Clair backstops AC boys in shootout win
It was fitting that Arlington Catholic goaltender Patrick Clair making yet another save was the final action of Wednesday’s MIAA Division 1 quarterfinal between No. 10 Marshfield and the 18th-seeded Cougars.
For the third game in a row, the junior gave AC a chance to knock off a higher seed, denying the Rams time after time as the Cougars prevailed, 3-2, in a shootout in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Gallo Arena in Bourne.
“What can you say? The kid is unbelievable, and to cap it off with a shootout,” AC coach Curt Colarullo said of Clair. “He played a total game all the way through.”
Clair finished north of 40 saves once again, after stealing a 4-2 win over defending champion Pope Francis in the second round Saturday.
Josh Tranchina had the deciding goal in the shootout, scoring in the fourth round. When Clair denied Michael Bekerian, Marshfield’s fourth shooter, it set off a premature celebration.
He regrouped to deny Tommy Carroll on the fifth and final attempt, and the Cougars could celebrate once again.
Arlington Catholic (12-11-1) will face No. 11 Winchester in the semifinals on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Loring Arena in Framingham.
Five seconds after using their timeout and pulling Clair for the extra attacker, the Cougars netted the tying goal as eighth-grader Ayden Giardina pounced on a rebound that had squirted away from Marshfield goalie Kevin Murphy with 1:13 remaining.
Marshfield (18-4-3) dominated the 4-on-4 and 3-on-3 overtime sessions, peppering Clair with 13 shots over the 16 minutes, and that doesn’t include the two shots Michael Bekerian rang off the crossbar.
The Rams took a 2-1 lead with 4:38 left in regulation on the power play when Carroll tipped in a Bekerian one-timer from the point.
Marshfield’s Cam McGettrick and AC’s Jake Pandolfo scored in the first period.
Winchester 4, Catholic Memorial 1
— Backstopped by junior goaltender Aiden Emerick (46 saves), the No. 11 seed Red & Black (15-9-1) followed up a 3-0 regular-season shutout loss to Catholic Memorial Feb. 21 with a timely quarterfinal victory over the third-seeded Knights (15-3-3) at Loring Arena in Framingham.
Winchester earned a semifinal berth opposite No. 18 Arlington Catholic.
“I told the guys as long as we play our system, our style, we can beat anybody in this league,” said Winchester coach Geno Khachadourian. “We stuck to our system, the same way we’ve played all year. Same forecheck, our style.”
Sophomore Luke Sardone found a rebound off a shot by classmate Adam Krogmeier (two assists) for Winchester’s second goal in the second period, then spun to find his own rebound to make it 4-0 in the third. Chris McCarthy’s pass got through into the net early in the third, keeping No. 3 Catholic Memorial at bay.
“We knew with our fans behind us we’d have a different outcome,” said Sardone. “That second goal was big.”
Division 2 State
Tewksbury 7, Auburn 2 — Sophomore Tyler Bourgea recorded a hat trick, scoring shorthanded on his third goal, to lead the top-seeded Redmen (20-3-0) to a dominant quarterfinal victory over the ninthseeded Rockets at O’Brien Rink in Woburn.
The Redmen (20-3-0) will face No. 4 Woburn, a 6-3 winner over No. 5 Newburyport, in the semifinals Saturday at 7 p.m. at Stoneham Arena.
Bourgea increased his season total to 22 goals, alongside senior captains Matt Cooke (1 goal, 2 assists) and Jeremy Insogna (2 goals, 2 assists) on the first line to combine for six of Tewksbury’s seven goals. Woburn 6, Newburyport 3 — Junior Jack Lee and senior Matt Mahoney each scored twice, powering the No. 4 Tanners (15-5-1) to a quarterfinal win over the No. 5 Clippers at O’Brien Arena.
Division 3 State
Marblehead 2, Scituate 1 — Instead of complaining about having to travel to Gallo Arena in Bourne for their quarterfinal matchup against thirdseeded Scituate, the sixth-seeded Magicians made a day of it, riding in style on a coach bus and stopping for a meal on the way down to the Cape.
Most importantly, they jumped on the Sailors quickly with a pair of goals 1:02 apart midway through the first period and held on for a victory that propelled Marblehead (15-9-1) to a semifinal matchup against No. 2 Shawsheen on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Stoneham Arena.
