The Everett High boy hockey team displayed its best offensive showing of the season, lighting the red lamp seven times, but had to hold on for a 7-6 triumph over Cambridge Saturday.
Shawn Doyle set the scoring pace for the Crimson Tide with four goals and two assists. Shawn scored twice in the first period and added single tallies in the second and third frames. Teammate Steven Faia added a pair of markers and also was credited with two assists. Steven Chaves lit the lamp with a slapper from the point.
Everett twice held three goal advantages, 3-0 after the first period and then 7-4 in the third stanza. However, Cambridge refused to fold and battled back each time to stay in the game.
“We played a great game on offense, but not so well on defense,” said EHS head coach Alex Naumann. “Every time that we seemed to be comfortably ahead, we let Cambridge get back into it.”
The triumph marked the second win in the Tide’s last four outings. The other victory was a 2-1 squeaker over Mystic Valley in which Doyle (from Chris Durkin) and Bruno Machado accounted for the Everett tallies. Machado’s goal featured a nice end-to-end rush by the sophomore defenseman which proved to be both the game-winning marker and Bruno’s first career varsity goal.
Everett held a 2-0 advantage entering the third period, but a goal by Mystic Valley early in the frame set the stage for a nail-biter to the end. Mystic Valley pulled its goalie in the waning minutes for a 6-on-5 advantage, but EHS goalie Vin Sotosanti and the Crimson Tide defense weathered MV’s final assault.
Sotosanti turned in a stellar effort in a 3-0 loss to Quincy last Monday on Martin Luther King Day. The senior netminder made 45 saves on the day and in the words of Naumann, “Vinny was immense and kept us in the game.”
A 6-2 defeat to GBL rival Somerville saw Durkin and freshman T.J. McLaughlin light the lamp for Everett.
Naumann and his crew, who now stand at 4-8-1 on the season and who still have a shot at making the state tourney, will host Medford this evening at Allied Veterans Rink and host Salem Saturday afternoon for a 1:20 face off.
“Every game now is like a playoff game for us,” said Naumann.
The annual EHS Alumni game will take place immediately after the Salem contest.
EHS hockey-alumni game is this Saturday
The annual Everett High hockey alumni game is ready to go this Saturday, February 2, at 3:20 at Allied Veterans Rink. This has been a big hit in the past and all EHS alumni are invited back for some fun, nostalgia, and hockey. All interested should contact coach Alex Naumann at 617-763-3532.
The alumni game will follow the Everett vs. Salem high school game, which has a 1:20 face-off.
Girls hoop team drops heartbreaker to Cambridge
Talia Riccioli scored a career-high 21 points, including a clutch three pointer with 19 seconds to play that gave a Everett a 44-43 lead, but the talented freshman’s heroics would prove to be not quite enough as Cambridge scored the game-winning bucket with three seconds on the clock to hand the Lady Crimson Tide a heartbreaking 46-44 loss Friday evening.
The contest was a nip-and-tuck affair all the way, with the teams separated by just two points, 20-18, at the half in Cambridge’s favor. The outcome came down to the waning seconds, with Riccioli draining her trey that put Everett up by a point. The Lady Crimson Tide defended well on Cambridge’s ensuing possession, but a missed shot turned into an offensive rebound and putback for Cambridge on which the Cambridge girl was fouled. Her free throw accounted for the final margin.
“It was a tough loss for us, but it was a game we could have won if we had made our free throws,” said EHS head coach Tammy Turner, who noted that her squad hit on just 6-of-20 from the charity stripe.
In addition to Riccioli’s 21 points, other scorers for the Lady Crimson Tide were Savannah Spinney with six points, followed by Jess Wade with five, Kwanecha Aldridge and Daphnica Nazaire with four apiece, and Yemi Okhihan and Mariana Miranda with two each.
In the Everett girls’ contests the previous week against Medford and Somerville, Spinney hit for double figures with 10 points in the Medford tilt and Miranda struck for a career-high 20 points vs. Somerville.
