Sports Roundup: Boys Hockey Losses Heartbreaker To St. John Paul II
David Creed •
This Whaler sports roundup includes an update on the boys hockey team following a last-minute loss on Wednesday, a look at the swimmers for the boys and girls swim teams who will be competing in the state sectional swim meet at MIT this weekend, as well as updates on the boys and girls basketball teams.
Shorthanded Goal In Final Minute Leads To Boys Hockey Defeat
The boys hockey team was at home Wednesday evening for a matchup with the St. John Paul II Lions. The Whalers nearly skated away with their first victory of the season after drawing a penalty in the game’s final two minutes, but the Lions were able to score a shorthanded goal on a breakaway with 47 seconds left to hand Nantucket a 3-2 defeat.
“It was a tough ending however, they played fantastic," Whaler head coach Jack Moran said. "The best I've seen them play thus far this year. The hustle was there, the effort was there, the heart was there. Everything that they did was top notch. I don't care about the loss. They're taking it hard, you know what I mean, and I understand that. But for me and for the coaches, it's the best game they've played this year, and it's only getting better. We still have a lot more games left in the season. If they continue to do that, we're going to see good things happen, guaranteed. I can't complain about it. I mean, it was unfortunate at the end they got that that shorty, but it's the way it bounces sometimes.”
The Whaler’s goal scorers were junior forward and assistant captain Canton Jenkinson, who scored 1:14 into the game after Lions got on the scoreboard with the game’s first goal 17 seconds prior.
After the Lions took a 2-1 lead late in the first, it was senior defenseman Miles Beaudette blasting a shot past the Lion’s goalie to tie the game 2-2 with 1:09 to go in the second period.
"It was a really, really good, hard-fought game," Moran said. "Everybody did great. There were a lot of kids out there shining. We changed up the lines a little bit. We kind of made another line out of our power play line and they went out there and they produced.”
The Whaler’s next game is scheduled for Saturday, February 8th on the road against the Barnstable Red Hawks. Nantucket will then host the Dennis-Yarmouth Dolphins on Super Bowl Sunday, February 9th, at 11 a.m.
"It's been a tough year, and we know that," Moran said. "But we take every little victory we can because it's very noticeable. When you go from our first couple of games to where we have them now, it's night and day. Totally different.”
You can view more photos from this game here.
Boys & Girls Swim Preparing For Sectionals
The state sectional swim meets will be taking place this weekend at MIT. The girls will swim on Saturday while the boys will swim on Sunday. There will be several Whaler swimmers competing, and we wish them luck. Below are the swimmers, as well as the events they will swim in.
Sara Dussault:
200-yard individual medley
100-yard breaststroke
200-yard medley relay
200-yard freestyle relay
Dussault also secured a sectional time in the 100-yard backstroke but will not compete in that event.
Myah Johnson:
50-yard freestyle
100-yard freestyle
200-yard medley relay
200-yard freestyle relay
Johnson also secured a sectional time in the 200-yard individual medley but will not compete in that event.
Evie Phelps:
200-yard freestyle
100-yard breaststroke
200-yard medley relay
200-yard freestyle relay
Phelps also secured a sectional time in the 500-yard freestyle but will not compete in that event.
Martina Savova:
100-yard butterfly
200-yard medley relay
Martha Nastus:
200-yard freestyle relay
Jake Johnson:
50-yard freestyle
100-yard freestyle
200-yard medley relay
200-yard freestyle relay
Johnson also secured a sectional time in the 100-yard backstroke but will not compete in that event.
Eli MacIver:
200-yard individual medley
100-yard breaststroke
200-yard medley relay
200-yard freestyle relay
MacIver also secured a sectional time in the 50-yard freestyle but will not compete in that event.
Pavlin Aleksiev:
200-yard medley relay
200-yard freestyle relay
Markus Vitanov:
200-yard medley relay
D’Marco Lewis:
200-yard freestyle relay
Boys Hoops Lose Close Game To Monomoy
The boys basketball team traveled on the road Wednesday afternoon for a big Cape & Island’s league matchup with the Monomoy Sharks. The Whalers and Sharks are the #32 and #33 teams respectively in the latest MIAA rankings released on Tuesday.
Unfortunately for the Whalers, they came up just short in their bid for a key road victory – losing the game 55-52.
A slow start is what ultimately doomed Nantucket as they fell into a quick 18-7 hole after one quarter. Led by seven second quarter points by freshman Burke Lombardi, they bounced back nicely outscoring Monomoy 16-7 in the second to only trail 25-23 going into halftime.
Junior wing Vallon Jeanty scored nine points in the third followed junior big man Ethan Jarrett’s six points to help the Whaler’s take a 40-38 lead into the final quarter.
But in the fourth, the Whaler’s allowed Monomoy to score 17 points, including seven from Jackson Morneau – who finished with a game-high 22 points. Jeanty and Jarrett each had 19 points in the game.
Nantucket, now 4-9 this season, has a busy final two weeks of the regular season. They will play Cape Cod Academy at home on Friday, February 7th at 5 p.m. and then host Ayer Shirley Regional High School on Saturday, February 8th at 11 a.m.
Girls Hoops Drops Second Straight To Monomoy
The girls basketball team was hoping to get some revenge on the Monomoy Sharks Thursday evening after the Sharks beat Nantucket 50-27 on Tuesday. While Nantucket’s defense improved in Thursday’s matchup, the Whalers were once again unable to get much going offensively and lost the game 36-26.
Nantucket led 9-6 after one quarter and held Monomoy to just six points in the second, but the Whalers were held without a point in the second quarter and trailed 12-9 at halftime.
The Whalers, led by a pair of threes from senior captain Maddie Lombardi, outscored Monomoy 14-10 in the third to take a 23-22 lead into the final quarter. They were unable to keep that offense going in the final eight minutes while Monomoy began to heat up – resulting in Nantucket being outscored 14-3 in the fourth.
Nantucket was led in scoring by Lombardi, who followed up her 14-point performance on Tuesday with a nine-point effort on Thursday.
The Whalers are now 6-5 this season and will try to snap this two-game losing streak when they travel to Falmouth Academy on Friday, February 7th for a 4 p.m. game.
SCHEDULE AHEAD:
Friday, February 7th:
The boys basketball team will be at home facing Cape Cod Academy at 5 p.m.
The girls basketball team will be on the road playing Falmouth Academy at 4 p.m.
Saturday, February 8th:
The boys basketball team will be at home playing Ayer Shirley Regional High School at 11 a.m.
The boys hockey team will be on the road playing Barnstable at 3 p.m.
Sunday, February 9th:
The boys hockey team will be at home playing the Dennis-Yarmouth Dolphins at 11 a.m.
The girls basketball team will be at home playing Martha's Vineyard at 11 a.m.
For more coverage of all the Nantucket High School winter sports teams, follow our sports Instagram page here.
For more photos taken by Chris Tran, follow his Instagram page here.
To view the MIAA Power Rankings, click here.