Sports Notebook
ROOKIE ON THE RISE -- January was a very good month for University of Massachusetts at Lowell freshman goalie Peter Vetri of Windham, N.H. He posted a 6-1-0 record, with six straight wins, had a 1.19 goals-against average, and a .946 save percentage. Those figures earned him NCAA Division 1 Rookie of the Month honors as selected by the Hockey Commissioners' Association. Earlier, he was named Hockey East Rookie of the Month for the second straight time. In two weeks, Vetri helped Lowell climb from the depths of Hockey East to a solid playoff contender. After the month, Vetri led the nation in wins by a rookie with 11 and was among the leaders in goals-against average, save average, and winning percentage. Vetri was unbeaten in 12 straight games from Nov. 23 to Jan. 28, with a 1.47 goals-against average, and posted shutouts against Bentley and New Hampshire. In 10 of the dozen games, he allowed two goals or fewer.
PRIZED RECRUIT -- Northwestern University landed one of the biggest football prizes from the area when Brendan Smith of Andover signed his national letter of intent. Smith was recruited intensively by colleges coast to coast following three spectacular seasons at New Hampton Prep, which included New England Prep School Class A and B Super Bowl championships in 2004 and 2002. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound quarterback had a banner senior year. He passed for 1,544 yards and 18 touchdowns, ran for 1,682 yards and 10 touchdowns, and caught one TD pass. Defensively, he played safety and sparkled there as well, with 67 tackles, 14 for losses, six sacks, two interceptions, and four forced fumbles. He also returned three punts for touchdowns. His career offensive stats include 4,073 yards passing and 39 touchdowns, and 3,013 yards rushing and 28 touchdowns. Defensively, he had 113 tackles, nine sacks, and six interceptions. His career record was 24-2, with perfect 8-0 seasons in 2002 and 2004. Smith was 2004 New Hampshire Gatorade Player of the Year. He was one of three recruits landed by
SCHOLASTIC ODDS 'N' ENDS -- Other top football players signing on the dotted lines included brothers and offensive and defensive stars Bobby and Larry Abare, Acton-Boxborough students bound for Yale; quarterback Tim Dillon, of Dracut, to Middlebury; fullback/linebacker Mike McLaughlin, of Woburn, to Boston College; linebacker Christopher Byrne, of Tewksbury, to Northeastern; and tight end Brian Frederick, of Dracut, to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Lexington back Jesse Spartichino has narrowed his choices to Brown and New Hampshire. . . . Longtime Bromfield boys soccer coach Tom Hill has been named Division 2 Coach of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. His team, which went 22-0 before losing to Stoneham in the Massachusetts final, was ranked 12th in the NSCAA Region 1 poll. In 27 years at the helm, Hill has a 424-75-49 record. . . . Central Catholic is planning to celebrate what probably will be its last regular-season basketball game on the floor of Memorial Gymnasium Tuesday. CC will host Andover at 7:30 p.m. and all past players, boys and girls, have been invited to attend the game and reception. The Memorial Gymnasium floor is 55 years old and the school hopes to replace it during the summer. Students raised more than $90,000 for the project with a walk-a-thon. . . . Chelmsford senior Meghan Curran has been appointed to West Point. She was nominated by US Representative Martin Meehan. Curran is a two-time EMass Division 1 cross-country champion and a state and New England finalist in both the indoor and outdoor 2-mile. She was recruited by more than 20 Division 1 schools, including Northwestern, Columbia, UMass, and Holy Cross. . . . Central Catholic (14-2) and Andover (14-1) each edged up a spot to second and third respectively in the latest Globe girls basketball Top 20. Acton-Boxborough (12-1) dropped from third to fourth and Lowell (12-4) from 17th to 19th. . . . Lawrence (15-1) and Central Catholic (12-4) are the top-rated area boys teams at sixth and 10th. Acton-Boxborough (13-2) checks in at No. 16 and Minuteman Tech (13-0) at No. 19. . . . Justine Lyons of Reading scored her 1,000th career point in a 32-point burst against Watertown. . . . North Andover senior Amanda Shannon averaged 16 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4.3 steals in three straight wins. . . . Woburn's girls and boys hockey teams are having pretty decent seasons. The girls are top-rated at 15-0 and the only undefeated team in EMass. The boys are ranked 12th at 10-3. . . . Area boys and girls left their marks on last weekend's State Track Coaches Association Elite Meet at the Reggie Lewis Center. Among the winners were Johan Rafael of Lawrence in the 55 meters; Brian Gagnon, Lowell, 1,000; Meikle Paschal, Lexington, high jump; and the Chelmsford 4x200 relay team. Girls who won were Natalie Crutchfield, Acton-Boxborough, in the 55 meters; Rachel Fox, Andover, 600; Arantxa King, Medford, long jump; and the Westford Academy 4x400 relay team. Gagnon and Fox were named the meet's outstanding track performers and King, the outstanding field performer. Crutchfield, who also had a runner-up finish in the long jump, was the meet's all-around performer.
CAMPUS CORNER -- Senior tricaptain and wing Kevin Leonard of Tewksbury was chosen Athlete of the Week at Western New England College. Leonard scored the game-winning goal on a power play midway through the third period to lift Western New England over Suffolk, 2-1, and also contributed an assist on the game-tying goal. He leads the team in scoring with 14 goals and 10 assists. . . . The Northeast-10 Conference cited University of Massachusetts at Lowell sophomore Katie Brodeur as its Field Athlete of the Week. Brodeur placed fourth overall and second among non-Division 1 shot putters in the Dartmouth Invitational with a heave of 40 feet 9.5 inches. . . . Congratulations to Merrimack senior Eileen Brosnihan of Dudley, who recently joined the career 1,000-point club. She reached the milestone in a 66-60 win over Southern Connecticut. . . . Bentley sophomore guard Danny Lawson of Lexington popped a career-high 24 points in just 23 minutes in an 86-82 win over Pace. That helped the second-ranked Falcons (23-2) extend their winning streak to 20 games as they zeroed in on their first NE-10 Conference title in 12 years.
LOWELL LOCK MONSTERS -- Friday, at Manchester, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, at Worcester, 2 p.m.
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