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Halifax Barone, Critch reunited at SNHU

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Avoiding the harsh New England winter by starting their season with games in South Carolina and Florida, the Southern New Hampshire University women’s softball team is off to a great start. Much of that can be credited to a pair of Silver Lake alum and Halifax natives.

At the start of the week, SNHU was 10-0 on the season, in part thanks to the effort of sophomore Maddy Barone and also thanks to freshman Emily Critch. At one point, they were both ESPN Boston All-Scholastic high school softball players leading the Lakers to deep playoff runs, but now they have the opportunity to lead a college team to greatness. So far, they have both excelled.

On the mound, Barone has emerged as her school’s ace. Through 10 games, she has made six outings (five starts) and is 5-0 with a miniscule 0.58 ERA. She has also struck out 37 batters in 36 innings pitched.

There are a couple of reasons why Barone’s performance has improved from last year to this year. First of all, she has more experience in college softball but secondly, she has Critch catching her once again. Critch was Barone’s catcher for multiple seasons in high school and they excelled together; Barone threw 10 no-hitters with the Lakers and Critch was her catcher for three seasons.

Since Critch is also the Lakers all-time home run leader, it is no surprise that her bat also earned her a spot in SNHU’s lineup. She has played in eight of the team’s first 10 games and has collected five hits in 22 at-bats while knocking in four runs.

Both Barone and Critch are still underclassmen, so they are bound to keep improving over the next couple of years as they continue playing side-by-side. Certainly, SNHU has to be excited for the future contributions they will receive from both of these former Lakers given not only the success they enjoyed in high school, but also early in their college careers.

SL boys’ hockey falls to Bourne

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The Silver Lake High boys’ hockey team found itself in a slugfest during its second playoff game of the season.

In the end, the Lakers found themselves on the losing side of a 6-4 game at Gallo Ice Arena in the Div. 3 South bracket, putting an end to their season. The Lakers finished the season at 8-12-4.

The Lakers started the game with a goal from David Mariani 7:45 into it. Alex Heffernan was credited with the assist. However, the Lakers were unable to protect that lead; a minute later, Bourne tied things up and at the end of the first period, they put up one more to go up 2-1.

In the second period, each team scored once. Kevin Cardarelli put one up for Silver Lake but the Lakers still trailed 3-2 after two frames. Still, it was anyone’s game–but Bourne pulled away.

There was a span where three goals were scored in 26 seconds early in the final period, and this put Bourne up 5-4. First, Bourne scored with 11:26 left in the game and then came the interesting part about seven minutes later.

Heffernan found the back of the net for the Lakers to make it a one-goal game again. Fast forward just five seconds later and Bourne scored again to protect their lead. After this, Cam Duff scored again for the Lakers on their first rush post-faceoff, helping the team’s hopes stay alive.

Ultimately, the Lakers pulled Alden Maguire out of net with less than two minutes remaining while trying to tie up the game, but they were unable to muster anything and Bourne put the game away with an empty-netter.

The Lakers season might be over, but this performance marked the second year in a row in which they won a playoff game despite being marked the lower seed.

Milbert defends state title as SL competes at states

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Not only did the Silver Lake girls’ swimming team have a state champion this season, but she was able to even outdo her performance from last year.

Last weekend, the Lakers girls competed at the Division 1 state meet at Boston University. Unsurprisingly, another year meant another excellent performance for senior Madison Milbert and the rest of the team.

Milbert’s performance was the one that stood out most, of course. This is because she won the 100 backstroke last season and was able to defend her title. Not only this, but she improved her time. After a 56.99 second win last season, she finished the same event in 56.21 seconds this time around while also improving her performance in another event. She also won the 200 individual medley (2:04.99), adding to her already impressive legacy in the Silver Lake swim program. She will be attending the US Naval Academy in the fall where she will also be swimming at the Division 1 level.

