The playoffs are a few games off for some schools, but have already begun for others, including the Lyndon State Hornets, who have booked themselves a date in the North Atlantic Conference semi-finals after beating the University of Maine at Farmington, 88-66, in Lyndon Center last night.
Big game for Charles Correa, Jr. who had a game high 31 points for the Hornets, and Darnay Gray went 6-for-6 from the field, adding 15, and Raymond Monroe was deadly from beyond the arc, hitting six three pointers and 18 overall. Next up for Lyndon State in the semis is the NAC tournament hosts Husson University.
The St. Michael's Purple Knights closed out their season with a loss at Stonehill College last night, 94-81, but two graduating seniors had strong performances in their final St. Mike's game. David Sullivan had 19 points on 8 for 14 shooting and Matt Bonds turned in one more double-double, making it 19 total for the season, recording 16 points and 13 rebounds, and getting into the St. Mike's record books as a result. Bonds becomes just the second player in school history to register with 1,500 career points and 1,100 rebounds, joining Ken Johnson as the only other Purple Knight to hit those career marks, and that was back in 1976. For more on Matt Bonds' amazing career with St. Mike's, visit our web site for a story we aired yesterday on his St. Michael's legacy. You can find it here: http://digital.vpr.net/post/losing-season-one-player-leaves-st-michaels-winning-legacy#stream/0
The Stonehill women also defeated their St. Michael's counterparts yesterday 71-55 despite 23 points from senior Indira Evora, who matched her career high for points in a game and was on the floor for nearly the entire contest, resting for only about half a minute in the second quarter. It was a tough loss for the Purple Knights, who could have qualified for the Northeast-10 Conference Championship with a victory, but with the loss got bumped by Merrimack College, who finished with an identical record but got into the playoffs by virtue of winning the season tie-breaker with St. Mike's.
In womens' college hoops playoff action from the NAC, the Johnson State Badgers had a 19-point lead over New England College, but the Pilgrims stormed back for a dramatic 65-63 win. Rene Hudson led the comeback for the Pilgrims, scoring 18 of her 24 points in the second half after the Badgers dominated the first. Domonique Carter-Stanley was a force for Johnson State in the first half, pouring in 18 points but the Pilgrims adjusted and shut her down in the second half, when she scored just three more points for a team-best 21. So the Badgers are out and next up for the #3 ranked Pilgrims is a semi-final date with #2 Castleton at Husson University.
In the Great Northeast Athletic Conference tournament the Norwich Cadets rode a season-high 21 points by junior Shyann Josler en route to a 67-53 win over Suffolk University in quarterfinal action yesterday. The The Cadets will move on to play at Emmanuel Thursday in the semi-finals.
To the pros, and in the NHL Claude Julien and fans of the Montreal Canadiens can breathe a sigh of relief now that the Habs have their first win under their new coach in his second stint with the league's most storied franchise. The Canadiens beat the NY Rangers 3-2 last night at Madison Square Garden thanks to a goal by Paul Byron in the fifth round of the overtime shootout. Carey Price made 28 saves to get the win, and was especially good in the overtime period when he stopped golden game winning chances by Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller. It was also a milestone win for Price, tying him with Ken Dryden for third place all-time among career Montreal goaltender victories, each now with 258 and Price will soon move past Dryden into second place on that list. Shea Weber had a goal and an assist and Andrew Shaw also tallied for the Habs, who needed the win to avoid falling into a first place tie with the Ottawa Senators, who also won last night.
Toronto and the NY Islanders were also winners last night so the Boston Bruins have a lot of pressure to keep their winning streak going when they skate against the Ducks in Anaheim tonight. Both those aforementioned teams are breathing down the Bruins' necks for a playoff spot in the ever-tightening eastern conference. The Bruins have yet to lose under new interim coach Bruce Cassidy but the Ducks are among the better teams in the western conference and will pose a formidable challenge for the B's tonight.
