 senior came out firing, with a little bit of his customary swagger, and was 3-of-5 from three-point range, his only field goals of the night (he was 3 of 9 from the field overall). From the free throw line, he was a perfect 9 for 9.

"I haven't been shooting the ball that well lately, and it's gotten to my head," Carbone said. "In practice, I've been focusing on my shot more than anything else I've done. I don't know, it's just the adrenaline, you know? I got into it."

Fab Froshies: One of the most intriguing subplots of this game was the matchup between two freshman point guards, Prep's Marcos Echevarria and Mission's Greg Bridges. Both are undersized for their position, but are quick off the dribble and demonstrate maturity and an overall even keel when it comes to shot selection and distribution.

When the Titans mounted their comeback in the second half, it was Bridges that kick-started it. The 5-foot-5 waterbug notched six assists in the third quarter alone, and eight overall for the game. Echevarria won't be lighting up the score sheet on many nights, what with the Eagles' four seniors' abilities, but he showed a good understanding of Connolly's motion offense, and initiated ball movement.

"I thought their kid played well, he didn't turn the ball over," McCarthy said of Echevarria.

As for Bridges, McCarthy continued, "He has to learn to force the action a little bit, because even as a freshman he makes good decisions. He could do that [six assists in third quarter] all the time. He's still a freshman, still a young boy, so I think what ended up happening is he didn't try to do too much when I wanted him to do more.

"It's scary to say that of a freshman, but he's so talented that he should do a lot more. He should look for his shot, look for the action, and I know that's crazy to say about a freshman but he should force the action. He has to be involved, and he wasn't involved the way he should have."

HINGHAM, Mass. -- No. 5 Marshfield won the Division 1 state hockey title last season and the Rams are looking to take the leap to the Super 8 level and compete with the very best in Massachusetts.

Hingham gave Marshfield a sample of what that might be like on Monday.

The No. 9 Harbormen posted three goals in the first 1:13 of the third period in a flurry of offensive power to take a 5-1 lead en route to a 6-2 victory over the previously unbeaten Rams in the nightcap of the Ed Taylor Holiday Tournament doubleheader at Pilgrim Ice Arena.

Dual senior captains Matt Hughes and James Gordon provided the third period barrage with a pair of goals apiece, with Hughes scoring bookend goals and Gordon sandwiching in two of his own in the four-goal barrage.

“Great effort by both [Hughes and Gordon] of them and Ryan Linehan, all three of our captains contributed and they scored five of the six goals,” Hingham head coach Tony Messina said. “The first two periods, we had equal pressure and were just fortunate enough to get some 2-on-1s and some breaks there. We only scored four goals in the first three games, so it’s not like we were putting the puck in the net so it was good to get a chance to do that.”

Despite controlling the puck for most of the first two periods of play, Hingham (2-2-0) found themselves clinging to a slim 2-1 lead after two periods.

At 10:15 of the first, Matt Brazel went to the backhand off a pass in front from Sam D’Antuono to finally beat Marshfield’s netminder Kevin Moran, who played extremely well in net with 15 saves in spite of the final score, to help Hingham break the scoreless tie.

Right out of the gates of the second period, Hughes filled the right slot and fired a mid-air pass to Linehan off the left post and Linehan slapped the puck out of the air for the quick 2-0 lead 33 seconds into the second stanza.

But Marshfield made things interesting, as Mike Carbone scored his third goal of the season in as many games at 9:35 of the second period off a scrum out in front of the crease. Brennan Quackenbush was credited with the assist and Carbone’s goal cut the Rams’ deficit in half heading into the decisive third period.

“I mean we have size, but we just weren’t playing the way we are supposed to,” Marshfield head coach Dan Connolly said. “We have to play better, not a little better, a lot better and honestly we were lucky to still be in it after two periods. Hingham just wanted it more.”

