WESTFIELD – The Belchertown Orioles scored 14 seconds into the opening period. After that, the St. Mary Saints regrouped and put together a solid three periods of hockey to earn a 5-2 victory and move back over .500 at 7-6 on the season Thursday.
Val Reopel stopped 23 shots, and the defense, bolstered by the return of senior co-captain Matt Wurster, stifled the Orioles offense the rest of the game.
On the offensive side of things, Reilly Siart got the scoring started, tying the game at 1 with just under two minutes in the first period. The Saints then turned up the offense in the second period, with Tanner Hart depositing his team-leading 13th goal of the season. Not to be outdone, Johnathan Spear beat Belchertown goalie Kyle Greene halfway through the period for his 12th goal of the season to give the Saints a two-goal cushion.
In the third, Sam LaBombard scored his first goal of the year on a slap shot, and Charlie Bonatakis added an empty net goal to give the Saints the 5-2 win.
GIRLS’ HOOPS
Lancers storm past WHS
Longmeadow 51, Westfield 26
Longmeadow outscored Westfield 27-6 over the second and third quarters to establish a commanding lead en route to Thursday night’s victory.
Kayla Mokwuah (17 points), Taylor Shubrick (12), and Olivia Shapiro (10) led Longmeadow offense. Alexa Morin scored a game-high 16 for Westfield.
Red Raiders roll
Hampshire 71, Southwick 38
Hampshire went on a 20-4 run to open the game, and never looked back. Chelsea Moussette and Katy O’Connor scored 22 points apiece to fuel the Red Raiders’ victory.
Ashley Shea led Southwick with nine.
Eagles soar past Gators
Franklin Tech 35, Gateway 19
Brittany Andrews scored 10 points to lead Franklin Tech. Gateway’s Joanna Arkoette finished with a team-high six.
PVIAC SKI RACE – Saints, Bombers top of the charts
Westfield’s Rebecca Stephens claimed a first-place finish on the slopes in Thursday night’s Pioneer Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference race at Berkshire East in Charlemont.
Stephens, whose winning time was 33.73, was not the only Bomber to shine.
The entire WHS girls’ ski team claimed another first-place finish with a 154.72, easily outdistancing second-place Longmeadow (164.27).
Grace O’Connor (3rd overall, 35.05), Lauren O’Connor (15th, 41.04), and Natalie Michell (22nd, 44.9) rounded out the top four Westfield skiers.
St. Mary’s Matt Masciadrelli topped the entire field of boys’ skiers, winning with a time of 24.78.
The Saints were equally as impressive as a team, fielding a first-team finish as well.
Nate Bonini (14th overall, 26.54), Jack Masciadrelli (20th, 27.43), and Hayden Lussier (21st, 27.62) finished 2-4 for St. Mary.
