Above: ARHS Hockey took held on to the Matt Bruce Cup last month. But thanks to an”off-ice incident” two weeks ago, only 16 of the players were available to hit the ice for the Division championships. (image tweeted by @GonkHockey)
T-Hawks fans can cheer on one more team competing for a winter championship. The Cheer Team is headed to their state tournament this Sunday, March 12. Last weekend, the Game Day Cheer Team came in 5th out of 8 at the Game Day State Championship.
This Sunday, March 12th, the Cheer Team competes in the Winter Cheerleading State Championship. That’s 2:00 pm at Wachusett Regional High School.
It’s the last Algonquin team standing this winter.
Last week, ARHS Boys Basketball and Boys Ice Hockey were both competing in tournaments with dreams of making it to states. Unfortunately, both journeys stopped at the Division Quarter Finals.
Boys Basketball had a great season, earning a Bye on the first round. The Quarter Finals against St. Peter Marian was a hard fought game the final score 70-59 fails to reflect.
The boys kept it close, entering the fourth quarter tied 48-48. Although they lost out in the final quarter, SPM’s coach Marcus Watson praised Southborough’s Kyle Henderson for the challenge he posed:
“He’s the kind of player that as a coach you want him on your team,” Watson said of Henderson. “When you’re coaching against him, you can’t stand him because he just does all the things that makes it difficult on the (other) team.”
(For more details on that game, read the telegram’s coverage.)
Boys Hockey already earned a trophy and cup this season. They had high hopes of returning to the Garden this winter for another shot at the state championship. But two weeks ago, “an off-ice incident” dramatically changed their odds.
A telegram story explains:
Nine players were suspended following [March 22] night’s win over Wayland for violating team rules. All nine, according to MIAA rules, must sit out five high school games, even if that should happen to carry over into the spring sports season or next year’s hockey season.
Two nights later, they played the final game of the regular season. It was a 7-0 loss to Shrewsbury.
Last week, they went up against Marlborough in the Quarter Finals at Navin rink.
Marlborough started the game strong with 3 rapid succession scores in the first period. Gonk Hockey, with a history of late game comebacks, managed to score twice in the third period. But the Panthers prevailed.
The telegram posts:
“Would Algonquin had beaten us by having those other players tonight, I don’t know,” said Panthers coach Mike O’Brien. “I do know that those kids who played for Algonquin tonight played very hard and have a lot to be proud of.”
The ARHS Ski Teams also competed over the last week. On Tuesday, members skied in the state tournament Alpine Race. The Girls Team came in at 9th place.
And Algonquin sent two wrestlers to the New England Championships last weekend. Both lost in the first match, though Bryce Finnegan did make it through a three matches in the consolation round.