Hughes’ first tally was 20 seconds into the period right off the opening faceoff on a quick tip-in out in front of the crease. Gordon immediately followed with his two tallies at 13:59 and 13:47 of the third on back-to-back goals, and the rout was sealed.

The Harbormen outshot the Rams 11-1 in the first 7:20 of the third and were on cruise control the rest of the way with a final 21-15 shot advantage.

Even though the season has barely kicked off, Connolly was hoping this was a litmus test of sorts for his squad to take the next step on the ladder and compete for a Super 8 title as Hingham has been to the big dance nine out of the last 10 seasons.

“We are not even close to being ready to compete at this level and the gap there is so big,” Connolly said. “Unless our kids change things around and start listening to what we need to do, we are in some trouble.”

NO. 18 WEYMOUTH SKATES PAST DUXBURY
In the opener, Tom Goodwin netted the game-winner with 2:08 remaining in regulation as Weymouth edged Duxbury 2-1 in the opener of the Taylor Holiday Tournament at Pilgrim Arena.

Weymouth (1-1-2) picked up their first win on the young season and advance to the tourney finals to face the host Hingham on Thursday night at 8 p.m. Duxbury will face Marshfield in the consolation tilt at 6 p.m.

“I thought we battled pretty good, got some pucks to the net, but we have a lot of new guys here and lost some size due to graduation, but I think we will get better and better as the year goes along," Green Dragons head coach John Blake said. “We have to keep in the back of our minds that we are young, we play a very tough nonleague schedule, but we do that to find out where we are at and what we need to work on.”

After a scoreless first period, Duxbury (1-3-1) took the lead at 6:48 of the second as Cam Daley put the puck in the back of the net but the lead vanished as Joe Flanagan tied it up only 1:29 later as the Duxbury defense couldn’t clear the zone.

NHL PEDIGREE
Kevin Stevens, former Bruin and 15-year veteran of the NHL also with the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, and Philadelphia Flyers, was in attendance to watch his son, freshman Luke Stevens, compete for ice time with the Duxbury Dragons.

Stevens, who played his high school hockey at Silver Lake and is now a pro scout in the New England area for the Penguins, likes the way Coach Blake handles the rotations on the ice and knows it will only take time for his son to adjust.

“I like how [Blake] works the young kids in and it seems like he does a really good job but this is only my first year with the Duxbury program,” said the four-time NHL All-Star and two-time Stanley Cup Champion. “The biggest thing with any of these programs is finding the balance to mix in the younger kids with the older kids and my kid is only 14 years old competing with 17-year olds, and [Luke]’s played at a high level all his life, but this year will be different.”

PEMBROKE, Mass. -- Goaltender Kyle Moran was a key factor in Marshfield's run to a Division 1 state ice hockey championship last season. Moran helped to lead the Rams to their first state title since 2006, with a 3-2 comeback win over Wakefield.

With the Rams entering the season ranked eighth in our preseason Top 25 poll, the senior netminder and his Marshfield teammates have their sights set on the Super 8 tournament.

We caught with Moran after a recent practice at the Hobomock Arena:

Q: How does last year’s state title win affect the team’s goals for this season?

A: “We know that we’re coming in with a target on our backs. We’re alright with that. We kind of like having that ‘world is out to get us’ feeling. That’s only going to make us want to work harder. I think the confidence level is really high. We just need to make sure that we don’t get too cocky. For the most part, I think the whole aspect of having a hangover from the state championship, it’s overrated. We don’t have that. We have new kids to bring along into the team and we’re just ready to get going on this season.”

Q: You were a part of the team that recently represented Massachusetts at the Bauer National Invitational Tournament in Minnesota. What does playing in those kinds of national tournaments tell you about the game?

A: “That’s a real good experience. We played against a bunch of great teams like Shattuck-St. Mary’s [Sidney Crosby’s alma mater], that’s one of the best teams I’ve ever seen. That was of the best hockey experiences I’ve ever had. Going into a tournament like that with a lot of the country’s best talent, that’s a great experience.”

