During winter sports season, most teams have their eye on a potential playoff spot.
In many sports, the postseason criteria is essentially for a team to win more than they lose, although there are some exceptions and loopholes that allow teams tournament spots. Here is a look at how the basketball and hockey teams did this season and where they stand for postseason contention.
The girls’ hockey co-op with Whitman-Hanson has been strong all season. At 13-3-3 through 13 games, they not only made the playoffs, but will likely have a high seed and be a strong postseason competitor. After all, that is what happens when a team averages more than five goals per game and lets up about two. In that time frame, senior forward Melanie McAleer, senior forward Hannah Tracy and freshman forward Alyssa Murphy combined for 65 goals and 72 assists.
At 12-8, the boys’ basketball team has battled all season through a tough Patriot League schedule. A strong offensive-minded team, they are typically led by Cam Keefe and Rob Ventola on the attack. Perhaps momentum will give the Lakers a postseason push. They finished they regular season by winning two of their last three games.
On Monday, the boys’ hockey team (5-14-1) clinched a Division 3 South playoff spot, helping round out the playoff bracket. Last week, they picked up back-to-back wins and throughout the season, they have not relied too heavily upon one particular scorer. Sophomore forward Alex Heffernan leads the team with 10 goals, but the team has had 15 different goal scorers this season. On the year though, they have been outscored, 74-48.
Finishing the year at 5-15, the girls’ basketball team missed out on a playoff spot. The Lakers started the year hot, winning four of their first six contests, so the talent is there and it is worth noting they are a young team, so they have time to grow and the potential to grow and excel in the near future.