Maine Hoops advances in YBOA tourney
sports@TimesRecord.Com
04/04/2008
FAIRFIELD — The Maine Hoops 16-and-under girls basketball team recently captured the state championship by winning the Youth Basketball of America State Tournament at Lawrence High School.

The tournament win qualifies the team to play in the YBOA National Championship later this year.

Area athletes on the team are Beth Suggs and Tarra Burr of Bath, Allyson Skillings from Woolwich, Hannah Fenwick of Topsham, Maggie Sabine from Litchfield and Amy Skillings of Dresden, the lattter of whom did not play due to an injury.

Other members of the are Augusta's Mackenzie and Courtney Dufour, Jen Nale (Waterville), Kaitlyn Deering (Sydney), Julie Smith (Brooks) and Stephanie Comstock (Bangor). The team is coached by Warren Skillings.

Maine Hoops 71, Maine Miracles 38
A shift to a four-guard set along with a full-court pressure defense allowed Maine Hoops to force several turnovers to begin the second half and break open a tight game in the championship game.

Maine Hoops outscored the Miracles 25-2 to start the second half with Sabine, Suggs and Fenwick accounting for 45 points.

Smith, Burr, Mackenzie Dufour, Courtney Dufour, Skillings and Comstock led a pressure defense that forced 32 turnovers.

Maine Hoops 54, C. Aroostook All Stars 41
Maine Hoops opened with a win behind 13 points from Sabine.

Burr and Suggs combined for 21 points and 19 rebounds, Skillings dished out six assists and had a strong floor game, and Fenwick, Mackenzie Dufour and Courtney Dufour stood out defensively.

Maine Hoops 57, Precision All Stars 35
A 15-0 run to open the second half allowed Maine Hoops to pull away for the win over a team from Falmouth.

Nale led all scorers with 20 points, while Comstock, Deering, Suggs and Courtney Dufour each scored seven.

Suggs, Fenwick and Sabine combined to pull down 31 rebounds as Maine Hoops controlled the paint. Guards Skillings and Mackenzie Dufour passed the ball well with 11 assists between them.

Maine Hoops 81, Sanford 37
Maine Hoops used a full-court trapping defense to jump out to a 21-0 lead en route to the win.

Sabine led five players into double figures for Maine Hoops with 18 points. Fenwick, Suggs and Burr chipped in 12 points apiece, while Comstock led the way on the defensive end with 14 rebounds.

The win sent Maine Hoops into the semifinals.

Maine Hoops 59, North Stars 50

In a rematch of the 2007 YBOA title game, Maine Hoops erased a 33-25 deficit to move onto the championship game.

Mackenzie Dufour, Smith and Fenwick led the charge to open the second half with a 15-5 run to take a 40-38 lead.

Sabine (18 points), Suggs (12) and Fenwick (12), along with both Dufours, Smith and Skillings, helped Maine Hoops pull away down the stretch.

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JUNIOR HOCKEY: Matured Dunne leads Leafs into nationals
March 25, 2008 6:00 AM

At Wareham High School, Gerard Dunne did a lot of wowing but not a lot of winning. That second part has changed dramatically after the 2005-06 Standard-Times Super Team goaltender has spent the past two winters sharpening his skills in junior hockey.

When Dunne gets the state at 8:20 a.m. today for the Mass. Maple Leafs against the Brooklyn, N.Y., based Metro Fighting Moose in the round-robin C Division opener of the Tier III Junior National Tournament, it'll be an older and wiser puck stopper between the pipes at the New England Sports Center in Marlboro.

"I definitely have matured, reading the play, not always relying on using your reactions, just being smarter out there really," said Dunne, 19, who last year played in the Empire League with Bay State Breakers Junior B team based out of Rockland. Last fall he hooked up with the Maple Leafs and has been part of a successful goaltending tandem, splitting duty with Paul Karus of Wisconsin. Dunne has gone 41-10 with a 3.39 goals-against average and an .880 save percentage.

"Tryouts were just a formality," said Maple Leafs coach Tony DeSilva, who tried to get Dunne on his team in 2006. "From June, it's night and day. His biggest problem was consistency."

"When I saw him two years ago, he was just raw. Now he's added some polish to his game," said goaltending instructor Cap Raeder, a former NHL coach and current pro scout and goalie coach with the San Jose Sharks. "He's great to work with because he's a sponge. He wants to get better."

