Latin Academy skates off with city title
It turned out the Latin Academy boys' hockey team needed just one goal to beat East Boston. It scored seven.
The Dragons (10-8-1) shut out East Boston, 7-0, yesterday at Matthews Arena to win the Boston City Championship. East Boston won last year's title and these two teams have met for the city title five straight years.
"When you're playing well, the offense makes the defense look good and vice versa," said Latin Academy coach Hank Quigg, who is retiring after this season, his 14th at the school. "If the puck is in their end all the time, you don't have to worry about your end."
The line of Brian Regal, Liam Connolly, and Nick Regan made sure that the puck was in the Jets' end for most of the game, combining for three goals and seven assists.
Quigg said he put this line together just two weeks ago, when the trio combined for two goals in a 4-2 win over Scituate.
"That was the goal, getting those three potential scorers on one line. It took us a long time. It takes me a while to figure things out, but we get it eventually," Quigg said with a laugh.
Regan and Connolly hooked up right off the bat, with Regan scoring a little over five minutes into the game. Just over three minutes later, the Dragons were back, and sophomore Chris Biele took advantage of Jets goalie Joseph Biancardi (30 saves) slipping and chipped in an easy goal.
Dragon goalies Mike Leahy and Steve Chase combined for 16 saves for the shutout. Latin Academy came out with a bang in the second period, scoring twice in the first minute. Regal (one goal, two assists) was named championship MVP.
Afterward, Quigg talked about his retirement, which he has tried to keep under wraps, saying it was time for new blood. "We're the best program in the city of Boston. We have great kids," he said. "We're a team that doesn't have a lot of superstars, doesn't have any superstars, but we have 16 kids who go out there and work their tails off and it kind of meshes together."
Boys' basketball
State Vocational Tournament: Upper Cape's Dan Calderwood scored 23 points to help beat South Shore, 77-70, in the Division 2 final. Lynn Tech won Division 1, beating Bay Path, 72-47.
Boys' hockey
Cape Cod Classic: At Falmouth, No. 2 BC High beat No. 4 Arlington Catholic, 2-0, to take the championship . . . No. 15 Duxbury (17-4) took a 3-2 win over No. 3 Waltham when freshman Mike Baren scored with 29 seconds to play . . . Alex Olson's goal in the first minute of the game was the only score in No. 6 Hingham's 1-0 win over Archbishop Williams. Hingham finishes the regular season 13-4-5.
Gymnastics
Barnstable will try to make it four straight state titles today when it competes in the MIAA state team gymnastics championships. Competition gets under way at 4 p.m. at Shrewsbury High. Tickets are $6 for adults, $4 for students.
