REGION – A handful of area basketball and hockey teams celebrated favorable rankings this past week through the state’s new power ranking system.
Weighing win-loss records against a number of other factors, these rankings will help set tournament seeding later in the season.
While the rankings will change as teams continue to move through their schedules, this first update brought particularly good news for the Marlborough and Grafton boys hockey teams, and the Shrewsbury and Algonquin co-op girls hockey teams, which each landed among the top 10 schools in their respective divisions.
The top 32 teams in each division will make the playoffs alongside any other teams with winning percentages of 50% or higher.
Read on for scores and highlights….
ALGONQUIN
BOYS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 18
Algonquin – 47, Wachusett – 83
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 18
Algonquin – 39, Wachusett – 74
BOYS’ HOCKEY – JAN. 19
Algonquin – 3, Wachusett – 2
Algonquin jumped out to an early lead against Wachusett with a shorthanded goal in the first period of their game last week.
Though the Mountaineers then tied the game, Algonquin struck back to take a 2-1 advantage.
Wachusett tied things up once more before Algonquin jumped in front again to secure what was a 3-2 victory.
BOYS’ SWIMMING – JAN. 19
Algonquin – 78, Tantasqua – 63
GIRLS’ SWIMMING – JAN. 19
Algonquin – 41, Tantasqua – 68
BOYS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 20
Algonquin – 53, St. Bernard’s – 41
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 20
Algonquin – 35, Wayland – 31
GIRLS’ GYMNASTICS – JAN. 20
Algonquin – 136.3, Marlborough – 135.5
The Algonquin girls gymnastics team beat Marlborough at home on their senior night, this year.
“Thank you for your dedication to the program!” Athletic Director Michael Mocerino tweeted in a message to seniors after the meet.
GIRLS’ GYMNASTICS – JAN. 22
Algonquin – 134.6, Hudson – 134.2
WRESTLING – JAN. 22
Algonquin – 16, Milford – 59
WRESTLING – JAN. 22
Algonquin – 18, Hopkinton – 49
BOYS HOCKEY – JAN. 22
Algonquin – 7, Westfield – 2
AMSA
BOYS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 18
AMSA – 46, Uxbridge – 43
BOYS’ SWIMMING – JAN. 18
AMSA – 94, Tyngsborough/Groton-Dunstable – 60
GIRLS’ SWIMMING – JAN. 18
AMSA – 74, Tyngsborough – 96
BOYS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 19
AMSA – 46, Monty Tech – 36
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 19
AMSA – 48, Monty Tech – 34
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 21
AMSA – 49, Assabet – 19
BOYS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 21
The AMSA boys basketball team capped a strong week on the court with a win over Assabet on Friday night.
The team got ahead early and kept the pressure on despite Assabet’s efforts to rally a comeback.
Mateo Arelleno, Gabe Lemes, Ethan Saul and Sreeraj Pampati led the way for the Eagles with 19, 18, 11 and 10 points respectively.
ASSABET
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 18
Assabet – 33, Auburn – 47
BOYS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 19
Assabet – 40, Valley Tech – 73
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 19
Assabet – 19, Valley Tech – 62
BOYS’ HOCKEY – JAN. 19
Assabet – 6, St. Paul – 2
BOYS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 21
Assabet lost a close game to AMSA on Friday, concluding a difficult week that saw the Aztecs fall into a three game losing streak.
Three Assabet players still notched double digit performances in the game, however, with Cristian Vicente, Owen Keenan and Anthony Sousa helping lead the offense.
Vicente scored 12 points while Keenan and Sousa each tacked on 10.
GRAFTON
BOYS’ HOCKEY – JAN. 17
Grafton – 4, Northbridge – 1
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 19
Grafton – 42, Hudson – 43
Grafton lost to Hudson by razor thin margins last week thanks to a buzzer beater basket by Hudson.
Sofia Hillerstrom led the way offensively for the Gators, though, notching 16 points for her team.
BOYS’ HOCKEY – JAN. 19
Grafton – 0, Hopedale – 4
Though they lost on Jan. 19, the Grafton boys hockey team still had something to celebrate about at the end of this past week.
Indeed, new power rankings from the state listed the Gators co-op program with Blackstone Valley Technical High School as the eighth best team in Division IV, outranking 46 other programs.
BOYS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 20
Grafton – 57, Quaboag – 62
BOYS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 22
Grafton – 59, Northbridge – 50
HUDSON
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 16
Hudson – 50, Clinton – 30
BOYS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 18
Hudson – 71, Lunenburg – 58
The boys basketball team decisively defeated Lunenburg last week, carrying a 31-25 lead into halftime before expanding their advantage from there.
Jake Attaway led the Hawks in scoring with 19 points, while teammate Jackson O’Brien added 18 points of his own.
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 18
Hudson – 30, Lunenburg – 47
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 19
Hudson – 43, Grafton – 42
Kaitlyn Puim scored a buzzer beater to lift the Hawks past Grafton in a narrow 43-42 girls basketball win last week.
BOYS’ HOCKEY – JAN. 19
Hudson – 3, Nashoba – 8
GIRLS’ GYMNASTICS – JAN. 20
Hudson – 130.9, Shrewsbury – 122.3
BOYS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 21
Hudson – 42, Tyngsborough – 50
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 21
Hudson – 54, Tyngsborough – 51
Hudson pulled off a close win over Tyngsborough in what has quickly become a dominant season for the Hawks girls basketball team.
Their record sat at 8-1 as of Jan. 23, improving two days after MIAA Division III power rankings put the Hawks in 11th place out of 62 teams.
GIRLS’ GYMNASTICS – JAN. 22
Hudson – 134.2, Algonquin – 134.6
Kylee Dobeck led the way for the Hawks in their win over Algonquin, notching a 9.0 floor score.
