The Everett High boys hockey team presented their fans with some Christmas cheer over the holiday break with a pair of victories to claim the Lynn Christmas Tournament last week.
Both contests were nip and tuck affairs in which the Crimson Tide parlayed stout defense and timely offense to earn the twin triumphs.
In the tourney opener against Northeast Regional Vocational School, Shawn Doyle scored the winning goal with just over a minute to play to give the Tide an exciting 3-2 win. Shawn’s tally gave Everett the lead for the first time all game, as the Tide and Northeast played cat and mouse up to that point.
Northeast took a 1-0 lead, but a marker by Everett’s Cody Nadeau soon knotted matters at 1-1. After Northeast reclaimed its one goal lead to go up 2-1, the Tide responded on a lamplighter by Reardan Sweeney, setting the stage for what eventually would be Doyle’s heroics.
In addition to their goals, the trio of Nadeau, Sweeney, and Doyle also each earned an assist on the night.
However, that contest’s exhilarating conclusion was nothing compared to the dramatics the following night in the tourney championship game against the host Lynn Jets, which is a coop team among Lynn Classical, Lynn English, and Lynn Tech and which plays in the Northeastern Conference.
The teams dueled to a scoreless tie after the regulation three full periods of play, thus necessitating a shootout to determine the tournament champion.
Joe Raymond and a Lynn player each made good on their attempts, but Everett goalie Vin Sottosanti and his Lynn counterpart both stopped their next five opponents.
But after Sottosanti thwarted his sixth straight foe, Nadeau beat the Jet netminder, setting off a scene of jubilation, as the Crimson Tide skaters left the bench en masse and mobbed both Nadeau and Sottosanti.
“It was about as exciting a game as there could be,” said EHS head coach Eric Naumann, whose squad now stands at 3-1-1 on the season. (The Lynn game officially is recorded as a tie for purposes of qualifying for the post-season state tourney.)
The Crimson Tide return to action tonight (Wednesday) at Somerville and then travel to Cambridge Saturday before playing their first home game of the season next Wednesday evening when they will host Medford at 8:00 at Veterans Memorial Rink.
EHS Varsity vs. Alumni game set for January 28
The Everett High boys hockey team will take on their Alumni brethren on Saturday afternoon, January 28, at 3:40, immediately following that day’s Everett-Somerville contest.
All EHS hockey alumni who are interested in lacing up the skates to participate in what should be a fun filled afternoon should contact EHS head coach Alex Naumann at his e-mail address, [email protected].
All proceeds (there is a $40.00 fee for the alumni players) will benefit the Everett High hockey program. The
Girls hoop team falls to Marblehead
Both the flu and injury bugs struck the Everett High girls basketball team with a vengeance this past week, draining the Lady Crimson Tide of three starters for their contest with Marblehead last week.
Backcourt players Taylor Sweeney and Spressa Ramadani both were unable to play because of the flu, which earlier in the week had struck other team members. Then in the third quarter, the other starting Everett guard, Tori Cyrus, sprained her ankle, forcing her from the floor.
“It was tough for us to get into an offensive rhythm without Taylor and Spressa,” said EHS head coach Tammy Turner, whose squad was unable to score in the second quarter, turning what had been a 10-6 contest into a 24-6 affair at the half, a deficit from which the Lady Crimson Tide was unable to recover. “And then when we lost Tori, who is our point guard, it really affected our ability to move the ball around for good shots.”
Everett outscored Marblehead 12-3 in the third frame to close the gap to 27-18, but Cyrus got hurt just before the period ended, leaving the Lady Crimson Tide without either of their senior backcourt captains (the other being Sweeney) to finish out the game.
Although Amanda DeSouza hit for 15 points and the Everett defense played fairly well, the final outcome was a 40-26 defeat to their opponent from the Northeastern Conference.
Turner and her crew were set to be back in action last night (Tuesday), hosting Haverhill and will entertain Lynn Classical tonight (Wednesday). They will be on their home floor next Tuesday when the Lady Crimson Tide take on GBL foe Somerville.