Sports 02-15-2018

CHS Roundup

CHS girls track wins CAC crown

With much happiness and joy last Wednesday, the undefeated Chelsea High girls indoor track & field team concluded its indoor season by winning the championship at the Commonwealth Athletic Conference all-league meet.

The Lady Red Devils started off strong, with Amanda Dias taking first place in the two-mile run to score 10 points for Chelsea right off the bat.

Amanda’s championship performance was followed up by Stephanie Simon taking first place in the hurdles, Martine Simon taking first place in the dash, Yarid Deras first place in the mile, Stefanie Rodrigues first place in the 1000, and the 4×400 relay team — made up of Stephanie, Yarid, Jocelyn Poste, and Martine — placing first.

Also adding points to the CHS cause were Karina Avalos, Sandra Tun, Isha Osman, Ana Chang, Awa Bajinka, Vera Martins, Jocelyn Poste, Danali Mejia, Keila De La Cruz, Masireh Ceesay, and Adamaris Perez.

The final tally showed the Lady Red Devils amassing 130 points — handily outdistancing all of their competition — and departing from the field house and running to their bus chanting, “C-A-C champs!”

“This was an amazing way to conclude our season,” said CHS head coach Mark Martineau.

CHS boys track grabs second place at CAC Meet

 The Chelsea High boys indoor track & field team snared second place with a solid effort at last week’s Commonwealth Athletic Conference all-league meet.

The Red Devils opened the meet in fine fashion, with Justin turner, who was undefeated throughout the season, capturing first place in the first event, the two-mile run.

Other first-place finishers for Chelsea were Jose Leclerc in the mile (Jose also was undefeated this year) and Tony Bui in shot put.

Also contributing points to the CHS column on the scoresheet were Limilson Tavares, Alex Pedrero, David Bui, Jazmany Reyes (an amazing  race in the mile to finish in second place), Jesus Matos, Yosef Rubin, Ronny Lopez, and Rigo Flores.

“The boys fought long and hard the entire meet and season,” said CHS coach Mark Martineau. “They gave it their all and they have much to be proud of.”

CHS records set at Last Chance Meet

This past Sunday the CHS boys and girls indoor track & field teams competed in the MSTCA Last Chance meet to solidify state qualifications.

During the meet, several CHS school records were broken.  Leading the way was junior Masireh Ceesay, who broke her own school record in the shot put with a throw of 31′-11.5″. Jocelyn Poste broke her own 600 meter record with a time of 1:48.89.  Capping it off was Martine Simon, who leapt 17′-0″ in the long jump, breaking her own record.

For the boys, Jose Leclerc set the indoor school record in the two mile with a time of 10:29.2.

Both the boys and girls squads will take part in the MIAA Division 2 Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center on February 17.

Bruins Beat

by Bob Morello

Bruins celebrate victory and scoring record

Tuesday’s game had the streaking Calgary Flames looking to extend their three-game winning streak, which included back-to-back wins over the slumping Chicago Blackhawks. Unfortunately for them, they ran into the ‘problem-solver,’ Tuukka Rask. Boston’s goaltender has been consistent versus the Flames, boasting a career record of 4-0-3 with a 1.61 goals-against-average, a save percentage of .940, including a pair of shutouts in those seven games. Game eight was no different as the Bruins rallied back from a 2-1 deficit to score four unanswered goals in a 5-2 win, with three of those scores coming in the third period, a pair from the ‘forever young’ Patrice Bergeron who potted goals number 26 and 27 in the stanza.

Boston continues to roll, having now been victorious in six of their last seven games, and a stunning 20-2-4 line as they trail first place Tampa Bay Lightning by a single point while still holding a pair of games in hand. Bruin Riley Nash contributed goals numbers nine and ten to even the score following Calgary’s fast 2-1 start, to create a 2-2 tie heading into the third period. An exciting game was anticipated from the start as these two clubs, Calgary and Boston, are the two best road teams in the NHL by point percentage. The Bruins rank first with a 16-5-4 record (36 points, 25 games), with Calgary following with a 16-6-5 (37 points, 27 games), record when playing on the road. Boston’s road record will be severely tested as they leave the comfortable confines of TD Garden for two weeks, when they return to play their next home game, Tuesday, February 27, hosting the Carolina Hurricanes.

Sandwiched in between all that, is a West Coast trip that includes stops in Vancouver to take on the Canucks, Saturday 2/17 at 10:00pm; a rematch with Tuesday’s recent opponent, the Calgary Flames, Monday, 2/19, starting a back-to-back schedule, with a 4:00pm matinee; and the final stop of the trip west, to face the disappointing Edmonton Oilers. with superstar Connor McDavid on Tuesday, 2/20. This stretch of three games in four days is preceded by a three-day hiatus with no Bruins games scheduled, followed by yet another three day layoff, while the Bs prepare for another back-to-back series… this time taking on the Toronto Maple Leafs (Saturday, 2/24 at 7:00pm) and right back on the ice to match up with the Buffalo Sabres (Sunday, 2/25 at 5:00pm).

It was a festive night off the ice as well, as the Bruins honored the 11 players from the 1977-78 team who scored 20 goals or more that season, setting a record that will likely never be broken. In attendance, along with their inimitable coach, Don Cherry were: Peter McNab, with 41 goals that season; Terry O’Reilly (29); Bobby Schmautz and Stan Jonathan (27 each); Jean Ratelle and Rick Middleton (25 each); Greg Sheppard (23); Park (22); and Don Marcotte and Bob Miller (20 each). The 40th Anniversary reunion was the idea of Middleton who is presently president of the Bruins Alumni. His idea received the stamp of approval from Bruins president Cam Neely who quickly set the wheels in motion.

While some of the players showed the wear and tear of time on their bodies, complete with limps, a bit of extra weight and more, their stories provided humor in many scenarios, and more important, some great memories. The last player to score 20 goals for the Bruins that season was Medford-born and Billerica-raised Bobby Miller who was then a 21-year-old rookie for the Bruins. The story goes something like this: With Boston leading by a goal 2-1 over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Bruins’ next-to-last game of the season, Toronto’s coach (Roger Neilson) pulled his goaltender for the extra attacker in the final minute of play. An icing call resulted in the drop of the puck in the Toronto end, and coach Neilson for some reason decided to not put his net minder back in goal, leaving a totally empty net. Ironically, Miller took the draw, won it cleanly, and after looking for an uncovered teammate, eventually deposited it in the wide open net himself, for his 20th goal.

After all the stories and recollection were related, the one common denominator for the entire gathering of players from that team was… “We needed each other to succeed and we played that way as a team – and that was the result of our success.” Winger Wayne Cashman was the only Bruins unable to get to Boston for the festivities and the ceremonial drop of the puck prior to Tuesday’s game. A great summation to an exciting and historic event during which these 11 players and their coach will long be remembered!

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