Albeit Milbert is gone after this season, there is a good chance the Lakers have another state champion in the future in Alexa Connors. The sophomore excelled in the state meet as she came up with second place finishes in both the 200 freestyle (1:51.47) and in the 500 freestyle (4:56.31). She still has two more years to grow and develop as a swimmer, so reaching that feat is a definite possibility.

Connors and Milbert were also crucial parts of the team’s 200 medley relay team (1:53.72) which earned a third place finish. Junior Katherine Morrissey and senior Sarah Brockway also provided key legs on the relay team, helping them enjoy that immense success all season long.

Overall, it was a strong outing from the Lakers; they earned a seventh place finish at the state meet, garnering 135 points in total.

SL Wrestling competes at state meet

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The Silver Lake High wrestling team has some of the top wrestlers in their respective division in the state. They earned the opportunity to prove this last weekend, competing at the Division 2 State meet at Milton High School.

In all, the Lakers sent three wrestlers to the meet, an indication of the caliber of wrestlers they have within the program. Even after such a strenuous meet against stiff competition, their season is still alive.

That is because junior Dan Walsh (120) earned a sixth place finish at the meet, so he earned a ticket to the All-State tournament. In all, he went 3-3 during the two-day tournament which was held on Friday and Saturday. His final bout was for the fifth place spot so he would have made it to All-States regardless of the outcome of it.

Walsh was not the only Laker to compete over the course of the weekend either. Senior captain Gavin Hamilton (182) and sophomore Kyler Baur (106) also wrestled over the course of the weekend.

Hamilton came up with a big 9-1 major decision win over a North Andover grappler where he was clearly in control. His opponent’s only point of the match came with 34 seconds remaining on an escape. Plus, his opponent had an injury timeout about 30 seconds into the second period. Ultimately, Hamilton would fall in the consolation round of eight, so he did not advance further in the tournament; Baur dropped his two matches during the state meet.

Earning the right to wrestle at the state meet is a major accomplishment in itself. Seeing how the Lakers had three men wrestling at it–two of which are expected to return next season–they certainly have reason to be confident in the future of their program.

Walsh will compete at All-States this Friday and possibly Saturday at St. John’s Prep in Danvers.

SL gymnastics co-op shines at Patriot League meet

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When they needed to show up and put up the best performance of their season, the Silver Lake High girls’ gymnastics co-op with Pembroke delivered.

Last Friday night, the co-op–dubbed “Pemberlake”–impressed at the Patriot League meet once again this season. They won it for the second straight year as they posted a 136.2 final team score in the meet at Mass Gymnastics Center in Pembroke.

The meet had several standout performances from the co-op. Most notably, Morgan Hackett took home Patriot League MVP as she earned second place in the all-around. Her performance also earned her a ticket to individual states by being one of the top-15 all-around gymnasts in the south section. Patriot League All-Star Tori Newton earned a fourth-place finish in the all-around and also earned a spot in the state meet as she is one of the top vaulters in the area.

Maizie Condon and Katie Kemp were also among those to have strong performances on the day. Condon earned second place on the balance beam while Kemp, who was named a league All-Star on floor, earned second place in that event, scoring an 8.6.

Awards were handed out at the meet and Pemberlake walked away with a few of them. In addition to Hackett’s MVP Award, Tess Bonanno was named a Patriot League scholar-athlete and Hannah Alexanian earned a Patriot League sportsmanship award.

At the start of the season, the co-op was at a disadvantage because Hackett was out with a thumb injury and Kemp got off to a late start to the season, but when the team had them back and healthy, it provided a boost to an already talented squad.

The co-ops individual meets season is over, however, now it is time for their top performers to prepare for the state meet which will be held in early March at a time and location that have yet to be announced.

Silver Lake boys’ hockey gearing up for playoffs

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To start the week, the Silver Lake boys’ hockey team sat at 6-9-3 and for most teams, that would mean they would have to win out the rest of their season to make the playoffs. However, the pressure is off this time for the Lakers as they already earned their playoff spot last week.

