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Boys hoop beats Belmont for 11th straight win
The wins keep on coming for the Winchester High School boys basketball team, which is 12-1 after its most recent victory against visiting Belmont on Tuesday night, Jan. 28, 75-41.
The last time the Red & Black lost a game was on Dec. 20 against Arlington at Waltham, and that was only by two points, 66-64. Since then, they have rattled off 11 in a row.
Prior to Tuesday night’s game against the Marauders, the Red & Black were seeded seventh in the Division 1 power rankings.
The Winchester boys opened up last week with an 87-62 triumph over visiting Watertown on Jan. 21.
“We started the (Watertown) game about as well as you possibly can,” said Coach John Fleming afterwards. “I think we hit our first seven shots, while playing tough defense against their 6-10 big man. I thought Carson (Sarpong) played him really tough one-on-one, and then we had good help on defense to disrupt their offensive flow trying to play through him.”
Alex Casey and Jack Charchaflian paced the offensive attack against Watertown with 22 points apiece. Sarpong had a fine all-around game that produced 11 points, 6 rebounds and 1 block shot. Harrison Burbine chipped in with 10 points.
Last Friday night in Burlington, the Red & Black defeated the home team, 55-45.
“We played from behind almost the entire game,” said Fleming. “Burlington outplayed us for about three and a half quarters. We turned it over too much, took some tough shots and just couldn’t find our flow offensively. But then, Jack (Charchaflian) hit two clutch threes down the stretch to finally give us the lead, when it was all tied up at 42.”
Charchaflian ended up with 30 points to once again lead the attack to go along with nine rebounds. Casey accounted for 13 points and nine rebounds against the Red Devils.
It’s now time for the low down on Belmont, which started off well for the local quintet.
“After having a good first quarter, we slowed down a bit in the second quarter,” said Fleming. “I thought we might be able to extend the lead more, but that didn’t happen until midway through the third.”
The Red & Black did enjoy a 10-point lead at halftime.
“We finally found our groove on both sides of the court (in the third), and in about 90 seconds we went on a 12-0 run to force a timeout,” added Fleming. “Alex Casey then hit a three coming out of the timeout, before (Sarpong) had a great finish, followed by a nice cut and finish by (Charchaflian). Dawson English then had a good putback, and (Casey) capped the run off with a three before another Belmont timeout.
“The ball moved well and the defense turned them over multiple times,” continued the veteran Winchester coach. “From there, it was great to see guys come in and keep us playing well. Michael Ficociello had a few nice finishes. Adam Fiorentino and Harrison Burbine both ended up in double figures off the bench.”
Charchaflian (14), Burbine (12), Casey (12), English (10) and Fiorentino (10) all ended up in double figures to help secure the team’s 11th straight win.
The Red & Black will be looking to avenge that loss to Arlington in late December, when the Spy Ponders come to town on Friday night (Jan. 31) to face red-hot Winchester at 7 p.m. They will then be taking on host Woburn Tuesday night (Feb. 4), before coming home to go up against Lexington next Friday night (Feb. 7). Both contests will also start at 7 p.m.
Confident boys hockey team ranks 12th in Division 1
The Red & Black boys hockey team (7-7) throttled Wakefield last Wednesday night (Jan. 22) in Woburn, 7-1.
Caiden Brady (2), Liam Connelly (1), Axel Osborn (1), Griffin Lynch (1), Joseph Vaccari (1) and Nick Romanos (1) accounted for the goals against the Warriors. Chris McCarthy (2), Max Vozella (1), Gus Gustafson (2), Leo Dagostino (1), Allistair Dattoli (1), Brady (1) and Romanos (1) setup those scores. Graham Emerick was the winning goalie.
“This was an important win for us to get back on track,” said Coach Gino Khachadourian. “We had previously lost our last five games, and needed to get back in the win column. It was nice to spread the puck around and score some goals. Wakefield played a tough game against us, and as a result we had to earn every part of that game.”
Two days later, the Winchester boys doubled up the Watertown/Wayland co-op, 6-3.
Brady (3), Vozzella (1), Jonnie Garmey (1) and Jack Burkhart (1) lit the lamp. McCarthy (3), Brady (1), Vozella (2), Thomas Casey (2), Greg Winn (1) and Eli Krogmeier (1) were credited with the assists. Emerick was once again between the pipes.
“This was another tough game that we had to play our best to come out with a win,” said Khachadourian. “Watertown/Wayland played a structured game against us, but fortunately we were able to capitalize on our chances. We were able to play with speed, while attacking the offensive zone that led to a strong third period.”
