From Dropping the Puck to Diving into the Pool

The Revere High hockey team enjoyed the thrill of a once in a lifetime experience when they took to the ice at Frozen Fenway Monday night to take on Norwood High in a scrimmage.

It was fabulous from beginning to end,” said RHS head coach Jim Palumbo. “The boys’ feet were off the ground for the first 10 minutes that we were there. All of the Red Sox staff who greeted us and showed us around were great.

“We used the visiting team’s locker room, which was pretty amazing because it made you realize that you were in the same place where so many baseball greats have stood over the years. It was definitely one of the most unbelievable experiences in my lifetime,” added Palumbo, a Massachusetts Coaches Hockey Hall of Fame inductee whose hockey career spans decades.

The contest served as a fundraiser for the Norwood team for Matt Brown, who as a sophomore two years ago this month suffered a tragic injury from a check in a Norwood High game that left him a quadriplegic.

Massachusetts Speaker of the House Bob DeLeo, who arranged the participation of the RHS team, was on hand, as was Mayor Dan Rizzo, to make the event even more special. The weather was perfect, with the temperature at about 30 degrees; an estimated 2000 fans were on hand; and the main Fenway Park lights were turned on for the game. (Temporary lights are installed along the rink, which normally are the only ones that are used for high school games.)

All in all, it was a perfect evening of hockey and more for everybody on hand.

“Every boy on our team got to play,” said Palumbo. “It was a night that none of us ever will forget.”

Boys hoop team wins two contests

The Revere High boys basketball team enjoyed a highly successful week with a pair of impressive victories over Northeastern Conference rivals. The twin wins give the Patriots a three game winning streak and raise their record to 3-5 on the season.

Friday’s victory 64-58 overtime victory over Gloucester at the local field house was about as exciting an affair as one could imagine. The teams battled fiercely and evenly throughout the entire 32 minutes of regulation with neither able to put any distance between them.

Revere was up two points at the half, 26-24; down one after three periods, 38-37; and trailed by three, 50-47, with only a few seconds left on the clock. The Pats tried to work the ball around for a three point shot, but with time expiring, senior Dom Boyce decided to take the ball to the hole. Not only did Boyce make the layup, but he was fouled on the play with only 1.7 seconds showing on the clock. Dom then cooly sank the free throw to send the game into OT.

The Pats then took charge from the outset of the four minute session, powered by the backcourt duo of Boyce (six points in OT) and Tom Sor (five OT points) to pull away for the triumph.

“It was a super game by both teams and a big win for us,” said RHS head coach Rick Hayes. “It’s always great for a team’s morale to win a close game like this.”

Sor shot lights out on the night, hitting six of seven treys for a team high 22 points. Boyce was next on the point parade with 15. Alex Urena and Chris Palladino hit for nine apiece, with Mike Dreeszen contributing six points,   Mike Ciambelli adding two, and Jason Siegal sinking a free throw.

Last Tuesday night’s 54-45 triumph over Peabody was accomplished with a lineup that consisted entirely of sophomores and juniors because of the absence of some key senior starters. The contest was a close affair through the first two periods. The teams were tied at 9-9 after the first period and Peabody held a thin 25-23 advantage at the half. Junior Alex Urena was the main man for the Pats in those initial 16 minutes, scoring 17 points on slashing drives to the basket from the wing when the ball rotated to his side.

The Patriots then came out firing after the intermission to move out to a 40-31 advantage and assert control of the contest. Peabody started the half in a zone defense, but it soon proved a fatal switch from their man to man of the first half. Sophomore Mike Dreeszen took aim over the Peabody zone from three point land and connected on a pair of treys. Mike also sank two free throws for eight points in the third quarter to key the Revere run of 17-6 that put the Pats in the driver’s seat.

Urena ended up as high scorer with 20 points, followed by Dreeszen with 13. Soph Jason Siegal and junior Geo Gomez hit for six points each, with Mike Ciambelli adding five points and Tom Sor chipping in with four.

Although John Leone did not make the scoring stat sheet, he provided what Hayes termed a “valuable contribution with his defense and hustle for loose balls.”

The one drawback for the Pats in both games was their foul shooting. Revere hit on 14 of 30 from the charity stripe vs. Peabody and just eight of 23 vs. Gloucester.

The Pats were set to host Swampscott last night (Tuesday) and will travel to Winthrop Friday. They will entertain Marblehead next Tuesday.

Lady Patriots top Peabody, 48-34

The Revere High girls basketball team made their trek to Peabody a worthwhile one last Tuesday, defeating the Lady Tanners 48-34. After a closely-fought defensive battle in the first half, Lady Patriot Gena Restiano threw up a shot from halfcourt that swished through at the buzzer to give Revere a 20-12 edge at the half.

The big hoop gave Revere some much needed momentum after the intermission. The Lady Pats combined a tough defense that packed it in against Peabody’s top scorers in the front court and a hot hand on offense to increase their advantage to a hefty 37-22 at the third buzzer from where they cruised to the victory.

Restiano was top scorer with 19 points, including three treys, and was credited with four steals. Venous Hamza reached double figures with 10 points, followed by Michaela Maguire with six, Caitlyn Caramello with five (plus 10 rebounds), and Amy Rotger and Tiphani Harris with three apiece.

“Our defense really did the job against Peabody. We held their two top scorers to just six points and nine points respectively, and that proved the key.”,” said RHS head coach Katelyn Leonard, who credited the foursome of Maguire, Caramello, Hamza, and Rotger for essentially shutting down the Lady Tanners’ offense.

However, the longer trip northward to Gloucester Friday evening did not prove quite as successful for the Lady Patriots as they came out on the short end of a 44-38 decision to the Lady Fishermen.