Q: Goaltenders are very much a breed of their own. Who do you work with personally to help you with your game?

A: “I work with Brian Eklund. He played with the Tampa Bay Lightning when they won the Stanley Cup. When I got back from prep school last season, I needed to find somebody around in the area. Before, I used to work with Mike Geragosian; he’s the goaltenders coach at BU. I needed to find somebody around the South Shore, so I found Brian and that’s been working out really well.”

Q: What kinds of things were you working on during the offseason?

A: “Lateral movement, I’ve been trying to work on that a lot during the last year. Two of the goals that were scored against me in the state championship, they were backdoor kind of goals. So I’ve been trying to work on my post-to-post movement.”

Q: So, let me get this straight, you won the state title and you’re still thinking about the two goals you let in?

A: “Well, it felt like I had 10 shots against me in that entire game, so they really stuck out more. That was a monkey on my back. That just made is something I want to work on even more. I’ve been trying to play the puck better, too.”

Q: There’s still a lot of hockey to be played, but where are you in your process of looking to play at the next level?

A: “I’ve talked to a couple of juniors coaches, to the Breakers and the Bridgewater Bandits. In terms of colleges, I’ve talked to Curry College, but I’m looking more to playing juniors next year and see if I might be able to get a little more D1 looks.”

Q: What’s the team’s pregame ritual before games?

A: “We all hang out at Mike Carbone’s house. He actually has a rink in his backyard. It’s pretty funny because he loves strapping on the pads and playing goal, and I’ll go up against him.”

Q: I’m sure you hold it over his head when you score on him, right?

A: “I love chirping at the guys when I score on them, or I go out and dangle on them, even as a goalie. I show them I can hang with them.”

MARSHFIELD, Mass. — It’s a question posed to just about every coach in every sport when their team carries an unblemished record this far into a season: Do you lose a meaningless late-season game or go for broke and attempt the undefeated season?

After the Marshfield boys' lacrosse team ran its record to a perfect 18-0 with two games to play thanks to a 12-8 win over Hingham (15-3) on Monday at the Paul Deftus Fields, Rams head coach Rick Bagby was quick to give his answer on the matter.

“People always say would you rather lose one to get the taste in your mouth, no thanks,” said Bagby. “I’ll take it to the last game of the season to Harvard. … We want to try to win every game. I have no interest in losing a game, so we will see.”

It’s easy to see why these balanced Rams have maneuvered their way through the schedule without a scratch on the record. Tyler Martina and John Powers both picked up four-goal games against Hingham, and the goal was well protected by a 17-save performance from Will Contento.

The Rams were out and running the first quarter with transition goals from Martina and Powers. Contento actually sparked the second goal of the game as he ran from his crease all the way to the Hingham net, fired a shot on Derek McInnis (28 saves) and Powers was there to scoop in the rebound.

But the Harbormen were able to slow down the runnin’ Rams and pick apart the defense to take a 5-4 lead going into the half. The Rams were also putting themselves in man-down situations because of over-aggressiveness, so Bagby had to reel in his bunch when the break came.

“We were playing emotionally, not with emotion,” said Bagby. “I said we can’t play this game emotionally. You got to play with emotion, but if you let the emotions take over then you are out of sync. They needed to channel their energy, settle down and play smart.”

Play smart is exactly what they did. Connor Bagby’s hustle in the Harbormen zone led to second possessions for the Rams and they were able to capitalize. Martina tied the game at 5 with 11:19 left to play in the third as he maneuvered his way through the middle to beat McInnis. Tyler Virtue scored his lone goal to give the Rams a lead for good with 10:13 to go and Powers scored two straight to pull away.

“They got on a run and they broke us,” said Hingham head coach John Todd. “That’s the spurt that they needed to kind of knock the wind out of us a little bit. We couldn’t dig back.”