Turner and her crew were set to take on Malden last night (Tuesday) and will travel to Lynn Classical tomorrow evening. They return home to host Somerville Tuesday night.
Boys, girls track teams compete against Medford
The Everett High boys and girls indoor track teams competed against Medford last week in a meet in which many of the EHS athletes turned in fine performances against their Mustang rivals.
On the boys’ side, winning efforts came from Roberto Aravelo in the 1000 meter run in a time of 3:15.7; Jefrey Perez in the two mile with a run of 11:48.6; and Hieu Vo-Tran in the high jump with a leap of 5-8.
Crimson Tide boys who earned three points for the Everett side of the scoresheet with second place efforts were: Steven Garrity in the 55 meter hurdles in 9.7; Willie Deris in the 55 meter dash in 7.1 and in the high jump with a leap of 5-6; and Henry Maldonado in the 300 meter dash in 41.3.
Adding single points with their third place finishes were: Trevor Freeman in the hurdles in 10.2; Luis Monteiro in the 300 in 41.6; Carlos Duran in the 600 in 1:47.8; and Alex Burgos in the mile in 6:02.4.
For the girls,. Elsbeth Colson was the lone first place finisher, claiming victory in the hurdles in 10.2.
A number of Lady Crimson Tide came turned in fine efforts for second place finishes: Sheryl Steeves in the 600 in 2:11.1; Wendy Ralon in the 1000 in 3:46.4; and Yarina Pineda-Ramirez in the shotput with a toss of 23-4.
Third place points were contributed by Kathy Pham in the 300 in 48.5; Amber Lundberg in the 1000 in 4:19.2; Ashley Mulligan-DeGregorio in the mile; and Linh Vu in the two mile run in 21:12.
“We knew the girls’ meet was going to be very challenging for us and that the boys’ meet was going to come down to points,” said EHS head coach Shelanda Irish. “On the girls’ side, Medford just had more depth than we did. They outscored us in all events except the hurdles, so clearly that made it tough. But our girls put forth a good effort.
“The boys lost by 9.5 points. I really think we should have scored better in some events than what we did,” continued the coach. “On paper, I anticipated us getting more points in the 55 dash, the 600 dash, and a few of our distance races. We didn’t score in the shot put. Those points that we didn’t get eventually added up at the end of the meet and we just didn’t have enough to come out on top. The boys beat Medford last year and it was a close meet, so we knew this was going to be another close meet as well.”
Some of the Crimson Tide athletes will be competing in the Last Chance meet on Sunday at the Reggie Lewis Center at 9:30 a.m. The junior varsity GBL All-League Meet is next Thursday afternoon at Cambridge and the varsity GBL Meet is next Saturday afternoon at the Reggie Lewis Center.
EHS girls hockey team is improving
Although the Everett High girls hockey team came out on the short end of a pair of decisions this past week to King Philip Academy and Marblehead, EHS head coach Erin Reilly said she is pleased with the improvement her younger players have been making as the season progresses.
“We’re starting get contributions from our sophomores and juniors, which has been nice to see,” said Reilly. “Everybody is skating hard and getting better, so we definitely are moving in the right direction.”
In a 6-2 loss at King Philip last Wednesday, the three senior captains accounted for the Everett scoring: Alea Martinelli scored an unassisted goal. She and fellow captain Lauren Mahoney assisted on a goal by the third EHS captain, Gabby Ramunno.
In the 5-2 loss to a strong Marblehead team Saturday, captains Martinelli and Mahoney lit the lamp for the Lady Crimson Tide. Rebecca Westgate and Sabrina Wright assisted on Martinelli’s marker and Martinelli assisted on captain Mahoney’s lamplighter.
EHS netminder Casarra Roderick turned in a superlative effort in goal, making 54 saves. Reilly also praised the performance of senior defenseman Meghan McNeil.
Reilly and her squad will host Beverly, which is in first place in the division, today (Wednesday) at 3:30 at Allied Veterans Rink and then trek to Masconomet Saturday evening.