The NCAA tournament kicks off today after another exciting College Basketball season.  The last two days have been play-in games, where low-ranked conference champions vie for a spot in the tourney. On Tuesday, Hampton beat Manhattan in a good game. Then in an incredibly exciting game, Ole Miss came back from a 17-point deficit to beat BYU. On Wednesday, Robert Morris came back from behind to knock off Florida. Then in the nightcap it was another thriller when Dayton beat Boise State in a game that came down to the final shot. The play-in games are always in Dayton, which gave them a home court advantage.

March Madness, which deserves the name with the amount of exciting games, is a basketball junkie’s nirvana. It’s such a big deal that President Obama takes time to fill out a bracket every year, something I think he undeservedly gets too much heat for. Weeks of the top basketball teams play their best for the national championship. It doesn’t get any better. There are always a couple lower-seeded teams that knock off a top power school and become darlings of the tournament. Almost every year there is a Cinderella mid-major team that will go on a long run in the tournament, sometimes all the way to the final. It is truly a great time to be a basketball fan, trust me, I know from vast experience.

March Madness is always a great time to make some money too.  Industry estimates are that $90-$100 million are legally gambled every tournament and that the number could even be as high as $227 million. However, lots and lots of money is available illegally. Bracket pools run in offices or among groups of friends are not usually worth more than a couple hundred to one thousand bucks, but 23 years ago a nationwide FBI estimate put that number at $2.5 billion and that number has likely grown. Pregame.com, a website that analyzes world news, estimates that $12 billion worldwide, legally and illegally, was at stake during last year’s tournament. Yes, technically Bracket Pools are illegal. Right now the only state where sports betting is legal is Nevada. I like to compare it to jaywalking; everybody does it and as long as you don’t egregiously partake in it in an authority’s face, they’re not going to do anything about it. To date, no one has ever been prosecuted for friendly office pools; key word being friendly. But gambling money isn’t the only  money at stake. A report last year by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas says, “The cost to American industry will be more than $1.2 billion, based on an average hourly wage of $24.31 and if each worker spends just one hour on their brackets.”

Like most years, the 2015 tournament has a little bit of local flavor if you’re interested. Perennial New England representative and defending national champion UConn did not manage to qualify this year. However, Harvard won the Ivy league for the fourth straight year and will look to go for their third 1st-round upset in four years. They start off with a tough University of North Carolina team. Northeastern also made the dance for the first time in awhile. They have a lowly 14 seed and start off the tournament by playing the very first game versus a hot Notre Dame team that just won the ACC championship. The expectation is their tournament experience is going to be pretty short. Providence is also in the tournament. They have had a pretty solid year and are capable of winning some games, but next year is when they’re going to have their best shot to win it all. They start off this tournament with Dayton, and if they get by them, they have been a trendy upset pick to knock off #3 Oklahoma in the second round.

If you’re looking to get involved or make some wagers, you can’t go wrong with Kentucky. They’ve been exceptionally dominant all year, and they have on their  bench Sam Malone, whose high school playing days were at Scituate High School.

Like most years, there is a lot of parity in college hoops and a lot can happen. Author’s pick: Arizona over Virginia. Happy watching!

The Boys Hockey team’s bid to return to the Garden to play in the state championship game ended Sunday, when Norwell beat Hanover 5-1 in the South Sectional Final at Gallo Arena. Norwell moves on to the Emass Championship March 11 against Watertown.  The winner of that game heads to the title game.

The score was deceiving as Norwell isn’t four goals better than Hanover, but at times Sunday they certainly looked it. The Clippers came into the game having beaten Hanover 4-2 very early in the year. They just lost their best player, Senior Captain and SSL League MVP Dave Talanian, to a broken leg in their semi-final against Cohasset. But their youth didn’t hurt them as they consistently kept Hanover at bay offensively while putting on good pressure down the other end. Norwell scored first but Hanover was able to strike back. Tom Martin got the puck on the wing in his own zone and threw a beauty of a two-line pass to lead Ernie Meads into the Norwell zone where he went top corner with it. The elation was short lived as Norwell scored 45 seconds later. They put a shot on Clapp and there was a huge scrum in front of the net, bodies went down and everyone was taking pokes on net. Alex Ferguson came away with the puck and put it away.

