Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/tag/state-tournament/page/24/)
Watertown hockey coach Mike Hayes worked with what he was given, and took the Raiders to the state title on Sunday. He hopes to stay in the hunt next year even after losing some key seniors. The Raiders skated to the MIAA Div. 3 state title at the TD Garden Sunday with a 2-1 victory over Agawam. The team did it with a roster of 19, and Hayes said five of those players did not hit the ice.
Two old reliables – Anthony Busconi and Tyler Gardiner – came through for Watertown Sunday afternoon at the TD Garden, and the Raiders skated home with the MIAA Div. 3 State Championship after beating Agawam 2-1. Senior goalie, Busconi, kept Watertown in the game against the physical and talented Brownies. He made 13 saves while the Raiders could only muster four shots. Things changed in the second period.
The Watertown boys’ hockey team dreamed of making it to the TD Garden for the state final, and they made it by playing like a family. Sunday at 1 p.m., the Raiders hit the Garden ice to face off against Agawam for the MIAA Div. 3 state championship. Get live updates from the game in the live blog below. When you talk to the Watertown players and coaches, one thing comes up over and over – family.
A trip to the Cape in early March does not make for a nice vacation, but the Watertown boys’ hockey team will remember their trip forever after they won the state semifinal against Norwell 3-0 to clinch a trip to the TD Garden for the MIAA Div. 3 state final. The game at Gallo Arena in Bourne started out rough for the Raiders, who absorbed plenty of offensive pressure from the Clippers in the first period. Watertown managed only five shots in the first stanza, while Raiders’ senior goalie Anthony Busconi stoped all 11 Norwell shots, some from just feet away. “I thought the first period we weren’t very good,” Waterotwn head coach Mike Hayes said.
The puck drops at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday when the Watertown boys’ hockey team looks to keep its magical tournament run going all the way to the Garden for the state final. Follow the action live below! The Raiders (14-3-7) face a tough Norwell (21-1-3) team, the South Section champs in the MIAA Div. 3 state semifinal at Gallo Arena in Bourne.
Watertown has been on a tournament run deeper than has been seen since 1991, when the Raiders also reached the state semifinal.
Watertown played a strong first half of Tuesday’s Div. 2 girls basketball state semifinal, but the Raiders could not keep up with Duxbury in the second half, and fell 49-30. Both teams came into the game at the TD Garden in Boston undefeated and the Raiders (21-1) kept pace with the Dragons (25-0), and even built a 26-22 halftime lead. During the break, Duxbury head coach Robert Sullivan said he challenged his team. “I don’t know how many layups we gave up in the first half but it was many too many.
Watertown’s girls’ basketball team finally made it to the TD Garden in Boston for the state semifinal, now they face one of their toughest tests – the undefeated South Section Champs, Duxbury. The Raiders have an unbeaten season of their own going this year, now 21-0 after beating Pentucket in the North Section Final on Saturday. The polls have the Raiders and the Dragons among their top in the region – Duxbury 2 and Watertown 3 in the Boston Globe Poll, Duxbury 3 and Watertown 4 in the Boston Herald, and Duxbury 4 and Watertown 7 in the ESPN Boston poll. The teams face off Tuesday evening at 5:45 p.m. at the TD Garden in the MIAA Div. 2 state semifinal.
The third time was the charm for the Watertown’s girls’ basketball team Saturday when it won its first North Section title in its third straight final.
The Raiders (21-0) held off a frantic comeback attempt by Kelsi McNamara and Pentucket (23-2) to win the Div. 2 North Section title at Lowell’s Tsongas Center. Watertown jumped out to an early first 11-3 quarter lead, only to see the Sachems claw back and take a two point lead of their own in the second quarter. The half ended with Watertown on top 25-21. “As the game went on we were still getting better,” Ferdinand said.