Make it two straight wins for the W-H boys’ hockey team.
After it was knocked out of the Cashman Tournament by Rockland on Monday, Dec. 27, the Panthers bounced back with a shut out win over Rockland, 4-0, in the consolation game Wednesday, which it followed up with a 2-1 victory over Pembroke on Saturday.
“We haven’t had the best start that we wanted,” said W-H head coach Rob Peters. “We had a lot of guys returning and we’d like to be a little better than where we’re at. The Silver Lake game, we just didn’t show up, didn’t have a great game and they answered the bell against Rockland and they answered the bell against Pembroke.”
Senior captain Erik Dean (29 saves) and the Panthers (3-2-1) killed a pair of late power plays to stave off the Titans.
Pembroke got on the board first just 2:40 in with a power-play goal before W-H junior Joe Culley knotted the score at 1-1 with 43.1 seconds remaining in the first period. Sophomore Luke Tropeano and junior Matt Solari picked up the assists.
The trio then hooked up again with 10:37 left in the second when Culley once again took a feed from Tropeano and Solari and flicked it home for his second of the game and a 2-1 Panthers lead.
“We’re getting our game going, we’re getting going in stride,” Peters said. “We’re going to keep moving and keep getting better every day.”
Elsewhere around W-H:
Boys’ basketball (4-2) was in Florida for the Avon Park Tournament. Bob Rodgers’ club tipped off the tourney with a 58-57 victory over Haines City (Florida) on Monday, Dec. 27. Junior Cole Champingie led the way with 15 points, while senior captain Ryan Vallancourt tossed in 13. … On Tuesday, senior Malcolm Alcorn-Crowder registered a double-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as W-H fell to Cypress Creek (Florida), 71-66, in the second round. Vallancourt scored 19 points in the loss. … The Panthers capped their trip on a high note Wednesday with a dominating 68-27 victory over Hardee County. Vallancourt netted a team-high 13 points in the win.
Girls’ basketball (6-0) couldn’t have asked for a better trip to Daytona Beach. On Tuesday, Dec. 28, the Panthers opened the Father Lopez Shootout with a 60-22 win over Episcopal School of Jacksonville (Florida). Senior captain Lauren Dunn drained four triples en route to an 18-point outing to pace W-H. … On Wednesday, all 10 Panthers scored in a 69-41 route of The Master’s Academy (Florida). Senior Anna Stone pumped in a game-high 16 points in the victory. … On Thursday, it was the other Stone twin — captain Meg Stone — who netted 16 points as the Panthers wrapped up their trip down south with a 64-21 win over the host, Father Lopez.
Girls’ hockey (2-3) opened the week with a 3-2 loss to Billerica/Chelmsford on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Senior Caitlin Dilley and junior captain Shea Kelleher each had a goal and an assist. … The co-op bounced back for 5-4 overtime win over Canton on Thursday. Senior Lily Ulvila netted the winner. …. Then on Saturday, Kelleher netted a hat trick, but WH/SL fell to Hanover, 4-3.
Boys’ indoor track on Wednesday, Dec. 29, saw a pair of seniors — Jake Caterer and Nathan Tassey — qualify for the All-State Championship. Caterer did it with a 19-foot-6 long jump, while Tassey posted a time of 10:12.7 in the 2-mile run to qualify.
Girls’ indoor track was also back in action Wednesday, Dec. 29. The highlight? Senior captain Myah Kamperides ran the mile in 5:42.0 to qualify for the All-State Championship. She had already qualified in the 600-meter run and 2-mile run.
Wrestling (6-1) downed Cohasset, 55-24, on Tuesday, Dec. 28. Winners for the Panthers were: freshman Charlie Lussier (106 pounds via pin in 1:19), senior Joe Boss (113; forfeit), sophomore Graham McInnis (120 via pin in 4:29), classmate Austin Gamber (126 via pin in 1:51), junior Aidan Guiliani (132; 2-0), fellow junior Braden Kain (138; 8-0), freshman Cooper Lussier (152 via pin in 1:06), junior Rocco Hanaphy (160 via pin in :42), senior captain Rocco Ruffini (220 via pin in :37) and junior Maddox Colclough (285 via pin in 3:05).
*Express weekly roundups include scores from Sunday to Sunday.