Hanover had its chances though. They would get 5:30 of power play time in the span of about 5 minutes and 45 seconds and failed to capitalize. A Norwell defenseman got a 4 Minute Major for Boarding after he launched Landon Hasenfuss into the boards with a cheap hit from behind. As someone who is certainly not a hockey expert but knows the game, there is no question in my mind he should have been tossed. Hassenfuss was pretty shaken up on the play but would return to the game. After four minutes of the power play without anything to show for it, Norwell would do Hanover another favor and pick up another penalty. The Indians were again unable to capitalize and Norwell would score before the end of the period. The 3rd period was all Norwell but Hanover fought until the end.

Reaching the South Sectional Final is an impressive feat, but this year’s team had already tasted more and was striving for the state title. It’s funny how things worked for them this year. Last year’s team had more talent but they struggled in the regular season, including a patch of five straight losses. But they turned it on in the postseason and earned a deserved spot in the state championship against Shrewsbury. Comparatively, the cupboard wasn’t bare this year but it seemed there was a drop off in talent after losing several excellent seniors and two sophomores who were very good. But this Indians squad dominated in the regular season, they had very few losses, won their league and beat top 25 Duxbury. They just didn’t have the horses to reach the Garden. While they could have beaten Norwell on Sunday, Norwell looked like the better team.

The Hockey team still provided four of the best student experiences at HHS: tournament games at Gallo. The rink itself is great, the overwhelming student support and enthusiasm is what makes it great. It’s an incredible atmosphere.

Their season is over and the team may be dissatisfied right now, but when they look back at this year they should be proud. A Patriot League Championship is an impressive feat. Landon Hasenfuss won League MVP and he, along with Tom Martin and Noah Clapp, were named league all stars. Trevor Doucette had a great season as the first line center and wore the Matheny jersey well. Along with Martin and Hasenfuss, Alex Wisnes, Ernie Meads and Connor Morris were all very potent forwards for the team. Seniors Alex O’Dowd and Joe Maguire as well as Junior Dan McDougall (who made his return to puck after 2 years of being a sharpshooter in the basketball program) led the team’s grinder line and put in the hard work. The fourth line of Ryan Mahoney, Zach Taylor, and Ryan Phillips really came along as the season went on. All of them were underclassmen and will be back to contribute.

On the back end, Tyler Powers, who was the third line center on last year’s Garden run, moved back to the top D pairing. He brought great quickness, toughness, and puck-moving ability back with him. He was paired with Shane Fallon who made big hits and launched rockets from the blue and back all year long. The second D pair was a little smaller and quicker. Mike McGlame, arguably the team’s top defenseman, was great all around with strong offensive and defensive skill sets. His partner, Freshman Paul McCabe, was small but quick and never afraid the throw the body around at bigger opponents. Drew Cratty and Christian Sarruda made up the last D pairing. Sarruda was the big and tough defender with the hard shot, and Cratty was the smaller with puck-moving skills and agility on the ice. Behind them was a stud pairing of goalies. Noah Clapp was back between the pipes and was phenomenal all year, hence his All Star selection. But behind him was Drew Zwart, who saw less ice time but was stellar when in there. He had a .949 save percentage on the year. Senior Forwards Chase Coogan, Mike Martino and Junior Scotty O’Brien made up the team’s fifth line. Junior Reese Fallon and Freshman Jason Galotti were on varsity as extra defensemen. While they didn’t see that much ice time, all five of them were integral to the team’s success.

It might not have ended how or where they wanted, but the Indians should be proud of their season and the Seniors should be proud of their careers. Like I’ve said so many times already, and I mean it every time, despite losing a great senior class, there is a lot of talent coming back and the future for boys hockey is bright.

