Sports

JIM’S VIEW: Boys Hockey Brings Their A-Game And Almost Pulls Off a Big Upset 

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Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. at the John A. Ryan Arena, with Watertown/Wayland Raiders Hockey in the midst of a seven-game losing streak, one and all were treated to an excellent hockey game. Watertown/Wayland was faced with the challenge of trying to end the losing streak against the Winchester Red & Black, ranked 14th in the Boston Globe Top 20 as of last week and fresh off a big win at Belmont. 

On top of that, Watertown/Wayland was facing an excellent goalie, Senior Macklin O’Flynn, the 6’3″, 190 pound lefty. And aside from a seven goal shellacking at the hands of top-3 Hingham a few weeks back, Winchester had given up only 12 goals in 8 games. On this afternoon, though, the Raiders gave a great effort and deserved a better fate than a 3-2 defeat. The first period highlighted the fact that the Raiders top line of Center Lukas Wynn and Forwards Luke Egan and Griffin Wood can play with anyone.  These three are tired young men at the end of most games, as their ice time is double or more than the other two lines combined.  And after a Winchester goal by Leo Dagostino gave the Red & Black a 1-0 lead, the Raiders top line line came through seven minutes later to tie it at one.  Griffin Wood, positioned perfectly to the right of goalie O’Flynn, knocked home a rebound created by some nifty play from Luke Egan.  

Recent home games have found the Raiders in a hole and trailing by two or three goals after one period, so the 1-1 score was refreshing and certainly must have given the Raiders some confidence going into the second period. And look, you don’t get awarded a goal for simply winning the period, but Watertown/Wayland was the better team in period number two, and even had the better scoring chances. 

The only penalty of the game was called in the second, a two minute roughing call (can you say cheap shot?) administered by Winchester’s Caiden Brady on Lukas Wynn. Wynn had trouble getting up and after being examined by the trainer had to be helped off the ice by two of his teammates as he couldn’t put weight on his right leg. Watertown executed a solid power play which included a few testers on O’Flynn, but they couldn’t score. More importantly, though, what looked like perhaps a serious injury to first-line forward Wynn was miraculously not, as he started the third period between his first-line mates Egan and Wood. The third period started pretty evenly with the score still knotted at 1, but senior Axel Osborn changed that when he hammered home a third rebound attempt top-shelf over a beleaguered Raiders goalie Findlay MacDonald. It should be noted that MacDonald was once again excellent in net, and made three excellent saves at close range in this exchange, but no one was able to clear the rebound and Osborn’s special shot made it 2-1 Winchester three minutes into the third. A little over three minutes later Caiden Brady made it 3-1, and thoughts of a magical third period, a first win in a month and an upset of a ranked opponent seemed to have faded faster than a Drake May strike into the end zone for a touchdown. But, oh, thee of little faith. On this day the Raiders had a response. A team that had scored only 16 goals in 11 games leading into today, made it 3-2 just over a minute later thanks to the first line once again. Luke Egan got the goal, with assists from his linemates Wood and Wynn. All three deserve a start of the game! So, with 8 minutes gone and only 7 remaining, could Watertown/Wayland come up with the equalizer and send this game to overtime?

Sports

JIM’s VIEW: Watertown Faced Arlington in a Matchup of Top Middlesex League Girls Basketball Teams

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Tuesday’s game versus Arlington was likely one Watertown Coach Mike Tempesta had circled on his schedule, especially after Watertown made it to this game 6-2 in league play and Arlington 7-1. It would surely be a chance to measure one’s success to date, and figure out what kind of team he had when facing the strength of the league. 

On a frigid winter’s night in mid-January, both team’s started out intense and focused. The lead changed hands numerous times, with Watertown pulling away first to an 11-5 lead. But Arlington quickly responded and went ahead 16-13 after one. It was still close at the half with Arlington holding a six-point lead. All that changed though in the third quarter as the Spy Ponders put the game away with a dominant stretch, outscoring the Raiders 19-4 on the way to an 18-point margin of victory, 58-40. Both teams seemed intent on executing their half-court offense in the first half, and in the case of Arlington, they hardly even looked or settled for an outside shot until Senior Melina O’Hagan made the first three pointer of the game for either team late in the second quarter. Watertown, on the other hand had many good looks from the outside in the first half, and believe me when I say I’d be writing a different recap had they been able to find their range. But they weren’t able to, and an 8-point second quarter for the Raiders was a bad omen of worse things to come. Coach Michael Tempesta prides himself on coaching teams that play solid, fundamental man-to-man defense. Move one’s feet. Don’t reach. Play big, but don’t create contact. On this night these principals would be really important, but his squad just seemed a step slow and they stood around too much against a team that was clearly all about running their sets and taking it to the basket. The Raiders played into their hands by not anticipating screens or calling them out or switching up. They allowed too many drives to the hoop, and then stood still too much or were a step slow marking a Spyponder, which led to offensive rebounds galore and second and third opportunities to score.  