The Harbormen did score the next two goals after the four-goal spurt, but the Rams got two goals from Martina in the fourth and tallies from Matt Entwistle and Mike Carbone to got on a 4-1 run to end the game.

“We just tried to get up quick and see where it took us,” said Martina. “We tried to keep the pressure on them and work their defense.”

Marshfield has tilts against Hanover and Plymouth North this week to try run the regular season to 20-0.

“Our main goal is a state championship against Duxbury,” said Powers. “We want them so bad.”

BOSTON -- To get his teammates pumped up for Sunday's Division I state championship game against Wakefield, Marshfield captain Chris Perry wrote the beginnings of a what would have been an impressive inspirational novel.

One he never got to finish, due to a the serious leg injury he suffered midway through the contest.

No matter. The Rams finished the epic for him, winning in masterful, come from behind fashion, 3-2, before a raucous crowd at TD Garden.

Sophomore Mike Carbone netted the game-winner with 1:31 left in the third period, two minutes after his linemate Connor McLean had tied the score 2-2.

Carbone's goal, a wicked wrister from the right dot, secured the Rams their second ever state crown, and first since 2006.

Carbone said Perry, who suffered a severed femoral artery in his right leg after a collision with Wakefield's John Sartell, was very much on his mind as he scored what proved to be the biggest goal in his life.

“He's my best friend,” said Carbone. “That means a lot. But us winning the state championship has sunk in as much as it will tomorrow. Or a year from now.”
Senior forward Ryan Connors echoed the thought.

“He was my center man,” Connors said. “Since he couldn't be here, we wanted to get the win for him. He wrote a good speech to get us all going in the locker room. He wasn't there to give us another one after the game.”

The Rams held a noticeable edge in play during the scoreless opening period.

Wakefield goalie Joe Cerulo passed the stiffest test of the stanza, when, at 10:31, he reacted to Joe Amirand's 10 foot deflection of Jon Fraser's point shot.

Cerulo, however, had no chance at all on Connors' fluky goal, which opened the scoring just 24 seconds into the second period. Connors was attempting to pass the puck out of the left corner to his younger brother Jimmy. Instead instead, he hit a perfect bank shot off of the leg of Warriors' defender John Sartell, leaving Cerulo (25 saves) with no time to react.

“I got pretty lucky,” said Connors. “We were just doing everything we could to get the puck to the net. It just went our way.”

The mood in the Garden was darkened, when, at 3:38, Perry, the club's top line winger, went down.

Perry was chasing the puck near the red line when he and Sartell collided, throwing Perry into the boards. Perry was inadvertantly gashed by Sartell's skate. After being tended to for about five minutes, was wheeled off, and taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for surgery.

“It looks like he's going to be okay,” said a relieved Dan Connolly, Marshfield's coach, who relied heavily on Perry in all situations. “Up until that play he was our best player. He was unbelievable. He's the catalyst on our team. When our kids saw that, it was like, 'oh, no, what's going to happen now.”



The loss of Perry knocked the Rams off stride, but not for good.

“He's a big player for us,” said senior defenseman Pat Cull. “We knew he wanted it just as bad as we did. We knew we had to do it for him.”

The Warriors knotted the score, 1-1, via Adam Giancola's power play goal, at 11:04.

Giancola cut to the right post, and when Rams goalie Kyle Moran (17 stops) kicked out Brett Buckley's attempt from the left side, Giancola pounced on the rebound and buried it. Giancola tallied again, 31 seconds into the third period, to give Wakefield its only lead, 2-1, after Alec Brown hit him with a nifty cross crease pass.
But with 3:35 left in the third, McLean rerouted Ty Martina's centering feed, to make it 2-2.

Then, with momentum, and inspiration, clearly in the Rams' corner, McLean hit Carbone in full stride with a pass up the right wing.

Carbone took it from there, motoring to within 25 feet before zipping home the winning goal.

“It was a really good shot,” said Cerulo. “I have to give him credit. If I'd been out a few more inches, I would have had that.”