Revere came out flat in the opening frame and found themselves trailing 14-6 at the first buzzer. Although the Lady Patriots picked up the pace thereafter and closed the gap at times, they never were quite able to make it all the way back. Revere got within two points in the final minute of the game, but the Gloucester girls made their free throws down the stretch to hold onto the lead.

“We played all-out in the fourth quarter,” noted Leonard. “We showed that there is no quit in our team. But give Gloucester credit, because they made their free throws when they had to.”

Restiano once again was the top scorer for Revere with 15 points. Rotger, whom Leonard said, “played her heart out,” hit for 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Caramello added five points and pulled down nine boards, with Harris scoring two points and Hamza and Jen Fajardo contributing a point each.

The Lady Patriots were set to travel to Swampscott (Leonard’s alma mater where she is a legend in Lady Big Blue girls basketball annals) last night (Tuesday) and will return home Friday to host Winthrop. They entertain former GBL rival Medford (which is coached by Revere’s Leo Burke) on Tuesday.

Hockey teams wins, ties in games this week

The Revere High hockey team enjoyed a productive week, earning a win and a tie in its two games to grab three of a possible four points.

The Patriots took the measure of Salem last Wednesday, 4-1. After a scoreless first period, the Patriots erupted for three goals in the second frame. R.J. Tiorano lit the lamp at 2:40, assisted by Chris Whalen and Drew Lauria, and 28 seconds later, Pat Bartol beat the Salem goalie, assisted by Peter Mario.

Marco Mazzarelli then added a key goal with 1:30 left in the period to boost the Patriots into a comfortable 3-0 advantage at the second horn. Tiorano and Lauria assisted.

After Salem finally scored midway through the third frame, the Patriots put the game on ice when Bartol potted his second goal of the game with a minute left to play, assisted by sophomore Mike Martorelli, who picked up his first career varsity point.

The shots on goal were in the Patriots’ favor, 37-17, an indication of Revere’s dominance of the contest.

A few nights later at Gloucester the Pats found themselves being outshot, 46-25, but some outstanding goaltending by Revere netminder Jon Papasadora and a hat trick by Tiorano combined to allow the Patriots to skate home with a 4-4 tie.

Tiorano, assisted by Cam Whalen, made it 1-0 just 50 second into the game and R.J. struck again 3:07 later, assisted by Mazzarelli and Brandon Mastropietro.

Gloucester sliced the lead to 2-1 before the first period ended and then evened the count midway through the middle stanza. However, Peter Marino reached the back of the Gloucester net less than two minutes later, assisted by Chris Whalen, to put Revere back on top, 3-2, after two periods.

Things looked bleak for the Pats when Gloucester knotted matters again at 54 seconds into the third period and then took the lead just a few minutes later, energizing the big home crowd.

However, Tiorano quelled the Gloucester momentum with the equalizer at 7:42, assisted by Mazzarelli, to make it a 4-4 contest. Both teams had their opportunities to notch the game winner in the final minutes, but were unable to light the lamp.

“Papasadora was superb,” said RHS head coach Jim Palumbo. “We’re coming along and improving, but we still have a ways to go.”

The Pats, who now stand at 2-3-2, will enter their toughest stretch of the season starting tonight when they host Winthrop at Cronin for a 6:30 face-off. Saugus comes to town Saturday at 5:10.

Strong efforts by boys indoor track

Although the Revere High boys indoor track team came out on the short end of a 54-32 decision to Peabody last week, a number of Patriots turned in outstanding individual performances.

Revere track man supreme Mike Fitzpatrick faced his strongest challenge of the season in the 600 dash, but edged his Peabody rival by 1.4 seconds with a winning time of 1:30.5. The duo of Robert Rose and Johnny Lopes turned in outstanding efforts in the 300 dash, finishing 1-2 in times of 39.5 and 39.8 respectively, to edge their nearest Peabody counterpart.

The pair of Omar Morales and Vito LiCata handily tossed aside their Peabody opponents in the shotput, with Omar throwing the heavy ball 42-9 and Vito heaving it 42-3 to take the top two spots, well beyond their closest Tanner foe who had a toss of 39-0.

John DelloRusso was the fourth Revere competitor to take first place, outpacing the field in the two mile run in 11:31, six seconds ahead of the second place Peabody boy.

Other point scorers for Revere were: Ricardo Maldonado with a third in the high jump with a leap of 5-7; Karim Sahila with a second in the 50 yard hurdles in 7.1; Joe Ritchie with a third in the 50 dash in 5.9; Sela Leng with a third in the 1000 in 3:03.2; and Andrew Estrada with a third in the mile in 5:45.8.

Coach Jack Mosko and his crew will return to action tomorrow (Thursday), hosting Beverly.

MacDonald triumphs again for girls track

Racquel MacDonald reigned supreme once again in the 50 hurdles to capture first place for the Revere High girls track team in their meet last week against Peabody. Racquel sped to victory in a time of 7.8 seconds. Teammate Lindsay Gurska took second place in a fine time of 8.2., which was  0.1 of a second  ahead of the top Peabody girl.

MacDonald also added a point to the Revere scoresheet with a third place effort in the high jump with a leap of 4-7.

Other Lady Patriots who contributed points to the Revere cause were: Noelle Galli with a shotput toss of 27-7, good for third place; Raychel Adreani with a third place performance  in the 50 dash in 7.0; Comfort Toglan with a second place finish in the 300 in 48.7; and Alanna Pasco with a third place run in the 600 dash in 1:57.5.

The RHS girls will host Beverly tomorrow (Thursday).

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