Boys Basketball

The Boys basketball team ended their most successful season in recent memory at the hands of Old Rochester last weekend. In their first tournament game, Hanover blew out Bishop Stang, 71-47. Hanover was hot from 3 and played great defense. Jack Buckley led the way with 28 points and 15 rebounds in front of a large Hanover crowd that stormed the court after the win. The win came as many local media from the South Coast and Boston had already started hyping up a Stang-Old Rochester rematch.

Hanover headed to Old Rochester Saturday with much confidence against the 17-3,  number one seed. Unfortunately, it was Old Rochester’s game from start to finish. Their whole starting five plus a big man off the bench were incredible offensively all game and their great defense took Hanover out of the game. Hanover made a couple of runs but Old Rochester was able to consistently pull away again.

While it was very upsetting that their season, and their careers for some of the HHS players, were over, they took some happiness away from the game due to Jack Buckley reaching 1,000 points. Hanover force-fed him the ball in the end and Old Rochester made it hard on him, but Buckley hit some tough shots to reach the milestone. It was a great season, the first 10+win season, the first league championship, and the first tournament game win for all of the players and coaches involved at Hanover. Jack Buckley and Jack Phelan were named league all stars. Buckley was Hanover’s leader all year, averaging 25.4 ppg, 14.6 rpg, and 2 bpg and being named league MVP. Phelan was a stat sheet stuffer, averaging 8.7 ppg, 7.1 apg, and 2.2 spg. John Carroll (12.2 ppg) and Evan Elkhill (11) provided much of the supplemental scoring for Buckley.

Girls Basketball

Coach Fish and the girls team had a very successful season of their own. They were able to win a Patriot League championship for the second consecutive year after a rough start. It was in the second half of the season that Hanover started to play good ball despite missing a key player to injury and some talented seniors having graduated. In their  first tournament matchup, they knocked off a good Ursuline team in a gane that came down to the wire. Steph Flynn got hurt late in the first half for Hanover and things looked grim, but she heroically came back to lead them to victory.

Up next came the long trip that almost every team in D3 South dreads, down to Martha’s Vineyard. Leaving school early to play at 4:30, Hanover played a great game and nearly put down the Vineyard. It came down the final minute and the Island girls hit a big 3 with 32 seconds left that would clinch the victory. It was a tough loss but Hanover is a young team and the future is incredibly bright. They are favorites to three-peat for League champs and with Archies weakening, one of the favorites in D3 South. They grabbed three All Star spots for Juniors Flynn  (who also won league MVP) and Kayla McMahon as well as Sophomore Meg Raab.

Girls Hockey

The Cohasset/Hanover co-op took a step back from last year’s very successful season but were still very competitive. They made the tournament in their last game of the year by tying Quincy/North Quincy. The lost in the first round of the tournament to a very good Medway/Ashland team out in Marlboro. Like Girls Basketball, they are a young team with a lot of potential. They lose top seniors Valerie Farren of Cohasset and Erin Smith of Hanover, but return five of their top six forwards and their top defensemen. They will also bring back outstanding goalie Shea Kearney in between the pipes. Kearney, along with Senior Forward Valerie Farren, Sophomore Forward Cassidy Bodie, and Sophomore Forward Callie Hoadley, were named SEMGHL All Stars.

Wrestling

Seniors Mike McLeod and Dillon Russell had their careers end this weekend at Massachusetts All-Sates. They wrestled valiantly all year and it was their first time getting this far in the post season. They were a big reason why Hanover had their winningest season ever this year. However the team is still wrestling because Colin Boutin managed to move on to New Englands. Returning this year from Xaverian, Boutin had high expectations on him but he has surpassed all of them. He has been dominant all year and was the first Indian to place at All-States since the early 2000s.

