Sports Roundup: Boys Hockey Wins Fifth Straight Game, Girls Swim Remains Undefeated
David Creed •
This Whaler Sports Roundup includes updates on the boys hockey team after their fifth straight win, boys & girls swimming – who left Nauset with some sectional and state times in a variety of events, and girls hockey.
Boys Hockey Shuts Out DY, Improves To 5-1
The Whalers improved their win streak to five games Wednesday afternoon following a 4-0 victory over the Dennis-Yarmouth Dolphins on the Cape.
Nantucket controlled the pace of the game in all three periods and dominated time of possession. Head coach Jack Moran said he was happy his team went into Tony Kent Arena and did what they needed to do, but moving forward would like to see them bury more of those high-quality scoring chances.
“Everything worked out really well we just couldn't finish all the plays we were creating,” Moran said. “We had so many opportunities. I don't know how many shots we had but we had four goals and must have hit him at least 40 times and I mean literally hit him right in the center of his chest or right on his pads. We couldn't elevate the puck enough to get it in.”
Senior center and assistant captain Ryan Davis scored the game’s first goal and the only goal of the first period off an assist from his left winger Braden Knapp. Senior defenseman Hunter Strojny picked up a secondary assist on the play and had himself a multi-point night.
The Whalers took that 1-0 lead deep into the second period before sophomore winger Canton Jenkinson was able to bury a rebound to make it 2-0. Then 14 seconds later, Knapp chipped in with a goal of his own to make it 3-0 with 2:01 remaining in the second period.
“Their breakouts were perfect. They really did a good job there,” Moran said. “Their defensive zone was great. I don't know how many shots they got on Griffin, maybe six or seven maybe. But we were happy with their performance. I just wish they had been able to dig up a few more goals because we really wanted to get the other kids in and have a little bit of a buffer so they could go out, have some fun, and not really worry about it.”
Towards the end of the final period, the Whalers were able to add one more goal at the end of a shift that lasted over three minutes in the Nantucket offensive zone. This time it was senior assistant captain and defenseman Michael Culkins burying the shot from the high slot to put an exclamation mark on what was an overall dominant performance from the Whalers.
Nantucket’s next game – weather permitting – is scheduled for Sunday, January 7th at 2 p.m. when they host the St. John Paul II Lions at 2 p.m.
Girls Swimming Beats Nauset, Boys Lose
The Whaler girls swim team earned their second victory of the season over the Nauset Warriors Thursday afternoon and remain undefeated overall this winter – improving their record to 5-0 following their 90-74 victory. The boys meanwhile lost their meet against Nauset 31-68 and had just three available swimmers, but they were able to secure some sectional times.
Nantucket head coach Dylan Jones said a highlight from Thursday’s meet was junior Andrea Bunlerssak filling in and competing in the 200-yard freestyle race for a sick swimmer. He said she had a great swim and scored fourth (2:41.67).
Jones also pointed to the performance of Presy Penkova, who swam the 100 free for the first time all season and placed fourth with a time of (1:17.86).
“Overall, we had quite a few DQs, which is not what we’re looking to do, but once again these swimmers stepped up when we needed it and they fought to score points when the opportunities were there,” Jones said.
On the boy’s side, Pavlin Aleksiev secured two new personal bests in the 100 free (1:00.15) and the 100 backstroke (1:11.25).
“(It was) great to see that from a middle schooler,” Jones said of Aleksiev. “Jake (Johnson) and Eli (MacIver) had great races. I know they’ll say they wished the times were better, but the times will come for both of them – particularly when we’re resting for our bigger meets in a few weeks.”
There was only one state qualifying time earned by Nantucket swimmers in Thursday’s meet, and it was done by the heat of Sara Dussault, Hannah Gerardi, Martina Savova, and Myah Johnson in the 200-yard medley relay. They placed second in the event and earned a time of 2:01.71. The first-place heat, consisting of Nauset swimmers, finished with a time of 2:01.57.
Some of the sectional times earned by Nantucket swimmers in Thursday’s meet include:
Evie Phelps swimming a 2:08.70 in the 200-yard freestyle. The sectional time to beat in that event is 2:09.75. She also earned a sectional time in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:42.10 – winning the event and coming up just shy of the state qualifying time of 5:41.25.
Hannah Harrington earned a sectional time in the 500-yard freestyle as well – placing third in the event with a time of 5:54.35 and just narrowly beating the time to beat of 5:54.41.
Hannah Gerardi earned a sectional time in the 100 yard breaststroke – placing first in the event with a time of 1:16.02.
The Whaler’s heat in the 400 yard freestyle relay earned a sectional time and placed first in the event with a time of 4:06.38. The swimmers include Evie Phelps, Hannah Harrington, Hannah Gerardi, and Sara Dussault.
Jake Johnson earned a sectional time in the 50-yard freestyle (23.83) with the sectional time to meet or beat being that exact time. Johnson was just .03 away from earning a state time. Johnson also secured a sectional time in the 100 yard freestyle (52.13) and narrowly beat out Nauset senior Will Crowell, who finished with a time of 52.32.
The Whalers next meet is scheduled for Saturday, January 6th on the road against the Sandwich Blue Knights at 10:30 a.m.
Girls Hockey Still Searching For First Win Following Loss To Nauset
The Whaler girls hockey team was without their senior captain in net, Caroline Allen, Wednesday afternoon and lost to the Nauset Warriors 13-0 on home ice.
Nantucket is still searching for their first win of the season four games in but after a slow month of December where the Whalers played just three games, Nantucket has six games on their schedule (not including Wednesday’s game) ahead of them this month over the course of the next three weeks.
The Whalers next game – weather permitting – is scheduled for Saturday, January 6th at 2 p.m. when they host Boston Latin Academy. The Whalers will then have a few days off before hosting Sandwich on Wednesday, January 10th at 5:15 p.m.
SCHEDULE AHEAD:
Friday, January 5th:
The girls basketball team will be on the road taking on the Monomoy Sharks at 3:30 p.m. The Whalers played the Sharks at home on December 15th - losing 58-38.
The boys basketball team will also be on the road facing the Dennis-Yarmouth Dolphins. The Whalers hosted DY on December 14th and won 57-55.
Saturday, January 6th:
The boys basketball team will be at home facing the Falmouth Clippers at 12:30 p.m.
The girls hockey team will also be at home facing Boston Latin Academy at 2 p.m.
The boys & girls swim teams will be on the road to take on the Sandwich Blue Knights at 10:30 a.m.
Sunday, January 7th:
The boys hockey team will host the St. John Paul II Lions at 2 p.m.
Weekend games could be subject to change due to poor weather, so stay tuned.