The Lakers clinched a playoff spot last week as they shellacked Cardinal Spellman, 13-3, on Monday, Feb. 5. The win gave them a spot in the playoffs via the Sullivan Rule. This rule states that if a team has a .500 or better record against teams in their division or lower, then they will get into the playoffs. This rule also helped the Lakers to a playoff appearance last season, despite the team not enjoying as much success as a whole back then.

Since the Lakers are in Division 3 for hockey–the lowest division–they earned the spot since they were 5-3-1 against teams in their division to start the week. The non-league games have not been an issue for the Lakers, it’s just that they were 2-7-2 against Patriot League competition, most of which features Division 2 teams. If this is any indication, then the Lakers are in a pretty good spot as they gear up for the tournament.

After all, they did dominate Spellman and got freshman Gavin Belliveau his first career varsity win in net. Ryan Sullivan had a team-high three goals while Nick Solari, Bobby Guilford and Dave Marani each chipped in two goals apiece. The other goals of the game went to Alex Heffernan, Andrew Johnson, Sean McNeilly and John Evans. Needless to say, it was the most amount of goals the Lakers have put up this season.

The Lakers next game is a good test for them because they are set to face Sacred Heart of Kingston, a fellow Division 3 team who will likely make it to the playoffs. That one is set for Saturday, Feb. 17 (5:00 p.m. start time).

Boys’ basketball shoots well for big win over Falmouth Clippers

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It did not matter that the Silver Lake High boys’ basketball team got outrebounded by a decent margin. They shot well, so they were able to take down a tough opponent last week.

The Lakers had good touch on Thursday, Feb. 1, when they took on the Falmouth Clippers, who were already qualified for a playoff spot. Even so, this did not stop the Lakers from picking up a 66-57 win on the road.

In the contest, the Lakers got outrebounded 31-21, but they hit 51 percent of their shots including all of their free throws and 50 percent of their 3-point attempts.

This success was evident for the Lakers early in the game as a pair of 3-pointers gave them a 6-0 lead to start the contest and a few minutes into the game, Danny Duggan sank a three and a free throw to give his team a 12-4 lead. Falmouth clawed back, however, and led 18-17 after one quarter.

Early in the second quarter, Nolan Hughes drained a 3-pointer to put the Lakers up 23-20. This gave the Lakers some momentum as Josh Harvey got a block on defense and shortly afterwards, the Lakers went on a 9-0 run propelled by Danny Duggan, Tyler Duggan and Josh Gilbert. At halftime, they led 35-26.

Again, Falmouth was able to close the gap. By the end of the third quarter, they cut the Lakers lead to four points, 47-43.

With the Lakers lead down to two points 51-49, Matthew Bettle up with a key steal to give the Lakers possession and help them add some insurance points. The Lakers were able to do so and a couple of minutes later, Tyler Duggan hit a 3-pointer to give the team a 60-51 lead; he also hit a pair of free throws with 21 seconds in the game to put it out of reach for Falmouth.

The Lakers next game is this Friday, Feb. 9 against Plymouth North at home (6:30 p.m. start time).

Silver Lake boys’ wrestling has bright future in store

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The Silver Lake wrestling team has enjoyed its share of ups and downs this season, but they have still enjoyed plenty of success this season and have a bright future ahead of them.

At the beginning of the month, the Lakers stood at 7-11 in their team meets on the season, but that does discount what they have accomplished this year. Not only do they compete in a tough division, but they have individuals on the team who have enjoyed a great deal of success in competitive tournaments thus far.

A prime example of this would be the team’s 120-pound wrestler Daniel Walsh coming in second at the Cape Cod Invitational tournament and third at the Marshfield Holiday Invitational over Christmas break in December. At the start of the month, he was 27-6 in his matches on the season.

Gavin Hamilton (182) and Kyler Baur (106 and 113), who have been starters all season, are also thriving. Hamilton was 20-11 and Baur was 20-14 this season as of February 1.