Worst of all, the Raiders just came out flat in the third quarter, while Arlington came out the locker room intent on stronger defense that would create offensive opportunities.

Sports

JIM’S VIEW: Boys Hockey Struggles Against Melrose

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It was matinee-Saturday at the John A. Ryan Arena as Watertown/Wayland and Melrose faced off with a 12:30 p.m. puck drop. Watertown/Wayland, in the midst of 7 of 8 at home, was obviously eager (desperate?!) to get off to a good start and put together a 45 minute game on the way to breaking into the win column in league play. Watertown/Wayland came into the game 0-7 in Middlesex League play and Melrose 1-5. But, as they did last Saturday versus Stoneham,  Watertown/Wayland gave up two early goals to Melrose, and just couldn’t figure out a way to light up the lamp on the way to being shut 3-0. I’m going to sound like a broken record, but this edition of Watertown/Wayland Hockey is better than its 1-10 record. Coach John Vlachos ran out three lines on this day, and each did some good things. The number one line of Lukas Wynn, Griffin Wood and Luke Egan created the most pressure on Junior goalie Cole Matthews, but found it difficult to “muck it up” in front of him. Most of Watertown/Wayland’s scoring chances were clean looks for the Melrose goaltender, and he gave up very few rebounds on the afternoon. That said, Egan had an excellent game. The junior skated hard and fast all afternoon, and did everything he could to lead by example. He was clearly Watertown/Wayland’s number one star. The second line consisted of Liam Tourville, Jake Fijux and Micheal Philibin. They too were a hard-working threesome, and truly, if they are guilty of anything it’s being a few inches too small and a few pounds too light against a decent-sized Melrose lineup. That’s not the kind of disadvantage you point the finger at and say “hey, you got to do better.” The threesome worked their tails off and stood their own all afternoon. The third line of Ryder Barenholtz, Logan Desrosiers and Maguire Cruz didn’t see as much ice time as the first two lines, but also did some good things while out on the ice.

Sports

Watertown Wrestlers Defeat a Pair of Middlesex League Foes

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Watertown captain Jimmy Shrestha and the Raiders defeated Belmont and Lexington last week. seventh. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Watertown’s wrestlers continued their successful season going 2-0 last week, with wins over Belmont and Lexington, and competed in a tournament. The Raiders defeated Belmont 45-29 and Lexington 45-30, said Watertown Wrestling Coach Kevin Russo. “They are both solid teams, so the performance by our team was great to see,” Russo said.

Sports

JIM’S VIEW: Boy’s Basketball Goes Toe-To-Toe With Undefeated Winchester 

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Not every sporting event is created equal. Some games have all the makings of something special and then turn out to be duds. Others seem like a mismatch on paper, but turn out to be great games. Some even surprise and disappoint all before the final buzzer sounds. Tuesday night, Watertown hosted Winchester and one did not know what to expect. 

Winchester came in 10-0 and ranked 11th in the Boston Globe Top 20. Watertown’s season has been a struggle, full of growing pains as the roster goes through change. But, after starting 0-4, the Raiders had won two of their last three. So, two schools with traditionally strong basketball programs squared off in a year when seemingly they were headed in opposite directions. From the start though, it was clear that both teams were ready to bring it, and what ensued was three great quarters of high school basketball, and high sporting drama. Unfortunately, only Winchester showed up in the fourth quarter, to the tune of a 25-8 shellacking, and a 55-51 Raiders lead after three — and dreams of giving Winchester their first loss — turned into nightmare as Winchester beat Watertown, 76-63. A taut, competitive, intense, spirited first quarter saw both teams competing at a high level. Junior Michael Nshanian was the man for the Raiders in the first quarter, with two of his game-high six 3-pointers on the way to a 10-point effort (and 22 on the night). Winchester is blessed with a deep roster and nine saw the floor in the first quarter. They employed a full-court press that caused the Raiders problems, and they were clearly a well-coached team drilled on the basics and equipped with strong basketball I.Q.’s. But the Raiders were equally effective employing a zone to combat the 6’8″ Senior, Carson Sarpong, who had 4 to 6 inches on the tallest Raider.