As in the Fall season, the Indians found success this winter in every sport they competed in. Swimming, Gymnastics and Skiing have already held their state competitions (see Winter Season Over for Some Teams), and Wrestling has begun the preliminary rounds of states. Now with the Hockey and Hoop teams about to begin their roads to the Garden and DCU, here’s the outlook:

Wrestling

At this point, Wrestling has already gone through sectionals and states with All-States on tap for this weekend. At South Sectionals at Foxboro High, Mike McLeod, Colin Boutin, and Danny Ryan all took 2nd place for their weight class. Dillon Russell nabbed third, Damien Galotti got 4th, Rian Boutin and Jeff McDonald got 5th, while Hunter Gillis, Tyler Anderson and Pete Crowley placed 6th. Peter Basset also wrestled but was unable to place. McLeod, Ryan, Russell, Galotti and Colin Boutin qualified for states.

At States, Galotti was unable to wrestle and Ryan was unable to place, ending successful seasons for the pair of sophomores.  McLeod, Russell, and Boutin were able to move to All-States with their top 6 performances. McLeod and Russell placed 6th, Boutin 5th. All three are back in action this weekend trying to end the season on a high note.

Girls Hockey

The Cohasset-Hanover hockey team had another solid season, but barely squeaked into the post-season with a tie in their last regular season game against Quincy-North Quincy. The team got stuck with the 23rd seed out of 25 teams in D2, giving them a tough draw to advance. They will face Medway-Ashland tonight (Feb 26) at Blackstone Valley Ice Arena. CH already played a home-and-home with them this year, tying them at home and losing out at their place. It will be a tough task to get off that long bus ride and face a very talented team, but a good goalie can take you far. Shea Kearney has been dominant for the team all year and will give them a chance in every game they play. The top line of Callie Hoadley, Sam Taylor, and Valerie Farren will need to be in sync and firing on all cylinders too. It should be a very competitive game and the team will try to advance like last season. Update: The team fell to a very talented Medway/Ashland Co-op in the 1st round last night 2-0.

Boys Hockey

The #roadtothegarden is never easy, but it’s hard to look at teams in the bracket  and not envision a repeat. These last two seasons have justified why Hanover moved to D2 after their 2007 State Championship. They’ve been an absolute powerhouse since they moved back. Looking at D3 South, some of their potential opponents are almost laughable. Sure, upsets can happen, but if the Indians play to their capability, they are in great shape. In their first game they will face Diman, who just beat Apponequet in a prelim. Should be an easy win. Norwell, Cohasset and maybe Bourne (since Gallo is their home rink) look to be the only real challengers in the south. Wayland, Watertown, or Newton South will provide a real tough task in the EMass final should they reach that point. It looks as though the north is down this year while the south is up, meaning Hanover would likely be the favorite. After that, it would be on to the Garden where they are likely to see Shrewsbury again. Shrewsbury is still a very good hockey team, probably one of the top three that Hanover would face all year, but they have taken a considerable step back from last year’s team that dominated the Indians 7-1 due to the loss of a lot of seniors and a top underclassmen. To continue their success, Hanover needs to keep doing what they’re doing. They have a good mix of youth and experience. They’ve been consistently rolling 4 lines with great results and if that keeps up in the tournament, they’re a tough out. When Noah Clapp keeps things locked down in net, they can beat any team in D3. Look at it this way: Duxbury is a legitimate top 25 team in the MIAA and will make a tough team in D1 South and Hanover beat them by a solid margin in one of their best games of the year. Personally, I believe the only D3 teams you could maybe consider top 25 are Hanover, Norwell (who was there briefly), and Shrewsbury. So if Hanover brings their A game, I don’t see them bowing out.