BOYS’ HOCKEY – JAN. 22
Hudson – 0, Westborough – 3
MARLBOROUGH
BOYS’ HOCKEY – JAN. 17
Marlborough – 9, Nashoba – 1
Nashoba struck first, but Marlborough hit back hard last week, punching in four goals in just over a minute during their game against the Wolves.
Braden Deckers, Mark Evangelous and Marcus Chrisafides all scored in that flurry, with Evangelous contributing two goals.
Marlborough built on the lead from there to run away with the win.
BOYS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 18
Marlborough – 57, Nashoba – 67
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 18
Marlborough – 37, Nashoba – 62
BOYS’ HOCKEY – JAN. 19
Marlborough – 4, Westborough – 0
Things stayed scoreless in the first period. But Marlborough’s offense roared in the second period, putting up three goals on their way to a win over Westborough.
These kind of performances by the Panthers teed up good news for the school on Jan. 21 when MIAA power rankings listed Marlborough as the top Division III team out of 47 in the state.
GIRLS’ GYMNASTICS – JAN. 20
Marlborough – 135.5, Algonquin – 136.3
BOYS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 21
Marlborough – 47, Shepherd Hill – 48
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 21
Marlborough – 29, Shepherd Hill – 62
WRESTLING – JAN. 22
Marlborough – 3, Central Catholic – 34
WRESTLING – JAN. 22
Marlborough – 19, Concord Carlisle – 48
SHREWSBURY
BOYS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 18
Shrewsbury – 46, St. Paul – 42
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 18
Shrewsbury – 60, St. Paul – 40
COED SWIMMING – JAN. 18
Shrewsbury – 121, Worcester – 47
BOYS’ HOCKEY – JAN. 19
Shrewsbury – 1, Billerica – 5
GIRLS’ GYMNASTICS – JAN. 20
Shrewsbury – 122.3, Hudson – 130.9
BOYS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 21
Shrewsbury – 62, Fitchburg – 59
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 21
Shrewsbury – 65, Fitchburg – 33
BOYS’ HOCKEY – JAN. 22
Shrewsbury – 2, Andover – 3
ST. JOHN’S
BOYS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 16
St. John’s – 55, Shrewsbury – 40
BOYS’ HOCKEY – JAN. 16
St. John’s – 5, St. John’s Prep – 7
BOYS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 18
St. John’s – 44, Xaverian – 40
BOYS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 21
St. John’s – 42, BC High – 59
BOYS’ SWIMMING – JAN. 21
St. John’s – 86, Malden Catholic – 81
WRESTLING – JAN. 21
St. John’s – 31, Ashland – 33
BOYS’ HOCKEY – JAN. 22
St. John’s – 0, BC High – 3
WESTBOROUGH
BOYS’ HOCKEY – JAN. 17
Westborough scored early but saw Ashland work its way back into this game with a major third period push.
Ultimately, Will Gravell’s highlight reel third period goal held as the game winner for the Rangers, though, giving the team a win in what was a busy week last week.
BOYS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 18
Westborough – 50, Concord-Carlisle – 67
BOYS’ SWIMMING – JAN. 18
Westborough – 82, Gardner – 49
GIRLS’ SWIMMING – JAN. 18
Westborough – 89, Gardner – 61
BOYS’ HOCKEY – JAN. 19
Westborough – 0, Marlborough – 4
BOYS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 21
Westborough – 49, Oakmont – 64
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL – JAN. 21
Westborough – 44, Oakmont – 22
Westborough led Oakmont 22-8 at halftime on Jan. 21. They did not look back from there, defeating the Spartans to continue their undefeated season through the first nine games of this winter schedule.
That undefeated record put Westborough in 15th place out of 66 teams in Division II power rankings that were released before this Jan. 21 game.
BOYS’ HOCKEY – JAN. 22
Westborough – 3, Hudson – 0
BOYS’ SWIMMING – JAN. 22
Westborough – 86, Grafton/Northbridge – 64
GIRLS’ SWIMMING – JAN. 22
Westborough – 94, Grafton/Northbridge – 71
CO-OP
GIRLS’ HOCKEY – JAN. 17
Algonquin/AMSA/Marlborough/Hudson – 1, Franklin – 1
GIRLS SWIMMING – JAN. 18
Nashoba/Hudson/Marlborough – 94, Wachusett – 75
GIRLS’ HOCKEY – JAN. 19
Algonquin/AMSA/Marlborough/Hudson – 4, Wellesley – 1
GIRLS’ HOCKEY – JAN. 22
Shrewsbury/Westborough – 5, Acton-Boxborough/Bromfield – 0
Kaci Ryder scored her 100th career point for the Colonials as they dispatched Acton-Boxborough/Bromfield by a decisive 5-0 final score.
This marked the fourth straight win for the Shrewsbury/Westborough co-op squad, which has not lost in 2022 to date.
Their overall win-loss record sat at 5-3 on Jan. 23, just two days after the MIAA ranked Shrewsbury/Westborough in sixth place in its Division I power rankings of girls hockey teams.
GIRLS HOCKEY – JAN. 22
Algonquin/AMSA/Marlborough/Hudson – 0, Longmeadow – 2
A week that opened with a tie game against Franklin ended with the Algonquin/AMSA/Marlborough/Hudson co-op team’s first loss of an otherwise undefeated season this winter.
The team still boasts a dominant 9-1-2 record after being ranked in ninth place in the MIAA’s Division II power rankings, which were released on Jan. 21.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this scoreboard incorrectly identified a St. John’s athletic contest against Xaverian on Jan. 18. That was a boys basketball game, not a hockey game. The Community Advocate regrets the error.