“We knew we could outwork them,” said Marblehead coach Mark Marfione. “Honestly, we knew as soon as they scheduled the game here, we knew that was some [expletive] tactic and we knew we were going to beat them right there because they were trying to have us travel the extra miles.”
Freshman Noah Feingold recorded his first career goal, snapping off a shot from low in the right circle 6:37 into the contest.
Charlie Grenier doubled the lead at 7:39, redirecting a pass from James Mackenzie, who was below the goal line.
Shawsheen 1, Medfield 0 — Liam Milne poked at a rebound, the puck slid into the net, and the No. 2 Rams (22-1-0) held on defensively to defeat the 10th-seeded Warriors and reach the semifinals for the first time since 2009.
Division 4 State
Stoneham 4, Nantucket 1 — Mike Taranto scored twice 66 seconds apart early in the third period to give the 10th-seeded Spartans (11-11-1) a quarterfinal win over the secondseeded Whalers at Gallo Arena in Bourne. Stoneham (11-11-1) will face the No. 6 Hanover/No. 3 Norwell winner in the semifinals on Sunday.
The sophomore made it 2-0 at 1:17 when he had a pass deflect off a Nantucket defenseman and sneak past goaltender Griffin Starr.
Taranto then ripped a wrister past Starr from above the right circle.
Cosmo Ciccarello opened the scoring for Stoneham at 7:49 of the first period, banging in a rebound of a Cam Shinnick shot.
Shinnick (goal, 2 assists) made it 4-0 with 6:29 left in the game, pouncing on a rebound of a Jack Sullivan shot from the right point.
Nantucket (17-5-1) got a goal from Jeremy Jenkinson with 2.9 seconds left.
Dover-Sherborn/Weston 2, Sandwich 1 — Senior forward Max Niit’s goal at 7:08 of the second was the difference in No. 5 Dover-Sherborn/ Weston’s (19-4-0) quarterfinal win over the fourth-seeded Blue Knights (19-5-1) at Stoneham Arena.
Freshman Patrick Benson also scored for D-S/W, and Jack Hughes scored the lone goal for Sandwich.
Despite a third-period power-play opportunity for Sandwich, goaltender Andrew Goldstein stood tall late to send D-S/W to the semifinals, where it will face Winthrop Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Gallo Arena. Winthrop 7, Ashland 0 — Senior Petey Silverman completed a natural hat trick and added three assists for the No. 1 Vikings (18-3-2) in their quarterfinal win over the No. 24 Clockers (6-12-3). Junior goalie Michael Donahue earned the shutout.
Girls
Division 1 State
Malden Catholic 4, Hingham 1 — Behind a hat trick from sophomore Abbie Poole, the No. 4 Lancers (16-3-4) soared past the fifth-seeded Harbormen with four unanswered goals in its decisive quarterfinal triumph at John A. Ryan Arena in Watertown. Malden Catholic will face No. 1 Notre Dame (Hingham) in the semifinals Saturday at 5 p.m. at Gallo Arena in Bourne.
After Caroline Doherty scored in the first for Hingham (18-6-1), Poole replied early in the second on a shot from the point that somehow found its way past Hingham goalie Izzy McGarr. She added another seven minutes later, crashing the net to bury a rebound. She finished it off with three seconds to play in the game, sliding in a shot from in close on the power play.
Notre Dame (Hingham) 2, Peabody 0 — Junior Sarah White scored in the second period assisted by sophomore Devin Moore, and junior Caroline Hartnett added a goal late in the period for the top-ranked Cougars (174-2) in the quarterfinal win against No. 9 Peabody (18-5) at Ryan Arena in Watertown.
Division 2 State
Algonquin 2, Nauset 1 (OT) — Senior left wing Emily Johns scored the winning goal with 4:46 left in overtime, fueling the No. 5 Titans (166-1) to a semifinal matchup against top-seeded Duxbury Saturday at 5 p.m. at Loring Arena in Framingham.
Johns eluded a defender and fired a backhand past the goalie to send her team into a frenzy and eventual mosh pit at The Bog in Kingston. Duxbury 2, Milton 1 — Powered by two goals from junior Zoey Madigan, the No. 1 Dragons (22-3) outlasted Milton in a quarterfinal matchup at The Bog in Kingston.
Madigan scored early in the second and early in the third, off assists from Cammy Holloway and Megan Carney. Sophomore Sabrina Stone responded for the No. 9 Wildcats (195-1) with 3:57 remaining, but defending champion Duxbury found a way to advance to another semifinal.