20 - March 18, 2011


Hudson~Litchfield Sports Hudson~Litchfield Sports


Broncos Can’t Pioneer a Victory in Final Four


the number-two seeded Trinity and had their upset streak ended with a 51-36 defeat at the hands of the Pioneers on Tuesday, March 15, in the semifinals of the NHIAA Division I Tournament. The Broncos earned their trip to the final four with upset victories over number-six seeded Merrimack and an overtime victory over the number-three seeded Manchester Memorial, both on the road. “I can’t say enough about the fans and the support they provided during the playoffs. The student body, faculty, and administration eliminated the home-court advantage for our opponents and that was huge,” said Coach Seth Garon. Trinity came out strong, taking an early 10-0 lead with only 2:30 gone in the game. Alvirne settled down and managed to escape with a nine-point deficit (16-7) after one quarter of play. The Broncos had difficulty keeping Trinity off the boards, giving them several second-chance opportunities. Three points was all the Broncos could manage to put on the board in the second quarter, falling behind by 27-10 at the half. “I told these guys, you can go out there and


Caleb Donnelly (#21) launches a late three-pointer in a comeback effort vs. Trinity


by Sue LaRoche The number-11 seeded Alvirne Broncos traveled to the University of New Hampshire to take on


get blown out by 40 points, or you can rally and give them a game,” said Coach Garon. It is quite obvious that they took that to heart. The Broncos were down, but certainly not out. Alvirne played like the team they truly are – a scrappy, hard- working group – as they outscored Trinity 15-4 to whittle the deficit down to six points at the end of three quarters. Jimmy Tomaswick and Caleb Donnelly capitalized on crashing the boards in the third quarter, leading the team with five and six points, respectively. The Broncos held Trinity scoreless until 3:05 remaining in the quarter and allowed the Pioneers only four points in the quarter.


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by Marc Ayotte The Everett Arena in Concord was the host site this year for the


boys’ Division III hockey semifinals. Matched up in the first game on the evening of March 9 were the number-two seeded Alvirne Broncos with a regular season record of 15 wins and three losses, and the Kennett Eagles posting a 13-3-1 mark. Kennett capitalized on numerous Bronco defensive breakdowns in their own zone by scoring four goals over a six-minute span in the first period catapulting them to a 6-3 victory. The Eagle victory assured them a spot in the finals, with a chance to repeat as Division III state champs. The Broncos finished their regular season in fine fashion, winning


seven in a row before a final game road defeat at the hands of Belmont-Gilford. In the quarterfinals, Alvirne faced seventh-seeded Kearsarge Regional. The maroon and white were able to tame the Cougars as goalie Bobby Savoie turned in a shut-out performance, advancing his team to semifinal action. “In the quarters, we played great,” recalled Head Hockey Coach Brian Gould. “Everyone executed to the max; our goaltending was fantastic.” “We’ve watched tapes.


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Talent-wise, I think we have as much a chance as anybody,” Coach Gould continued, with respect to winning the state title. Alvirne started quickly, as they had the game’s first legitimate scoring opportunity just 50 seconds in when Kennett goalie Jonny Parkhurst made a nice glove save with Bronco Trevor Perron looming at the top of the crease for a potential rebound. Seconds later, Alvirne’s junior forward Lee Vandergraaf had an excellent scoring bid from just inside the right face-off circle, which the Kennett netminder handled with a nice positional save. While


Unfortunately, the Broncos could not sustain that level of play in the fourth quarter and the Pioneers started connecting from the field. Trinity outscored Alvirne 20-11 in the final stanza, putting an end to a very successful season for the Broncos. “I couldn’t be more proud of these kids,” said Coach Garon. “They have come to play every day for the last five


Alvirne’s Tyler Livingston (#30) goes up for two as time closes out the Bronco season after a semifinal loss to Trinity


months; they have a lot of heart and you can’t ask for more than that.” Alvirne finished with a regular season record of 9-9, winning six of their last nine games, and made it to the final four for the second time in three years. Leading the way for the Broncos was 1,000- point scorer Caleb Donnelly, who added 14 points to his career total, along with corralling three rebounds and three steals. Tony Beaulieu had six points, five rebounds, and one steal, while Jimmy Tomaswick added six points, three rebounds, and one steal. Jon Baldwin had four points, one rebound, and two steals, and Tyler Livingston had three points, six rebounds, and two steals. Pat Nager contributed a three-pointer and had one steal. The Broncos will be losing six seniors: Caleb Donnelly, Pat Nager, Matt Flynn, Conor Hein, Jon Baldwin, and Tyler MacDonald. “Our senior leadership has been great this year,” explained


Antonio Beaulieu (#32) of Alvirne drives past the hoop trying to avoid having his shot blocked


Coach Garon. “They really embraced the younger guys,” he continued. Coach Garon is looking forward to next season and will have Sean Dunn, Rob Diamond, Tyler Livingston, Britton Doyle, Tony Beaulieu, Jimmy Tomaswick, and Brendon Yoksh returning from this year’s squad.


Seth Aubin (#17) scores on Eagles’ netminder Jonny Parkhurst during Division III semifinal action


Bronco Dan LeBourdais (#14) whistles a shot just outside the left post


fighting off an Alvirne power play, Kennett had their best scoring chance, only to be stopped by Bronco goalie Bobby Savoie, who made a solid blocker save on a streaking Eagle down the right wing. At 6:27 of the top period, Alvirne’s mishandling of pucks and seemingly complacent play in their defensive zone opened the floodgates for the Kennett onslaught. Kevin Murphy registered the first goal of the evening when he rifled a wrist shot, beating Savoie high to the glove side. One minute and 18 seconds later, Kennett’s Nick Massa scored on a rebound off a Savoie left-pad save, making it 2-0. At 11:07 of the period, Murphy, standing in the slot just to the right of Savoie, slid a wrist shot along the ice just past the outstretched skate of the Bronco netminder for his second goal of the game, running the score to 3-0. Just over a minute later at 12:21, Cody Richard skated into the crease uncontested, sneaking one by


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