Girls Basketball

The Girls Hoop team beat Ursuline Academy in a nail-biter yesterday (Feb. 25) to win their first tournament game. They won 47-45 in front of a home crowd. Coming off a great end to the season that included another Patriot League championship, they are a top team in D3 South. They earned the 5th seed entering the tourney, putting themselves in a good position. Ursuline was not a weak team, but it was definitely a game Hanover was expected to win. Next, they are headed to the Vineyard on Friday (Feb. 27). The team has all the tools to make a nice run. They have great scoring in games from Steph Flynn, Kayla McMahon and usually Meg Raab or Alyssa Delahunt as well. They play tough defense and at this point their whole roster has considerable experience. They have already shown great resiliency this year by bouncing back from a rough start. The other side of the bracket is tough with Abington and Archbishop Williams who knocked them off last year in their second game of the tournament. If they reach the sectional final, it will be against the Archies powerhouse. However, if Hanover takes it one game at a time, they have the talent and ability to keep moving on.

Boys Basketball

The Indians got a tough draw when the MIAA came out with its brackets over the weekend. They will start off with a talented Bishop Stang team today (Feb. 26) at Bishop Stang at 6:30. Hanover was in a 3-way tie for the 8-10 seeds and ended up with the 9th. Tourney favorite Old Rochester, as well as excellent Wareham and Martha’s Vineyard teams, are on their side of the bracket. The other side seems a little softer with the top teams being Norwell and Bourne. Hanover is coming off a rough stretch, 3 losses in league play. Jack Buckley hurt his ankle in the first of those three games and the hope is he will be back to close 100 percent for the tournament. His scoring, rebounding, and post defense are crucial to Hanover’s success. Buckley has been consistently dominant, even in his worst games going for 15 +. He will be their biggest factor, but the onus is on the trio of Jack Phelan, Evan Elkhill, and John Carroll to supply the secondary scoring load. All three of them have had great scoring nights but have also had nights where they didn’t break 5 points. All three need to find a level of consistency for the team to move forward. Phelan and Zach Thomson will be tasked with playing great defense on Stang’s tough guards, something Coach Hannigan has been preaching all week. The bench is inexperienced when it comes to tourney time, but if they step up instead of being overwhelmed, Hanover can beat any foe in D3 South. It’s on the Indians to play to their highest level and when they do, they can make a deep run in the tournament. Update: Hanover routed Bishop Stang 71-47 in a game that was close for awhile but Hanover was too hot shooting to lose.

With the MIAA Tournament season upon us yet again – this time for winter sports – several teams and individuals have already had their season come to a close. Here’s a brief rundown:

Swimming

The Swim and Dive team found success this winter on both team and individual levels. Both sides had quality records and sent members on to sectionals and then states for Division 2. At sectionals, the boys team finished 26th out of 60. The 200 free relay team of Aidan Wright, Shawn Doolin, Will DeBoer and Nick Jones finished 14th. Jones finished in fifth place in the 500 free and 13th in the 200 individual medley. Wright was 21st in the 100 fly and 30th in the 100 back. The 200 medley relay team of Wright, Ed Geswell, Jones and Doolin finished 29th with a time of 1:51.83. At states, the team finished 23rd out of 48 teams. Both of Hanover’s relay teams qualified for states and finished 15th. On the individual side, Jones finished 11th in the state in the 100 butterfly with a time of 54.08 and 17th in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 23.20.  Wright came in 8th in the 100 yard backstroke with a 57.34 and 13th in the 100 yard butterfly with a 54.64. This was the most competitive the team has been for awhile and the future is bright.

On the girls side, only Jodie O’Connor managed to qualify for sectionals. She swam in the 50 and 100 free at sectionals, finishing 16th in the 50 free and 21st in the 100 free. Competing in the same events at states, she came in 21st in 50 free and 24th in the 100 free. Only a sophomore, she will continue to bring success for the team the next two years.

Gymnastics

The squad’s season was short but successful. Sophomore Lauren Galotti was able to qualify for states. She competed this past weekend but did not place. Like a lot of Hanover teams this year, it seems the team had a lot of talented underclassmen and the future is bright.