Said Moran, his opposite number, “We knew that ewe had the heart, we'd be able to take it all the way. And we did.”

We've got you covered from the first tip-off to the final buzzer tomorrow at Worcester's DCU Center, home of six MIAA basketball state championships. But for now, to whet your appetite, here's high school editor Brendan Hall's picks for each of the six games.

DIVISION 3 GIRLS: LEE (24-1) VS. ST. MARY'S OF LYNN (23-4)
The Lowdown: In a season of relative unknowns in Division 3, the Wildcats of Lee dominated Western Mass again, albeit to nobody's surprise. Puncutated by wins over Division 1 finalist Amherst and Division 3 juggernaut Sabis (which was averaging nearly 70 points per game before falling in the D3 West final to Lee), the Wildcats are at it again with that famously dogged press of theirs. Always undersized yet always relentless, they blitzed Pentucket a year ago on the DCU floor en route to their sixth state title in 20 years, and could be up to their same old tricks tomorrow morning. St. Mary's, meanwhile, has size all over the place, led by the senior "Twin Towers" of 6-foot-2 center Tori Faieta and 5-foot-11 forward Cassi Amenta. The Spartans beat Lee a month ago, 71-60, in a tournament just before the start of the MIAA playoffs.
Hall's Pick: History says to never take Lee lightly -- no matter what shape or size it comes in. But unfortunately, there is just too much size to be accounted for on St. Mary's side of things. Not that they're unbeatable, but I just think the Spartans will control the glass. St. Mary's, 50-45.

DIVISION 3 BOYS: WHITINSVILLE CHRISTIAN (22-2) VS. WATERTOWN (19-5)
The Lowdown: Another matchup that on paper looks uneven, the Whitinsville Christian Crusaders boast plenty of size behind 6-foot-9 Hans Miersma, who dominated Lenox in Wednesday night's Central/West semifinal. Meanwhile, Watertown's tallest player is 6-foot-3 senior forward Connor Stockdale -- whom head coach Steve Harrington likens to another point guard on the floor -- and Marco Coppola, one of the state's leading scorers with 25 points per game. Whitinsville excels in the 2-3 zone but isn't afraid to quickly drop it and play straight man should they get into early trouble. But this is Harrington's Raiders, which means you're likely to see four things: weakside post, four out, pick and roll, perimeter shots. In other words, don't take the Raiders lightly, especially if they don't try to challenge Miersma immediately at the rim.
Hall's Pick: The tale of the tape favors Whitinsville, just based on the size it wields in the frontcourt. But Steve Harrington is one of the best coaches in New England, and you can guarantee he's going to draw up a hell of a game plan to try and neutralize the size advantage. Whitinsville Christian, 65-64.

DIVISION 2 GIRLS: ARLINGTON CATHOLIC (20-6) VS. MILLBURY (23-1)
The Lowdown: The Arlington Catholic Cougars -- led by Emma Roberson, Nicole Catizone, and sisters Rachel and Maura Buckley -- can be viewed as a green bunch with all of their youth abound. But on Monday night at TD Garden, they pulled off one of the more impressive feats in recent EMass Finals history, clawing back from 18 down with six minutes left in the first half to take a halftime lead over Hopkinton and hold it up. Meanwhile, Millbury has burned opponents in the transition game all season long, beating opponents in the playoffs so far by an average of 16.5 points per game. Out on the break, seniors Julie Frankian (19.1 points, 8.3 rebounds) and Sydney Bloomstein (9.5, 6.1) have been as formidable duo as we've seen in Division 2.
Hall's Pick: Sorry, AC. That was an amazing comeback you pulled over Hopkinton over the Garden. But this is Julie Frankian's moment in the sun. Millbury, 60-48.