Sports

JIM’S VIEW: Boys Hockey Battles Stoneham to the End

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Watertown/Wayland gave up two goals 39 seconds apart early in the first period Saturday afternoon against the visiting Stoneham Spartans, and that early deficit turned out to be too hard a mountain to climb as Watertown/Wayland fell to 1-8 on the season (0-6 in the league) in a 5-2 loss at the JAR. Both teams came into the game wanting and needing a Middlesex League win, as Stoneham entered the game 1-5 in league play. Two shifts in, it looked like both teams came ready to play, as skating was fast and determination strong. But, in a blink of an eye Watertown broke down in their own end, forcing Watertown/Wayland goalie Findlay MacDonald to face unstoppable challenges at 2:01 and 2:40 to give Stoneham a 2-0 lead. Watertown/Wayland was given two power play opportunities down 2-zip, but they couldn’t cash in. Three minutes after the second power play, Watertown gave Stoneham their first of the afternoon and they did cash in 43 seconds into the power play to make it 3-0 after one period of play.  

Team sports provides such wonderful opportunities to young athletes to experience so many great things.  Every experience is made better by winning, of course, but not everyone is meant to — win, that is. Watertown/Wayland has a record that says they are a bad team at 1-8. From my vantage point, that’s not the case. But, the truth in sports is not always fair. Watertown/Wayland has good players, they play hard, and they never give up. The problem is they are young, somewhat undersized and still developing their skills. 

All that is a way of saying there is very little room for error, and quite often it requires extraordinary feats to compete. Saturday, for example, MacDonald in net had an excellent game by any standards. He made any number of saves where he had to stand on his head, and if he hadn’t the game would not have been close.

Sports

Watertown Wrestling Coach Kevin Russo Notches His 500th Win

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Watertown High School Wrestling Coach Kevin Russo reached 500 wins with a win over Lincoln-Sudbury. Watertown’s Kevin Russo added to his long list of accomplishments as a wrestling coach by reaching a milestone in wins on Jan. 4, 2026. See details in the announcement from the Watertown Public Schools. Longtime Watertown High School wrestling coach Kevin Russo has recorded his 500th career win, the latest accolade in a coaching career that spans more than three decades.

Sports

JIM’S VIEW: Girls Basketball Moves to 4-1 in the League With Wire-To-Wire Win Over Reading

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The Girls Varsity Basketball Team is young, starting two freshman and a sophomore, and the first off the bench is a freshman. The season is young, as the Raiders have only five games under their belt, yet they are already 3-1 in Middlesex League play and in first place in the Freedom Division, heading into Tuesday night’s game versus Reading. And the year is young, as Tuesday night’s game was the first of nine games in January that will tell a lot about how this team manages growth and development in the competitive Middlesex League. The game was the girls’ first in seven days, but rust was not an issue as the Raiders came out humming to the tune of a 16-2 first quarter on the way to a 43-32 win, getting January off to a great start. Freshman guard Natalia Keuchkarian got off to her own great start, with 8 points in the first quarter, including two 3-pointers. The team created havoc on defense, and Reading’s lack of execution on offense contributed to the Raiders dominant quarter. Senior Sophia Setouhi had steals, sophomore Brook Lambo rebounds, freshman Natalie Haley deflected a number of passes and freshman Diana Martin came off the bench and provided energy and rebounding at both ends. By the half, Watertown had built an 18-point lead at 28-10, and it wasn’t until late in the half that Reading even made it to double figures. The third quarter saw two teams struggle to create offense. Watertown missed a series of lay-ups that would have grown the lead to close to 30, and perhaps that was a harbinger of things to come. Or perhaps it was just the game of basketball behaving like the game of basketball — which is to say that a comeback was sprouting as the final quarter began. 

The fourth started well enough as a pretty Keuchkarian drive for a lay-up gave the Raiders a 37-17 lead, and a false sense perhaps that the game was over. But then …