Skiing

The Ski team season started late because of a lack of snow in December and early January, and wrapped up fairly quickly with their state meet taking place on February 23. The team had a solid season, coming in 5th overall in the league. Max Shelley competed in states out at Wachusett Mountain. He raced in the Slalom and Giant Slalom events and placed in the top 20 for the event as a whole.

So far this season, the Girls’ Varsity basketball team has earned a very impressive 9-5 record on the season. The team lost a tremendous senior class last season, one that wouldn’t be easy to replace. On top of that, the team has been without one of its best players, sophomore Megan Dixon, for a good chunk of the season. Most recently, the team knocked of D3 South rival Norwell 41 to 31. Junior Steph Flynn had 20 points.

Flynn has been the offensive key for Hanover this season. In her third year starting on varsity, she has been consistently going for double digits for awhile now. Hanover is a young team this year but they are not without experience as many of their contributors are on their second or third go-round on varsity. Junior Point Guard Kayla McMahon, in her third year on varsity, is putting up good numbers. Meaghan Raab was an off-and-on starter last year, but this year has been filling up down low. Sophomore Maeve Hennebury, who saw some varsity time last year, has been a contributor off the bench this year. Forward Emily Sweeney and Guards Marissa Nimeskern and Alyssa Delahunt, all juniors, are returning after seeing some varsity time last year and have played key minutes.

Recently, it seems like every year the team has a couple of talented freshman. This year is no different. Taylor Scott has been filling a big role for the team so far. Lauren Gelly has been a nice asset for the squad. It’s a luxury that the Indians have been able to replenish so well recently.

The team is 8-4 in league play, good for a very high standing. The Patriot League is very tough with Scituate, Duxbury and Quincy perennially putting out very talented teams. Both the Plymouth teams who are new to the league this year have good teams. Dixon, who started last year as a freshman and is a very talented player, was a big loss  when she went down for the season with an injury. The team had to deal with some adversity and struggled for a patch, but is back on track to their winning ways. As long as they continue to perform at a high level, the Indians have as much potential as any winter sports team to make some noise in the tournament.

Hey I got bored, so I’m writing about the boys hockey team like they’re Viking warriors. In the middle of another strong season with a record of 8-3-2, the team has earned a spot in the postseason tournament and has its eye on a return to the state championship. I figured they deserved an epic ballad to recount their saga and urge them on.

They ride, they ride on a chariot of gold and black,

Chewing and gnashing  on their sticks in pent-up fury, ready to attack.

Their equipment soaked with the  fear of those who cross their path,

They were forgotten, for their very names became the past.

Blades sharpened on a skull shattered in two,

Their enemies’ fear is palpable, and that will be cut too.

Hope is all the enemy can wish for

Yet they still believe that their feeble troop will score.

Ha! I laugh at the arrogance of these over-confident fools,

For have they not heard of the Hanover team that rules?

Have they not heard of the 25 men,

Bound together, win by win?

These crown-less kings of the frozen domain

Leave their mark through terror and pain.

A pain well-known, and certainly remembered

It scars the DNA and burns like a hot ember.

Their well-sharpened blades flay the ice they charge through

Sticks crash and break spirits, and panes of glass too.

The blood-thirsty crowd will laugh all the day

Sneering at those bold enough to block their way.

Mocking those who lay defeated on the winter curtain,

When facing this blitzkrieg of flesh, nothing is certain.

But for teams that face HHS, one thing is true,

Hell has stepped on the rink, and there is no hope for you.

Photo Courtesy of the Friends of Hanover Hockey website

The girls hockey team found great success in an unlikely spot recently, the HHS cafeteria. They quickly sold out of the colorful winter hats they were selling as a fund raiser at all three lunches (the hats are now back on the market after about a week’s hiatus). However, the team’s biggest triumphs so far this season have been on the ice.