Dunne played a major role as the Maple Leafs won the Continental Hockey Association championship earlier this month in Pittsburgh. It was the program's fifth title in the past 10 years. He'd like to use this season as a springboard into competition for a spot with a college team in the fall, likely at the Division-III level, though he could return to juniors.

His newfound even-keel approach is something he learned from Raeder and has cultivated while helping the Leafs achieve a 39-1 record in C-level play.

"Every game, we kind of know what to expect from him. He doesn't necessarily have one style," said DeSilva, comparing Dunne to Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas. "That's kind of how Dunnie is. He may not make that standard kick-out save, but he stops the puck. He's had a couple of clunkers, but when you play as many games as we do, you're going to have some clunkers."

After completing round-robin play in the nationals, the Leafs will have played 84 games in 2007-08. To accomplish that with a team built on players who, for the most part, are not available full time, DeSilva has had to rely on contributions from talented part-timers like New Bedford High graduate Andrew Pontes.

Pontes, a Winchendon Academy post-graduate student with eyes on a playing career at UMass Dartmouth, led the Maple Leafs in league-tournament playoff scoring with seven points. He is allowed to participate in the tournaments while on school break.

Nick Smola (21 goals, 31 assists for 52 points in 67 GP) has been DeSilva's most versatile player, and the Dartmouth native produced a goal and an assist in the Leafs' playoff win against Pittsburgh.

"He's kind of like the utility fielder, he can pretty much play forward, pretty much play 'D.' He's kind of like sixth man in basketball," said DeSilva.

While the Leafs' premiere team has enjoyed success for the third straight season, the program's development team, geared for area high school players, called off its season after a poor start. The loss of coach Brian Travers to Bridgewater State has DeSilva searching for a new coach who can immediately take over with the split-season Select squad and, perhaps, eventually replace DeSilva behind the premiere team's bench.

"I'd really like to get that second program back up and running after having to fold it last year for lack of players," said DeSilva. "After going to the nationals, I'm hoping it will inspire some (high school) kids to play."

Dunne may be the Leafs' most inspired player right now, as he's found himself a place to thrive and learn while on the job.

"He's not always the prettiest goalie, but he's very aggressive and competitive. This kid really works hard," said Raeder. "He's still got a ways to go, but he's shown a lot of improvement."

Contact Mick Colageo at

mcolageo@s-t.com

Tier III junior nationals

When: Today-Saturday

Where: New England Sports Center, Marlboro

What: A, B and C-level tournaments over five days on five rinks. Action begins early morning and lasts throughout the day, beginning with three days of round-robin play and continuing with semifinals Saturday and finals Sunday.

Leafs' schedule: 8:20 a.m. today vs. Metro (N.Y.) Fighting Moose; 8:40 a.m. Wednesday vs. Charleston (S.C.) Wolverines; 9:40 a.m. Thursday vs. East Coast Eagles (Raleigh, N.C.).
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Reading writes history; Wins first state title to end public drought
By Steve Kendall  
Monday, March 17, 2008  
 


For the first time in 30 years, a public school is home to the best high school hockey team in the state.

With its 3-0 win over Malden Catholic last night, Reading also did what no other public school has ever done - win the Super Eight tournament. The Rockets are the first public to win the elite tournament in its 18-year history, and the first public to win at the highest level in the state since Hudson captured the 1978 Division 1 state championship.

Reading finishes its amazing season with a 25-1 record, while the Lancers end their best season in recent memory with a 15-6-4 mark.

“This is huge, no doubt about it,” Reading coach Peter Doherty said. “The Catholics had won all 17 years, so to be able to finally bring home a championship for the public schools is unbelievable.”

As it has for the past few years, Reading’s potent first line led the way. Rob Toczylowski scored a pair of goals while Pat Kiley adding a single tally. Along with linemate Michael Lozzi, the trio played (unofficially) approximately 27 of the game’s 45 minutes - including about 10 minutes in the decisive second period. Junior goalie Jeff Wyer was outstanding, turning aside 22 shots for the shutout.

“We didn’t play very well in the first period,” Toczylowski said. “But once we got that first goal, things started going our way. The second goal was a huge lift, and once we got up three goals, we knew we were in great shape.”

The historical significance of the win was not lost on the Wyer, who was outstanding in this year’s tournament after struggling last year as a sophomore as the Rockets went 0-3.

“It was certainly mentioned to us a few times,” Wyer said. “But to actually have done it is unreal. We were proud to be a public school in the final, and now we go down in history as the first public school to win the Super Eight.”

