From the Wicked Local Walpole website:
Despite the sub-freezing temperatures, these two runners appear to be enjoying themselves during the New Year’s Day Race to benefit the Walpole High School Track Team. Check out this Thursday’s edition of the Walpole Times for the complete story.
From the HighSchoolSports.net website:
Walpole High School @ Norwood High School
Read “Boys Freshman Basketball 3:45PM 01/06/2009″ on the HighSchoolSports.net website
From the HighSchoolSports.net website:
Walpole High School vs Norwood High School - Held At: Walpole High Main Gym
Read “Girls Freshman Basketball 3:45PM 01/06/2009″ on the HighSchoolSports.net website
From the HighSchoolSports.net website:
Walpole High School @ Norwood High School
Read “Boys Junior Varsity Basketball 5:15PM 01/06/2009″ on the HighSchoolSports.net website
From the HighSchoolSports.net website:
Walpole High School vs Norwood High School - Held At: Walpole High Main Gym
Read “Girls Junior Varsity Basketball 5:15PM 01/06/2009″ on the HighSchoolSports.net website
From the HighSchoolSports.net website:
Walpole High School @ Framingham High School
Read “Boys Varsity Wrestling 6:00PM 01/06/2009″ on the HighSchoolSports.net website
From the HighSchoolSports.net website:
Walpole High School @ Norwood High School
Read “Boys Varsity Basketball 6:45PM 01/06/2009″ on the HighSchoolSports.net website
From the HighSchoolSports.net website:
Walpole High School vs Norwood High School - Held At: Walpole High Main Gym
Read “Girls Varsity Basketball 6:45PM 01/06/2009″ on the HighSchoolSports.net website
From the HighSchoolSports.net website:
Walpole High School @ Norwood High School
Read “Girls Varsity Gymnastics 7:00PM 01/06/2009″ on the HighSchoolSports.net website
From the HighSchoolSports.net website:
Walpole High School vs Martha s Vineyard Reg High
Read “Boys Junior Varsity Ice Hockey 4:00PM 01/05/2009″ on the HighSchoolSports.net website
From the HighSchoolSports.net website:
Walpole High School vs Martha s Vineyard Reg High
Read “Girls Junior Varsity Ice Hockey 4:00PM 01/05/2009″ on the HighSchoolSports.net website
From the Wicked Local Walpole website:
The Braintree High boys’ hockey team must have felt like it was on the wrong end of a before-and-after commercial featuring its Walpole counterparts in the championship game of the Fourth Annual Milbury Cup on the night of Dec. 27.
Only a few days before, they had beaten the Rebels rather easily, 4-1.
The Wamps were flying high on the goaltending of Robby Campbell and shooting of senior Captain Justin Quinn, and were recently ranked as high as fourth in Eastern Massachusetts by the polls. They had reached he final by ousting defending champion King Philip, 3-1, on Tuesday.
Of course that was before junior Mike Rockwell got hot and used a Gretzky-ish performance in the tourney to help beat Medfield, 5-3 Tuesday and then help deliver a 4-2 win over the Wamps and return the Milbury Cup to its origination in Walpole.
The Cup’s first stop this winter was a worthy one, the hands of captains Tom Tempesta, Pat MacLellan and Tyler Golden. Its second destination was just as worthy: the Tempesta household as Tom showed it to his dad, Tom, still recovering from a heart attack he suffered back in May.
Before they could keep it from the Wamps, however, they had to deal with Medfield. With the Walpole High boys’ hockey team fighting off penalties and trying to keep its composure against vastly improved Medfield, the Rebels needed a rock solid performance to pull out a win.
Walpole got exactly what it needed as Mike Rockwell scored four goals. The junior forward’s output was certainly necessary as the Warriors kept knocking the Rebels off their rhythm, especially in the first period when they let a couple of calls get to them.
It seemed every time the Warriors had an answer for Walpole Rockwell came back with a reply of his own. He scored his first to tie at 1-all, and then scored two more for the hat trick, putting Walpole ahead, 3-1. Then, after Medfield tied again at 3-all and senior captain Tyler Golden scored the eventual game-winner, Rock added an insurance goal.
Naturally the prolific scorer couldn’t win the game all by himself and he didn’t. A crew of penalty killers came up big throughout and kept Medfield from grabbing the lead and momentum in a choppy game. Senior goalie Jack Eckart did well as he tried to do everything in his power to keep the puck from going in his net.
Eckart, who finished with 25 saves, wasn’t afraid to roam away from the crease for loose pucks, and once in the third, he did a belly flop across the crease to cover up another loose puck.
It was a great effort in light of all the Medfield power plays. The game practically started out on a power play as the Rebels were called for boarding within the first couple of minutes.
They not only fought that off, but also got a quality shot on net by Golden set up by defenseman A. J. Rossi. Rossi sent a blistering nine shots on net the first period alone.
Despite outshooting the visitors 14-8 during the span, the Rebels found themselves down 1-0 with 6:36 left in the first.
