CHS Roundup
Red Devils fall
to Medford, 43-34
The Chelsea High boys basketball team dropped its first contest of the season, coming out on the short end of a 43-34 decision at Medford, one of Chelsea’s former long-time rivals from the Greater Boston League.
The Red Devils led for most of the way, grabbing an 8-7 lead after one period and a 25–20 advantage at the half which Chelsea extended to as many as nine points in the third period.
However, a turnover that turned into a three-point play for the Mustangs switched the momentum of the contest. Medford soon erased the CHS lead and took control in the fourth period.
Chelsea battled back when Medford moved ahead, but poor foul shooting — the Red Devils missed 14 attempts from the charity stripe on the night — sank their comeback efforts.
“We hd a chance to put the game away in the third period, but we couldn’t hit our free throws,” said CHS head coach Jay Seigal. “This was a very disappointing loss, because it was a game we could have — and should have — won. We did not execute in the fourth period and that led to too many turnovers.”
Steve Lacey topped the CHS scoring chart with 14 points. Chris Torrez added nine points, followed by Malik Bissett with four, Balmeiro Daveiga with three, and Ralphie Otero and Angel Alvarez with two each.
Seigal and his crew, who now stand at 3-1 on the season, were set to take on Melrose last night (Wednesday) in another non-league encounter. They will host Medford in a rematch Monday and then entertain Shawsheen Tech Thursday.
A Successful season
The BHCC men’s soccer team, the Bulldogs, ended another incredible soccer season with a new high. For the first time in its history, the Bulldogs soundly trounced two higher-ranked teams to advance to the third and final game of the NJCAA National Tournament, held November 12-16 at Herkimer Community College in Herkimer, New York.
This is the fourth consecutive year that the Bulldogs have won the Region XXI NJCAA New England championship, beating Roxbury Community College and Holyoke Community College this year to become regional champions for the fifth time on November 1, 2015. Their win placed them among the top eight teams in the nation in their division, and qualified them for the NJCAA National Tournament in Herkimer.
The Bulldogs were unranked during the season and were the clear underdogs going into nationals, seeded eight of eight teams. Their regular season had ended with a record of 14-7. “The only people that believed we could win were the people in the BHCC uniforms,” said Head Coach Scott Benjamin.
Featuring a healthy mix of first-year and veteran players and a high-pressure style of play, the Bulldogs upset the top-seeded team, the #1-ranked Genesee Community College Cougars, who entered the tournament with an undefeated, 19-0 regular season record. In the opening round, Bulldog offensive threat, BHCC sophomore Tevin Reid, scored the first goal for the Bulldogs, his tenth of the season, to even up the score at 1-1 in the first half of the contest. First-year midfielder Eric Marakami scored his fourth goal of the season in the second half to put the Bulldogs up for good.
After taking down #1-ranked Genesee Community College, the Bulldogs set their sights on another group of cougars, the #4-seeded Camden Community College Cougars from New Jersey. The Bulldogs had the majority of possession but Camden played a strong defensive style. The two teams remained deadlocked until the nail-biting 81st minute of the contest, when Bulldog sophomore forward Nuno Pereira scored his second goal in three games, his third of the entire season and the game winner. The goal propelled the Bulldogs to the third round national title game.
From underdogs, the Bulldogs almost became top dogs. The team fought hard in the first half, only allowing one goal by the #3-ranked Nassau County Community College Lions. After having a number of scoring opportunities fall short, the Bulldogs gave up three more goals to the Lions to finish as a NJCAA National Tournament Finalist. The new season—and the Bulldogs’ quest for further dominance—begins August 1, 2016.
Bruins Beat
by Bob Morello
Bruins-Montreal: The NHL Cold War
Tuesday night’s Boston-Ottawa game produced 110 minutes of penalties, and it also produced a 7-3 victory for the Bruins who ended their three-game skid. Despite having lost David Krejci who was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, the Bruins were able to mount a sustained attack good enough for two goals in the first period, one in the second, and finally four goals in the third. Dorchester’s Jimmy Hayes joined the Bruins to start the season, and was off on a slow scoring pace, but he found his groove against Ottawa, scoring his first hat trick, and boosting his goals total to eight. Also finding the back of the net with a pair of goals each, were Patrice Bergeron and Matt Beleskey, as the Bruins hit their season-high for goals.
With their impressive effort and win behind them, the Bruins prepare to renew their rivalry with the Montreal Canadiens on New Year’s Day (Friday at 1:00pm), as they face-off for the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Since their 1924 NHL beginnings, these two teams have met 909 times, with Montreal winning 454 games, and Boston 343, with 103 games tied.
The National Hockey League has produced a lineup for the event that includes musical guest, Montreal-based band Simple Plan. The band will perform the Canadian national anthem, and return to the stage during the second intermission. With over 10 million sales worldwide, the band’s single, “I Don’t Wanna Go To Bed,” featuring Nelly, is currently climbing the global charts. Jordan Smith, season nine winner of “The Voice,” will sing the U.S. national anthem, accompanied by musicians from the Boston Pops. Both anthems will be followed by pilots from the 143rd Airlift Squadron of the Rhode Island National Guard, who will fly a single C-130J plane over Gillette Stadium to celebrate the start of the Winter Classic.
In addition, a color guard made up of members from each of the five military branches, with Greater Boston Junior Bruins’ youth hockey players serving as flag bearers. As previously announced, alternative rock band American Authors and singer/songwriter Nate Ruess, lead vocalist of the indie pop band Fun, will give pre-game and first intermission performances, respectively.
While the temperature at game time will surely be cold, fans can expect both teams to turn up the heat for this highly-contested rivalry, in a game that is highly important in the standings, as the Bruins currently in third place in the Atlantic Division, trail Montreal by a single point (with three games in hand), and first-place Florida by two points (with one game in hand). Eastern Conference standings presently have the B’s in the fifth spot, and a victory in the Winter Classic would vault them over Montreal for fourth place, and could possibly move them into a tie for second place with Florida.