Wyer played a huge role in the win. Often overshadowed during the regular season by Reading’s outstanding offense, Wyer was on top of his game last night. As his team was being outplayed in the opening period, Wyer made three great saves to keep the game scoreless.

“Everyone was talking about (Reading’s) offense, but I was more concerned about the fact they weren’t giving up many goals,” Malden Catholic coach Chris Serino said. “They probably gave up the fewest goals all season, and certainly in the tournament. Their goalie played a great game for them (last night).”

Malden Catholic controlled much of the first period, holding a 9-3 advantage in shots, and had several good scoring opportunities. However, Reading’s Kiley scored the only goal of the period with 3:19 to play, beating Evan Yanovitch along the right wing boards before firing a wrist shot that John Carbonneau got a piece of, but couldn’t stop from crossing the line.

Toczylowski scored a strange goal to open the second, as his dump-in bounced past Carbonneau’s blocker for a 2-0 lead just 12 seconds into the period.

“It wasn’t a very good period overall, but we got a lucky bounce and got the lead,” Doherty said. “The second goal was huge, though it wasn’t pretty, and once we got the third goal, we just concentrated on playing defense.”

The third goal, Toczylowski’s second, came at 6:33 of the second, and was much more aesthetic than his first. Toczylowski took a perfect feed from Lozzi in stride at the MC blue line, skated in about 15 feet along the left wing and fired a wrist shot that beat Carbonneau to make it 3-0.

Laferriere, Foster lead sweep
By Jessica Bloch
Monday, March 17, 2008 - Bangor Daily News

 Bangor's Amy Hackett, L, tries to get position on Marshwood's Sam Goda, right, in the first half of the girl's A/B All Star game at Husson on Saturday. (Bangor Daily News/Michael York) Buy this photo
 Lawrence's Alexa Bernatchez, left, tries to get a hand in front of South Portland's Jessica Aceto during the first half of their game at Husson in Bangor on Saturday.

BANGOR, Maine - Hillary Laferriere and Rachel Foster have more in common than might appear.

Although the two girls basketball all-stars attend high schools that are about 120 miles apart, they’re both senior post players. Laferriere is going to attend the University of New England in Biddeford next fall. That’s one of the options Foster is considering for her basketball future.

And both led their East teams to wins in the Maine McDonald’s Senior All-Star basketball games Saturday morning.

The 6-foot-1 Foster had the only double-double of the two games with 24 points and 13 rebounds in a 70-62 East win over the West in the C-D game, while 5-11 Laferriere scored 18 points to go with eight rebounds as the East beat the West 62-53 in the A-B matchup.

Both East squads had to rally in the first half, but held on for wins.

In the A-B game, the East not only needed to rally in the first half, it also had to stop the West from coming back in the second half.

The key was getting to the free-throw line, especially in the first half. The East hit 12 of its 15 free-throw attempts in the first half and went 27-for-38 overall.

Laferriere was particularly critical late in the game as Lake Region of Naples’ Renee Nicholas made two free throws to cut the East’s lead to two points after taking as much as a 16-point advantage earlier in the second half.

"They were running against us and they had a fast team, but I thought we kept up with it pretty well," Laferriere said.

Nicholas scored 11 of her West-best 17 points after halftime and went 7-for-8 from the free-throw line, all in the second half. Two foul shots with 4:23 left made it 54-52.

Morse of Bath’s Jill Henrikson, a Miss Maine Basketball finalist, stretched things out a bit when she made two free throws. Laferriere, meanwhile, scored the final six points of the game. She went 5-for-9 from the field and 8-for-12 from the foul line.

The West had a 14-4 lead in the first half and later went up 18-10 when the East woke up. Lawrence of Fairfield’s Brogan Liberty drained two free throws and Cony of Augusta’s Rachael Mack, who was crowned Miss Basketball on Friday night, put back a rebound to spark a 12-0 run. The East outscored the West 10-3 in the final 3:34 of the half.

Laferriere may have been the standout Saturday, but she was eager to see players like Mack and Liberty in action.

"I’d always wanted to play with the girls from Lawrence and Cony," she said. "They’re Class A, and you always hear so much about them. I always wanted to have a chance to play with them, and I finally got one."

In the C-D game,Foster’s presence made it tough both offensively and defensively for the West.

Foster has seen plenty of double teams in her day, but the West generally stuck to straight man-to-man defense.

"That’s my strong point, when people play man against me," she said. "It’s fun to have just one person on me, because I can show people what I can do."