The team has also had some freshmen step into big roles such as Scott Snell (106) and Kyle Cipullo (195). Snell was 10-3 on the year and Cipullo was 11-15–showing impressive levels of varsity success for first-year high school wrestlers. Plus, a healthy Kyle Fries has been an asset at the 138-pound weight class during the second half of the season after missing the first half of the year.

The Lakers wrapped up their Patriot League Keenan Division schedule on Wednesday, Jan. 31 with a 51-27 win over Whitman-Hanson. As a result of the win where Baur, Walsh, Hamilton, Cipullo and Will Barkowsky (160) all had pins for the Lakers, the team finished second in their division standings with Duxbury at 3-2 in league matches.

Select Lakers wrestlers will compete in individual tournaments in the coming weeks.

Silver Lake boys hockey continues playing hard

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The Silver Lake High boys’ hockey team continues playing hard against tough competition.

Although the team had a six game winless skid, they snapped it last week with a 5-0 win over North Quincy last week and have kept their competitive season going. At the start of the week, they stood at 4-7-3.

An obstacle faced by the Lakers so far this season has been being on the younger side defensively, but the team certainly is improved in comparison to where they were last year. That time around, they went 5-15-1 during the regular season and made the playoffs via the Sullivan Rule.   

Still, the team does have an asset in its offense. Through 14 games, they had put up a respectable 39 goals despite playing a tough and highly competitive Patriot League schedule.

At the start of the week, sophomore forward Kevin Cardarelli had scored a team-high nine goals and was tied for second on the team with 14 points. Junior forward Alex Heffernan led the team in points with 15 as he had netted eight goals and dished out seven assists. His classmate, fellow forward David Marani (eight goals, six assist) was also among the three players on pace to score more than 10 goals by the end of the season while averaging at least a point per game offensively.

Sophomore Nicholas Solari (four goals, four assists) and junior Andrew Johnson (one goal, seven assists) have also been contributors to the Lakers offense.

Also, in net, senior Alden Maguire has been sharp for the Lakers all season. The team’s captains this season are defensemen John Evans, Liam Kelliher and Nick Iarossi. They are among the nine seniors on the squad this season.

The Lakers next game is this Saturday, Feb. 3 at 5:00 p.m. at Hobomock Ice Arena in Pembroke against Plymouth North.

Boys’ basketball in competitive position compete

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Going up against tough Patriot League competition, the Silver Lake High boys’ basketball team continues playing competitive basketball.

At the start of the week, the Lakers were 4-8 after dropping both of their bouts last week. Even so, they continued playing tough and still have the opportunity to end the season on a strong note down the stretch against some solid competition.

The Lakers have shined on offense throughout the season. Specifically, Tyler Duggan and sophomore Nolan Hughes have been leaders in the team’s scoring effort. Only a sophomore, Hughes is only cracking into his potential now and there is plenty of reason for the Lakers to be optimistic about his rise for the team. After all, he stands tall at 6-foot-4, so that size is a major asset for the team, especially in the paint. 

There is definitely reason to believe the Lakers should play well down the stretch. They have been competitive in just about every game they have played in this season and if a couple of bounces went a couple different ways, they would be sitting at 7-5. This is because they had a tight 2-point loss to Scituate on January 23, lost to Duxbury 50-45 on January 19 and dropped a 55-50 bout to Sandwich on December 27.

Those are certainly teams the Lakers would have a great chance to beat if they have a rematch. In fact, they have a rematch on the road against Duxbury on February 15, so that one is bound to be a nail-biter.

Against Scituate last week, Hughes had three shot blocks while Matthew Bettle had one more. Tyler Duggan, Josh Gilbert and Danny Duggan all showed off their touch from outside range, sinking at least one 3-point shot each.

The Lakers next game is this Friday, Feb. 2 on the road against the Quincy Presidents  at 6:30 p.m.