Hill School boys ice hockey, girls basketball open with wins
The Hill School boys ice hockey team got its 201819 season, and its weekend road trip, off to a flying start by rolling over St. Johns College Prep (Washington, D.C.), 9-1.
The Blues utilized a balanced attack throughout the game, scoring three goals in each period. Owen McLaughlin, Brock Weimer and Ville Wilpola combined for eight goals, with Wilpola and McLaughlin each recording hat tricks.
Weimer got the scoring started for the Blues just over five minutes in. Co-captain Ryan Long, who had four assists on the night, picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and threw a cross ice pass to Carter Page ‘20. Page moved the puck to a streaking Weimer, who beat the Cadets’ goaltender from the top of the left circle. Weimer’s goal started a three-goal in four-minute flurry for the Blues, with Wilpola scoring three minutes later and McLaughlin shortly after.
In the second period, the Blues offense picked up where it left off when Weimer netted his second of the night 1:42 into the period. McLaughlin scored his second and third goals of the evening late in the period, scoring twice on the same shift. The Cadets got on the board late in the period, scoring on a two-man advantage. Wilpola netted a pair of third period goals, sandwiched around the first career goal for Will Schaller.
Max Cichanowicz and Sean Parker split goaltending duties, combining to stop 13 of 14 shots faced.
Girls basketball
HILL SCHOOL 56, PRINCETON DAY 11 >> The Blues rode a strong first quarter and enjoyed scoring from eight different players en route to a lopsided victory over Princeton Day School (PDS) in the first round of the Hill Tournament.
Hill scored 29 points in the first frame, led by senior Olivia Matto, who scored 16 of her game-high 19 points – including a trio of threepointers – in the opening quarter. While Matto was firing from the outside, senior forward Alexa Giacche provided strong play on the inside, scoring 11 of her 13 points in the first half. For the game, Giacche made seven of eight free-throw attempts.
PDS regrouped at halftime, nearly matching Hill’s scoring total for the third quarter. However, the deficit proved too much to overcome.
Hill seniors Qiana Vigo and Luisa Slomp also had strong offensive games as they scored eight points apiece.
With the win, Hill advances to play Masters in the tournament championship game on Saturday at 4:45 p.m. on Hill’s Gillison Court. PDS, meanwhile, will face Cristo Rey in the consolation game at 3 p.m.