The West didn’t get much of a break when Foster was out — Central Aroostook of Mars Hill’s 6-foot Sarah Long played well, finishing with eight points and six rebounds.

"That was the mismatch inside," said Miss Maine Basketball finalist Aarika Ritchie of Lee. "It was a pretty big factor, I think."

Ritchie had a quiet statistical game with just five points, but both of her baskets were big. The West had a 27-23 lead with about 2:30 left in the first half when Ritchie sparked a 9-0 East run as she hit a driving shot. After a free throw by Piscataquis of Guilford’s Jillian Martell, Ritchie drained a 3-pointer off a Long steal to put the East up for good.

"I think we picked it up on defense, kind of forced some turnovers and got into the passing lanes," Ritchie said. "When we got running I think we tired them out at the end of the half."

Ritchie fed Long inside with 10 seconds left for a 32-27 East lead.

The West got 11 points from 5-11 Bailey Davis of Telstar in Bethel and 10 apiece from Madison’s 5-11 Margo Russell and 5-9 Hall-Dale of Farmingdale center Britta Olsen.

Davis and Russell each hit two 3-pointers as the West went 9-for-22 from behind the arc.

Marissa Albert of Fort Kent, who missed part of the regular season with a knee injury, finished with 10 points.

Martell added nine points and five rebounds. Ashland’s Whitney Flint scored all eight of her points in the second half.

"It was fun," Foster said. "It was good to play against the higher level of competition and I like playing the higher level of competition."

jbloch@bangordailynews.net

990-8193

 

Bernier continues to mature

By Kevin Mills , Staff Writer
Saturday, March 8, 2008

LEWISTON - A year ago, Jonathan Bernier not only was trying to shake the rust from his game, but also get rid of the injury that plagued him much of the second half of the year.

Bernier missed much of the final months of the regular season with an ankle injury. He didn't return to the Lewiston Maineiacs' lineup until the final regular season games. By that point, he had to get his game up to snuff in a hurry.

"Last year, I came back at the end of the regular season because of my injury," said the goalie. "I was struggling at the beginning of the playoffs. Now, I'm just trying to be ready for the first game of the playoffs."

Bernier is well above where he was at the end of last season entering the playoffs. Despite losing 2-1 to the St. John's Fog Devils Friday night, Bernier continued his stellar play. He kept the Maineiacs in the game the last two periods and gave life to their comeback hopes.

"It's a team effort, but in the playoffs, everybody's got to upgrade their game," said Bernier. "If everybody does that, I think we have a good shot this year too. I had so much fun last year, I just want to do the same thing as we did last year."

Entering Friday's game, Bernier had been outstanding in his previous five outings. He had gone 4-1 and posted a 1.58 goals against and equally impressive .946 save percentage. His lone loss was a 2-1 decision in New Brunswick.

"I've just tried to be more focused," said Bernier. "Playoffs are coming soon. I've got to bring my game up. The games are so important that I want to try and give us the best shot to win those."

His recent string of games came on the heels of giving up seven goals in a loss at home. It had the Maineiac faithful booing Bernier and chanting for backup Peter Delmas.

"If you look back on my junior career, you always have a bad game in the year like that," said Bernier. "This one was at home. Last year, it was at Moncton. We're human sometimes. It doesn't bounce your way. My job is to stop the puck, and I'm just trying to be more focused."

Bernier made 23 saves in the loss to the Fog Devils Friday. Despite his fine play over the final two periods, St. John's netminder Timo Pielmeier overshadowed Bernier's performance. Pielmeier had 37 saves, 17 in the final period.

"He made some good saves, and he kept his team in the game," said Bernier. "My job is to try to keep my team in the game."

Bernier managed to keep the listless Maineiacs in contention despite giving up two goals in the first period. Both Fog Devil tallies came off turnovers in the defensive zone. After Lewiston lost the puck behind the net, Taylor MacDougall fed the puck out front to a wide open Wes Welcher. Bernier had little time to react or make the stop.

In the final minute of the period, another Lewiston mistake set up an open blast by T. J. Brennan that snuck by Bernier.

"We've just got to come out strong at first," said Bernier. "We were sloppy in the first period. We have to play right off the bat."

Bernier did get some help from his defense and the post in the second. Defender Michael Ward cleared a shot that got past Bernier and was headed into an open net early in the second. Then a Phil Mangan shot had an open right corner but hit the post.