DIVISION 2 BOYS: NORTHBRIDGE (20-5) VS. NEW MISSION (21-4)
The Lowdown: Mission was the odds-on favorite in Division 2 headed into the season, and hasn't done a whole lot to convince otherwise. Led by three Northeast-10 ready senior guards in Samir McDaniels, Kachi Nzerem and Darius Davis; as well as Charles Gunter, Leroy Hamilton, and Isshiah Coleman on the blocks; the Titans have begun to find that scoring touch around the rim that was missing for stretches this season. They also like to wear opponents out with a smothering, physical man-to-man defense -- as head coach Cory McCarthy often tells reporters, "The uglier, the better." Good news for the Titans: Northbridge relishes in that style, too. Eight of its players were on the Rams squad that won a Division 2 football Central Mass Super Bowl this past fall, and have brought that aggressive mentality to the floor with forwards (and brothers) Thomas and Harrison Murphy. Also watch out for Corey Pryor, who burned Sabis on Wednesday night with a series of uncontest layups en route to 24 points.
Hall's Pick: Cory McCarthy is known to fill up a reporter's notebook fairly quickly with his endless arsenal of money quotes. But the one that still resonates above the rest is the one he gave our correspondent Adam Kurkjian back in December: "I love these kids. I would do anything for these kids. And I feel like they will eat glass for me." Remember that one if this is close in the waning minutes. Mission, 58-47.

DIVISION 1 GIRLS: ANDOVER (26-1) VS. AMHERST (22-2)
The Lowdown: Amherst, written off the in preseason after the transfer of Mariah Lesure to Tabor Academy, has rolled through Western Mass, and arrives in Worcester after a thrilling overtime defeat of Algonquin in Tuesday's Central/West state semifinal. Much of the Hurricanes' emergence has to do with the maturation of their junior class led by Brianna Leonard (11.1 points), Morbasaw Nkambeo (10.0) and Kristen Ferrola (9.3). The Golden Warriors, meanwhile, were one of several heavy favorites in Division 1 headed into the season, and save a lone regular-season blip to Central Catholic have done nothing to deter that thinking. Much has been made of Andover's Division 1-ready backcourt led by Marist-bound senior Natalie Gomez-Martinez and BC-bound junior Nicole Boudreau, the state's newly-anointed Gatorade Player of the Year. But the Warriors excel on the boards, too, behind junior Ally Fazio and sophomore Devon Caveney.
Hall's Pick: At the risk of jinxing this...should Andover win, I don't think it's out of the realm to think the Warriors have a shot next season at making it the first Division 1 girls three-peat since Haverhill in the mid-90's. Long Live The MVC. Andover, 70-60.

DIVISION 1 BOYS: ST. JOHN'S PREP (24-1) VS. ST. JOHN'S OF SHREWSBURY (21-5)
The Lowdown: After the loss of Ryan Kelley (ACL tear) and stalemate of a Central Final defeat of Fitchburg (40-38), some questioned whether Shrewsbury was ripe for the picking. The Pioneers put an end to that doubt on Wednesday night, handling a talented Northampton squad with physical defense and clutch shooting from Matt Harrington. Head coach Bob Foley is known for his Princeton-ish offense, this year led by forward pivots Matt Palecki and Richard Rodgers, but we've seen the Pioneers transition teams to death in state championships past (Lynn English, 2009, anyone?). This marks the fourth straight D1 final appearance for SJS, while Prep is making its first appearance since 1974. The matchup of the day might be Pat Connaughton versus Rodgers (we'll just assume that's what Prep head coach Sean Connolly will do for now), but the Eagles have prided themselves all year long on the work of their role players. Every game, it's a different kid stepping up, between Steve Haladyna, Freddy Shove, Mike Carbone, Owen Marchetti and Isaiah Robinson.
Hall's Pick: It's going to be a rockfight on the court, and both student sections are going to be rocking out. And I do mean rocking. I literally can't wait. By the way, every high school fan ever, you've got your work cut out for you after Northampton's "Full Metal Jacket" routine the other night at DCU. Prep, 45-41.