Coming into this Saturday’s clash against Ursuline Academy, the Cohasset/Hanover co-op team has a nice record of 7 wins, 4 losses and 1 tie. In league play, the team is 6-2 with a dominating ratio of scoring 23 goals while only giving up 13.  Offensively, Junior Sam Taylor and Sophomore Callie Hoadley have led the scoring charge. They each have 9 goals apiece. Hoadley leads the team with 18 points having chipped in 9 assists. Taylor is second with 14 points. On the Cohasset side, Senior Captain Valerie Farren has been putting up great numbers. She comes in with 6 goals and 6 assists for third on the team with 12 points.  A trio of sophomores from Cohasset — Katie Talacci, Kaitlin McGovern, and Alex Martini — are the next three point leaders, each with 5 or 6 points.

In net, Cohasset Junior Shea Kearney has been one of the best goalies in the South Shore, singlehandedly keeping Cohasset/Hanover in some games. She has a save percentage of .954 (95.4%) and has saved 312 of 330 shots on the year. For perspective, the goalie for Winthrop/Lynn, which is 9-3 and  one of the top 15 teams in the state, has faced considerably fewer 273 shots while playing in 11.6 of their 12 games.  Kearney has played only 8.6 of  C/H’s 12 games and has faced more attacks on the net. She has been steadily reinforced by Hanover bac up Emily Marciello  The other HHS members listed on the varsity roster are Senior Forward Erin Smith, Sophomore Forward Kailey Murphy, Junior Defense Molly Cameron, Freshman Forward/Defense Sydney Davis, Freshman Defense Morgan Lundin, Freshman Forward Alyssa Wilcox, and Sophomore Defense Cassidy Bodie. Bodie and Cameron, as well as Jenna O’Brien of Cohasset, make up a big part of the team’s defense this year.

The team and the program have improved steadily from their inception just a few years ago. This year appears to be following that trend. Last year, Hanover bowed in the second round of the D2 south playoffs to a young and talented Milton team that could roll more lines than Hanover’s two. This year, while depth can still be an issue for C/H, the talented underclassmen have been providing key minutes. The team plays a more unorthodox schedule than a lot of Hanover teams. This year they have faced very talented teams such as Medway/Ashland, Archbishop Williams, and Notre Dame Academy as well as teams like Mansfield/Oliver Ames, Latin Academy (Boston), King Phillip, and Ursuline Academy. Despite being based out of the lackluster Zapustas Rink in Randolph, hardly a home rink, the team has found great success on the road as well as at home. The first two lines need to keep up their highly potent offense and the girls need to start finding offense from unexpected sources. If they can do that, and shore up the second-string back line, Cohasset/Hanover will not only be tourney bound, but true D2 South Contenders.

Instead of focusing on preparing for the Super Bowl matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, the New England Patriots have spent the last week fighting off accusations of cheating. According to the NFL, 11 out of the 12 footballs used in the AFC Championship game between the Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts were deflated by two pounds per square inch. In theory, deflating the balls would make them easier for quarterback Tom Brady to throw and his receivers to catch.

In two press conferences this past week, coach Bill Belichick has insisted he had “no explanation” for what happened before the game with the football. He said the team even conducted its own experiments to prove that weather or normal handling of the ball could account for their change in size. Brady said, “I would never break the rules.” I find it hard to believe what Brady is saying because he wouldn’t tell the press what was said behind closed doors to his teammates. But at the same time, this doesn’t make him guilty of cheating.

Personally, I don’t think the Patriots should be forced to pay large fines or be penalized more than a fourth round draft pick because it’s only ball pressure. It’s not the reason why the Pats beat the Colts. Some people have argued that Belichick deserves to be fired for this incident, especially with his history of SpyGate, where he was accused of illegally videotaping opponents’ practices. But it isn’t his job to make sure the balls are filled to regulation; this was out of his hands. The NFL continues to investigate and has not handed out a ruling yet.

Some people have complained that this incident will affect the winning legacy of Brady and Belichick, who have won three Super Bowls together. But, as they’ll show on the field next Sunday, this won’t put a dent in their legacies.