Medfield defenseman Brendan Cioto set up at the blue line with the puck and passed to Devin Murray, who tried to stuff it past Eckart. He stopped the initial bid but Tom Graham, alone at the left post, slammed the rebound home.
Walpole was peppering goalie Al Ricciardelli right away, but didn’t even the score until there was just a minute to go during a 5-on-3 power play. Ricciadelli had stopped consecutive Rossi slappers from left point before Golden passed to Rockwell in front. Rocky finished the play off with a wrister past Ricciardelli’s left side.
The tie carried into the middle stanza, but by this time the Rebels were agitated, once by a 3-on-1 break called back and again when Captain Tom Tempesta took a punch to the helmet.
The Rebels seemed constantly a man down and were out of sync. But in the middle of the second they started gelling again.
At the of a power play gained by Medfield with 4:15 left in the second Eckart was literally under siege, but a couple of good stops plus an excellent penalty killing job by Ryan Gulla killed the threat.
The Rebels followed that with an equally solid performance against Braintree. They were without all-star defenseman Corey Menno for the second straight game but it mattered little as MacLellan returned from a concussion and played well. Also shining on D were Mike Semler, Gulla and AJ Rossi, especially shorthanded.
The Rebels got a spectacular performance from junior goalie Billy Sweeney, and as a unit they were effective in every aspect of the game, including forechecking, backchecking and following shots.
Where the Rebels really shone, however, was on offense. For the second straight game Rockwell was on fire with a hat trick. His seven goals made him a shoo-in for the tourney’s 2008 MVP trophy.
The offense wasn’t all Rockwell, however and neither was his line. Center Golden and speedy wing Tempesta were Rocky’s Wayne Cashman and Ken Hodge to his Phil Esposito. While he appeared to be a goal machine scores were actually a result of how well they worked together and were unselfish.
“I can’t say enough about Tom Tempesta and the kind of sparkplug he’s been for the team,” offered Meehan. He and Tyler Golden have been very consistent. Rockwell got the MVP because he’s the finisher, but they’re working so hard in the corners to set him up.”
It obviously worked as the line scored the final three Walpole goals.
It was Brendan Corcoran who got them off and running, however.
Only seconds after Sweeney stemmed a Kevin Earnest breakaway, the Rebels came flying right back, with Ryan Gulla breaking the puck out of the zone and feeding it to Corcoran. The center then took it off to right wing and cut across the front of the net stuffing it behind Campbell. Following Corc was Ryan O’Coin, ready to finish off any rebound.
The Wamps tried hard for the equalizer right after, but had their pockets picked repeatedly when they tried to get something set up. Two key plays came when Golden pilfered a clear with eight minutes left in the first and a beautiful steal at the blue line in Walpole’s zone by Tempesta with 6:45 left.
Tempesta carried the puck all the way in and dished to Rockwell, who lifted a shot from right wing. Campbell made the save but the Rebels kept the pressure on, sending the puck out to Semler at the point for another try. Semler blasted a slapper toward the left post, and it was redirected by Rockwell.
Braintree spoiled the shutout with 5:38 left in the middle stanza as Tim Harrington’s shot sailed low inside the left post.
A Walpole penalty right after threatened to allow the Wamps to tie, but Sweeney made two excellent saves before Golden cleared. The Rebels fended off the Wamps the rest of the period, and enjoyed a second Rockwell goal with 1:08 left in the second. This time Golden won a face-off and sent it into the right circle. Rockwell scrambled for the puck and sent it in.
Braintree started the third with 54 seconds left on a power play, and was stymied by two saves. But six seconds after the Rebels were back at full strength, at 1:00, Braintree closed to one again, as Brian Downing tipped a screened shot from the point by Kevin Lydon.
Again a power play threatened to even the score but A. J. Rossi, Semler, Corcoran and Tim Bailey did a great job of killing it.
The insurance goal came with 42.9 seconds left. Tempesta stole the puck from a defenseman, and then sped through two defenders into Braintree’s zone. The wrist shot was stopped, but Rockwell was there for the rebound.
“I wasn’t focused on the MVP today, but just winning the cup,” offered Rockwell. “Once I scored it started coming to me again. It’s just good to get the cup back in Walpole.”
McClellan was happy he could contribute.
“I came back at the right time, it couldn’t have been better,” said the senior defenseman. “We got it back because we wanted it more.”
Braintree 0 2 0 - 2
Walpole 2 1 1 - 4
1st pd – W, Brendan Corcoran (Ryan Gulla) 5:30; W, Mike Rockwell (Mike Semler) 11:01. 2nd pd - B, Tim Harrington (Paul Souza) 9:22; W, Rockwell (Ty Golden) 13:52. 3rd pd – B, pp, Brian Downing (Kevin Lydon) 1:00; W, Rockwell (Tom Tempesta) 14:18.
Read “Rebels get handle on the Cup” on the Wicked Local Walpole website