The Red & Black then began this week in Arlington against non-league Hingham on Sunday night (Jan. 26), where they lost, 5-3.
Dayton Ogden (1), Lynch (1) and Vozzella (1) were credited with the goals, while Casey (2), Vozella (1), Brady (1), Romanos (1) and Jonnie Garmey (1) chipped in with the assists. Maclin O’Flynn was in net for this game.
“This was a first-round game of the Ed Burns Memorial Tournament against the number 2-ranked team in Division 1,” said Khachadourian. “We played Hingham a few weeks ago (also a 5-3 loss), so we were able to identify what we needed to get better at in order to come out with a win. Unfortunately, we made too many mistakes in this game, which led directly to Hingham goals.
“We played hard and gave a full effort, but were unable to capitalize on our special teams,” he added. “This was another good test for us against one of the best teams in the state, but we also know when we play our best we can compete with anyone.”
While the Harbormen are ranked second, Winchester is seeded 12th, as of Jan. 28.
“There is still a lot of hockey to be played between now and the final bracket release (in late February), and we know we are a good team and can compete against anyone in the state when we play the right way,” Khachadourian said.
The Winchester boys are now getting ready to play Belmont Friday (Jan. 31) at Watertown’s Ryan Arena, starting at 7:50 p.m. On Sunday (Feb. 2), they will be at the Chelmsford Forum to go up against Concord-Carlisle at 3:30 p.m., before returning to Woburn’s O’Brien Rink to face Arlington on Wednesday (Feb. 5) at 7 p.m.
Girls hockey skates past Burlington
The Red & White girls hockey team (6-6-1) lost a close encounter to Winthrop in Woburn last Saturday (Jan. 25), 3-2.
“It was a pretty physical game, and I felt a lot of the penalties were unnecessary,” said Coach Tommy Scarpa. “Those penalties definitely disrupted the flow of the game. We battled back from a two-goal deficit to tie the game after pulling the goalie late for an extra skater. The results were not what we wanted, but I was still super proud just the same, because we played a very good game.”
Amelia Corvi and Lulu Murphy netted the Winchester goals.
Prior to the Winthrop game, the Winchester girls defeated Wakefield, 5-1 on Jan. 22, also in Woburn.
The team got off to a slow start, and as a result trailed, 1-0.
“But I wasn’t worried, because we had control of the play up until that point,” said Scarpa. ‘We were just waiting to break it open; it was only a matter of time.”
The Winchester seniors were honored before this game on Senior Night, and the team then gave the seniors something to remember with a 5-1 victory.
Senior Claire Zhang appropriately started in net. But freshman Riley Pimentel eventually came in for her. She made six quality saves in the third to help preserve the wide margin of difference.
Ashley Goodrich, Junie McCabe, Clare McCabe, Sonia Carnes and Lulu Murphy lit the lamp for the victors.
Two days earlier on Jan. 20, the team lost a 3-1 decision to non-league St Mary’s of Lynn.
“This game was as good as advertised,” said Scarpa. “It was hard fought, with neither team giving an inch. We got on the board first on a goal by Junie McCabe, but then had a small letdown at the beginning of the second period that resulted in two quick goals by St. Mary’s.”
Zhang, playing net in this game, was the reason why the game was so close, according to Scarpa.
As of Jan. 28, the Red & Black are seeded 19th in the Division 1 power rankings, and Scarpa is still confident that they just might have a long postseason.
“We can beat anyone if we stick to our strengths, and (go all-out) on every shift,” the coach said.
Winchester just faced Burlington Wednesday night (Jan. 29), and came away with a 3-1 victory.
Once again, the team came out sluggish, but it played a little bit better in the second period, even though still not up to its potential, according to Scarpa.
The third period turned out to be the team’s best, according to Scarpa, and it was where freshman Grace Monihan netted her first high school goal.
“She was due, because she works very hard,” said the coach. “But thank God for Claire Zhang in net. She turned away 27 shots – some that should have been in the back of the net – to help us preserve the two points. She has been giving us chances to win in every game that she plays in.”
The Winchester girls will now take on Belmont Saturday night (Feb. 1) at Watertown’s Ryan Arena, starting at 6:20 p.m. They will then be back in Woburn Wednesday night (Feb. 5) to face Arlington at 5 p.m., before going up against Woburn on Saturday (Feb. 8) at noon.
