10 - February 17, 2012 Salem Patriot


by Chris White The Salem High hockey team earned a victory in one of its two games at the Icenter last week. The Blue Devils took an 8-1 blowout victory over Nashua South on Wednesday, February 8, but then fell to Manchester Memorial by the count of 2-1 on Saturday, February 11. The Devils jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a


goal by Connor Lyons (assisted by Mike Downing), just under six minutes to go in the first period. South tied the score, however, netting its first goal with 21 seconds left before heading into the first intermission. Salem’s offense made its presence felt in the second period, as it reeled off five goals in the last 10 minutes of the frame. The period began with a goal by Aaron Hascall (assisted by Downing and Brandon Travaglini), followed by a score off the stick of Matt Barbin (assisted by Ryan Corbett and Tyler Phair).


Also scoring goals in the second period for Salem were Travaglini (assisted by Barbin) and Downing (assisted by Travaglini). Barbin netted his second goal off a Jake Pappalardo assist to put Salem up 6-1 heading into the second


Salem Patriot Blue Devils Thump South, Edged by Memorial


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Salem’s Aaron Hascall (#19) takes a shot on goal as teammates Tyler Phair (#9) and John Longstaffe (#8) help fight for the loose puck


SHS Takes on Timberlane Nicholas Melo nets one on Timberlane On the defense


intermission. The Blue Devils tacked on a couple more


insurance goals in the third period. Phair scored off an assist from Cody Soucy, and then Shane Morin registered a goal off a John Wholley assist to round out Salem’s scoring for the game. Goalie Nick Phair also had 10 saves in the contest for Salem.


After their win over South, the Blue Devils went on to host Memorial and lost by one goal. Memorial took a 1-0 lead in the first period, but Salem countered with a goal by Downing in the second. Salem’s lone goal was assisted by Barbin and Pappalardo.


In the third period, Memorial netted the game- winner with five-and-a-half minutes remaining. Salem goalie A.J. Soucy had 18 saves in the loss. After the loss to Memorial, Salem’s record stands at 7-5-2 in Division 1 and 10-5-2 overall. After hosting Bishop Guertin this past Wednesday, Salem will see its next action at Berlin on Saturday, February 18 at 6 p.m. The Devils will play their final home game of the season against Berlin the following week on Saturday, February 25 at 4:30 p.m.


Captain Jonathan Klecan shoots, while Julio Delgado Romero prepares for a possible rebound


Woodbury Girls Win Class L Basketball Championship


by Chris White The Woodbury Middle School girls’ basketball team clinched the Class L Tri-County League Championship with an upset win over previously undefeated Bedford at Nashua Community


College on Saturday, February 4. The game turned out to be a championship thriller, as Woodbury edged top-seeded Bedford, 50-45, for the title. Trailing 17-7 at the end of the first quarter, Woodbury made a couple defensive adjustments


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and outscored Bedford 13-4 in the second quarter. The adjustments plus Woodbury’s hard work on the defensive end created opportunities for easy transition baskets, as Woodbury cut Bedford’s lead to 21-20 going into the half. Woodbury came out strong in the second half and took a 33-30 lead by the end of the third quarter. The team’s defense continued to play well as it held Bedford to single digits (nine points) for the second straight quarter. In the fourth quarter, Bedford kept the pressure


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on Woodbury and wouldn’t go away easily. However, Woodbury’s players stayed composed and played well down the stretch - taking care of the ball, exploiting favorable match-ups, and executing their roles to the best of their ability. Because of those reasons, Woodbury went on to secure the victory over a team that it was previously beaten by twice this season. “I’m very happy for them,” Woodbury coach Rino Beninati said of his players. “This team had a mental toughness about them this year and it was evident in the championship game. They could have quit when they were down 17-7 at the end of the first quarter, but they persevered and did a good job of taking on their roles.” Madison Borrelli led the Woodbury girls with 27 points in the championship game and was one of three forwards Woodbury looked to down the stretch. The other two players answering the call in the front court were Kelly Lamarre (nine points) and Lexi Longtin (six points). Also scoring for Woodbury in the championship were Allie Sirmaian (five points), Ariana Sullivan (two points), and Erin McCarthy (one point). In order to reach the post-season, Woodbury


achieved an 11-3 regular season record to earn the second seed in the Class L tournament. Woodbury defeated Londonderry 59-36 in a semifinal playoff game at home on Wednesday,


February 1 to advance to the championship game. Borrelli led Woodbury with 16 points in the semifinal, while Lamarre was also in double digits with 13. Longtin (nine points), Sullivan (nine points), Sirmaian (seven points), Allie Kisiel (two points), Allie Adaschik (two points), and Emma White (one point) also contributed to Woodbury’s scoring total. Woodbury’s entire roster includes eighth graders


Allie Adaschik, Allie Kisiel, Allie Sirmaian, Lexi Longtin, Ariana Sullivan, Emma White, Madison Borrelli, Lily Hartman, Erin McCarthy, and Kelly Lamarre; as well as seventh graders Megan Seely and Jill Kolbert. The coaching staff consists of head coach Rino Beninati, and assistants Mark Lacasse and John Marion. This was the second consecutive season


in which Woodbury reached the Class L championship game, and the team has been building up to this point since exiting in the semifinal round in 2010. A few factors pushed the team over the top this season. The first was experience, especially the fact that the team had six returning players this season. “The fact that we had six players that played in


the championship game and got to experience that environment last year was valuable to helping them win that game this year,” Beninati said. The second was the practice quality, as all drill sessions were supervised by the coaching staff. With that, the quality of practices was enhanced and the players were better prepared to face opponents. Finally, the most important attribute was the team unity. The team came together and believed in one another. “Once everyone believed in the team, they realized they could win games,” Beninati said. “Individually, it was a challenge for us to compete, but as a team we were very strong.”


Staff photo by Chris White


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