Archive - 2011 - Sports Article
December 8th
WOONSOCKET â Woonsocket High coach George Coderre feels he has an experienced squad that will be competitive in Division I this season.
Two of the players Coderre expects to run the show are four-year varsity members Michelle Brayboy and Kailey Fugere.
The talented seniors gave a preview of their effective 1-2 punch in Thursdayâs non-league season-opener against Mount St. Charles Academy.
December 7th
WOONSOCKET â John Flynn remembers growing up in the 1970s when Bobby Orr and the Boston Bruins transformed New England hockey, turning youngsters all over the region into hockey players eager to lace on skates and participate in the sport.
Times have changed in recent years as a sagging economy has cut into the pool of youths capable of playing the sport, which involves financial outlays by parents for skates, sticks and other equipment.
December 6th
NORTHFIELD, Vt. â Lincoln High alum Anthony Joyce has earned a starting job at heavyweight for the Norwich University wrestling program.
Joyce finished fourth last weekend in the Rochester Institute of Technology tournament to continue a strong start to his sophomore season.
âI have a 14-10 record so far,â Joyce admitted over the phone on Monday night. âIâm a more well-rounded wrestler now than I was in high school. I hurt my hand in football in my freshman year of college and this year I decided to just focus on wrestling.â
For many high school boysâ basketball teams, Thursday marks the beginning of a new season â a clean slate for all involved parties with role players looking to blossom into stars, and stars seeking to take their team to the next level.
In the case of defending state champion St. Raphael Academy, maintaining the status quo will do just fine. The dawn of a fresh campaign also signifies the arrival of two Pawtucket-based high school tournaments geared towards preserving the memories of a pair of legendary city coaches.
December 5th
Two years ago, a very-loaded Woonsocket High squad captured the Division I title just a year after doing the same in Div. II.
Consistently, though, it's been teams like La Salle Academy and Bay View that have ruled the state's top division for the simple reason that talented athletes often gravitate to the powerhouse parochial schools. Since the 2001-02 season, the defending champion Rams have won seven state crowns. The Bengals have only claimed one title but have been in three other finals during that 10-year span.
December 4th
WOONSOCKET â Mount St. Charles evened its record at 1-1 on the season with a 5-1 victory over Burrillville on Saturday night.
Brian Belisle netted two goals for the Mounties and also assisted on two tallies. Brandon Borges, Callan Morriseau and Brian Campbell also scored for Mount, which led 5-0 before Burrillvilleâs Jake Duhamel netted a goal with 2:05 left in the game.
Jake Toback made an incredible 62 saves in goal for the Broncos. Bailey Lessard stopped 14 shots for Mount.
***
Burrillville 0 â 0 â 1 â 1
Mount 2 â 2 â 1 â 5
December 3rd
WOONSOCKET â As glorious and magical as last year was for Joe Gardner in his comeback to boxing, this year has been the complete opposite.
First, the Woonsocket super middleweight was slated to fight in his first main event in March at The Roxy in Boston and defend the EBA (Eastern Boxing Association) New England light heavyweight championship that he won the previous November, but that show was abruptly cancelled.
Thereâs been only one perfect regular season in the nine-year existence of the RIILâs girlsâ hockey program, and that was turned in by Mount St. Charles in the sportâs 2002-03 inaugural season, as the Mounties produced an 8-0 mark and went on to win the first of their six state championships.
Since that season, the girlsâ schedule has hovered between 14-18 games, and in the past eight seasons, there hasnât been a team thatâs been able to run the table and enjoy an undefeated regular season.
December 2nd
Editor's Note: This roundup of Friday night hockey games will only be found on The Call's website.
WOONSOCKET --- Itâs been a very, very long time since Mount St. Charles lost its season opener in hockey, but thatâs what happened to the Mounties on Friday night in its Division I opener with longtime rival La Salle.
Robert Fox netted a pair of power-play goals midway through the third period to lift the Rams to a 3-1 victory over the four-time defending state champions at Adelard Arena.
WOONSOCKET â Woonsocket High has a new coach and a new outlook for the hockey season this winter.
Getting to the point where it can be competitive again with the teams in Division III, just may take a little time.
The Villa Novans began their league season Friday night against Cranston East. For more than two-thirds of the opening period, Woonsocket kept the Thunderbolts away from the net.
Then the floodgates opened up.
