Sports

JIM’S VIEW: The Effort Was There, But the Scoring Wasn’t for Boys Hockey Home Opener 

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John A. Ryan Arena remains the place to go locally to catch hockey action.  Blink your eyes and one game is over and another begins. On Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. Woburn came to town, coming off a season-opening loss to Wakefield last Saturday. Watertown/Wayland (W/W) found themselves in the same place after losing at Belmont, also on Saturday, 4-1. Two teams therefore eager to get their first win played hard, but Woburn was simply better on this afternoon on the way to a 4-0 victory. Watertown and Wayland continue to rely on one-another in order to field a team, and the collaborative roster for this season is equally split – 11 Raiders and 11 Tanners. It’s a young roster, with one freshman, nine sophomores, six juniors and six seniors. Five captains represent the veteran presence — Wayland junior Adam Capello, Watertown junior Isaac Maillis, Watertown junior Luke Egan, Wayland senior Griffin Wood and Wayland junior Theodore Henrich. And John Vlachos returns for another season as Head Coach.

Sports

Watertown Hockey Player Continues His Quest to Play in College

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Tyler Gardiner, one of the leaders of Watertown High School’s successful boys hockey team, will keep his dream of playing in college alive by playing for a year with the Boston Junior Rangers of the Eastern Hockey League. Gardiner recently signed with the Junior Rangers’ Premier team, the higher of the two levels. He said this is a typical path to playing hockey in college. “Most colleges don’t take kids under 21. They go to the juniors or have a year of prep school,” Gardiner said.

Sports

Watertown Hockey Team’s Dream of a Repeat Ends With Overtime Loss

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WOBURN – The magical state tournament run has finally come to an end for the Watertown High School boys hockey team, which fell 2-1 in overtime to Wayland in the div. 3 North Section final Monday night. 

The Raiders won the 2015 Div. 3 State Championship, and again seemed to have the skill and luck to make another run to the TD Garden. Watertown Head Coach Mike Hayes had faith in his team’s abilities, despite finishing the regular season with a 9-11 record. “I really did, I thought we had enough to get back in the tournament and make a run,” said Hayes, noting that the team won nine straight tournament games.

Boys Hockey

Watertown Faces Familiar Tourney Foe in North Section Hockey Final

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Watertown and Wayland have been familiar foes in the Div. 3 North Section boys hockey tournament, and the teams face off again Monday night for the Section Title. 

The game will be a rubber match, of sorts, with the teams splitting the last two tourney match ups. In 2014, Wayland prevailed in overtime over the Raiders in the section semifinal. Last year, again in the section semis, Watertown got revenge by beating the Warriors 4-1 on the way to winning the Raiders’ first boys hockey state championship. The teams will be at it again Monday at Woburn’s O’Brien Rink at 7 p.m.

Looking at the brackets, neither team was expected to make it this deep into the tournament.

Boys Hockey

Shootout Win Propels Watertown Hockey into North Section Final

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BILLERICA – Watertown faced a tough test in the Div. 3 North Section boys hockey semifinal with two of its top-line players sporting 100 degree fevers, but the pair scored big goals when the game was on the line. Following a back and forth game that ended 4-4 after two overtimes, Watertown won the 2-1 in a shootout over Shawsheen Tech at the Chelmsford Forum in Billerica. Raiders head coach Mike Hayes is used to dealing with a small roster, but his team limped into the Div. 3 North Section semifinal against Shawsheen Tech with seniors Tyler Poulin and Mike Giordano both suffering fevers.

Sports

Watertown Boys Hockey Routs Weston to Earn Spot in Section Semifinal

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The Watertown boys hockey team got its offense in gear in the second period of the MIAA Div. 3 North Section quarterfinal and swept past Weston 8-1 Monday night. 

The Raiders (11-11) wore the road uniforms, but looked at home on the familiar ice of John A. Ryan Arena in Watertown. The teams skated to a scoreless first period, but Watertown head coach Mike Hayes said he made some adjustments. “We were beating their D about halfway and taking shots instead of driving to the net,” Hayes said. “We wanted to come out in the second and take them wide and take it to the net.

Boys Basketball

WHS Sports: Boys Basketball Season Ends, 2 Teams Seek Tourney Runs

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Watertown’s boys’ basketball team looked like it might pull off a big upset in the Div. 3 North Section quarterfinal Saturday night, but ultimately fell short. 

The eighth-seeded Raiders (11-11) traveled to top-seeded North Reading (19-2) and had the Hornets on the ropes. Watertown held a 16-point halftime lead and was up 40-26 with four minutes left in the third quarter. North Reading, however, turned it around and won 61-53, ending the Raiders season. See photos from the game here.

Boys Hockey

Watertown Hockey Team Post Shutout in First Round of State Tournament

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Thursday night the Watertown Raiders boys hockey team pulled together to defeat Northeast Metro Tech 3-0 in the first step toward defending their state title. Watertown finished the first period strong, with senior Matthew Busconi setting the tone with by giving the Raiders a 1-0 in the MIAA Div. 3 North Section first round game at Billerica High School. Watertown head coach Mike Hayes said he was pleased with his team’s effort. “Although we haven’t played for three weeks, I can definitely say that we deserved this win by the way we played tonight,” Hayes said.