Bernier did make crucial saves in the second to keep the Maineiacs within reach entering the third. He stopped Luke Adam in front for the second time in the period. Then while St. John's was on the power play late in the period, Bernier slid across the crease to make a sprawling save on Jean-Simon Allard.

In the third, Allard found himself on the doorstep all alone with the chance to seal it, but Bernier was there to make the stop and keep Lewiston's comeback hopes alive.

"I think I've been okay," said Bernier. "I'm just trying to be consistent."

Hall-Dale's Terrill adapts to new role quickly
By Gary Hawkins

Brandon Terrill never figured to be a basketball coach, let alone a girls basketball coach.

He played baseball and football at Orono High School, making the Lobster Bowl as a center and tackle his senior year. He was an assistant football coach for four years and thought the game was part of his DNA.

"I always thought I'd be a football coach," he said.

But when the Hall-Dale High School girls varsity job opened up last fall, Terrill said 'what the heck' and applied. It turned out quite well. The Bulldogs finished 14-4 during the regular season and reached the semifinals of the Western Maine Class C tournament where they lost to Waynflete in overtime

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She demands attention, and with very good reason

Gorham's Mia Rapolla's physical presence has made her the focus of each opponent's defense.

By Jenn Menendez  

When she was in elementary school, the phone rang at Mia Rapolla's house, then in a suburb of New Haven, Conn.

The conversation went something like this:

"Mrs. Rapolla? Um, Mia's a little too rough for the girls. I think we're going to have to put her in the boys' league."

That was basketball.

Some 10 years later, not much has changed. Even on the lacrosse field.

Perhaps the most rugged of every skilled lacrosse player in Maine this spring, Gorham's gifted midfielder scored 88 goals through intense traffic, earning her the Portland Press 

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Despite trailing by 13 points in the first half against the unbeaten Bulldogs, the Dragons rally for a playoff win.

By Travis Lazarczyk 

FAIRFIELD - The Brunswick High football team's nickname is the Dragons, but for the second year in a row, the Dragons were the slayers at Keyes Field.

After spotting Lawrence a 13-point lead in the first half, Brunswick's offense rallied and its defense stiffened. The result was a 14-13 victory for the eighth-seeded Dragons over the top-ranked and previously unbeaten Bulldogs in Eastern Class A.

Brunswick (6-3) will play No. 4 Lewiston (7-2) in the semifinals

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Geel picks off two to lead Blue Devils

By Larry Mahoney
BDN Staff 
    
BANGOR — Calais High School righthander Adam Geel tossed an eight-hit complete game.
    
But his two pick-offs were just as important as they choked off a pair of late Penobscot Valley of Howland rallies and gave Calais a 4-3 win in the Eastern Maine Class C title game at Mansfield Stadium Tuesday night.
    
Third-seeded Calais, now 15-3, will take on 17-2 Dirigo of Dixfield in Saturday’s 5 p.m. state title game at Larry Mahaney Diamond on the Saint Joseph’s College campus in Standish.
    
It was Calais’ first Eastern Maine baseball championship since 1992.
    
Fourth seed Penobscot Valley, playing in its first ever Eastern Maine baseball championship game, wound up 13-6.

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MDI keeps Black Raiders’ post duo in check to earn title berth

By Ryan McLaughlin

BANGOR, Maine — Simply put, Mount Desert Island girls basketball coach Brent Barker was not going to let Winslow’s post duo of 6-foot-1 Megan Pelletier and 5-11 Liz Ferry have their way in the post Wednesday night.

The second-ranked Trojans doubled-teamed those two effectively throughout the night, and beat the third-ranked Black Raiders at their own game with a patient offensive attack to post a 32-23 Eastern Maine Class B semifinal victory at the Bangor Auditorium.

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By Justin Pelletier  

LEWISTON — All it took was a little bit of eye contact, and a certain familiarity that comes with playing alongside someone long enough.

In less time than it takes most people to form a complete sentence, Bangor cashed in with a pair of goals at the tail end of a barrage of shots and then hung on against a furious St. Dom's rally in the closing minutes of the game as the Rams skated out of Lewiston with a 3-2 win over the Saints at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

"I was talking with my assistant coach, and he's been at this for 10 years and he can't remember ever beating St. Dom's in this building," Bangor coach Ted Taylor said. "It's been a while. But we've had four good games now, one bad period four games ago, but we've done well the last three."

On this day, Taylor's top pair of players made things happen in a hurry when it mattered most.

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