Weymouth keeps the magic going

LOWELL -- After pulling off one of the biggest upsets in Super 8 history last Sunday, Weymouth continued its winning ways yesterday with a 5-2 victory over Central Catholic at Tsongas Arena. Weymouth, which beat perennial power Catholic Memorial in the first round and finished atop Bracket 1 with a 3-0 record, advances to Thursday's semifinals at Harvard.

"I think Central Catholic played very well and had a lot of opportunities that we were lucky that they didn't [capitalize]. I think we were very fortunate that their opportunities didn't go in [the net]," said Weymouth coach Bob Donovan. "It was a long week for us and it's hard to keep sharp, especially after last week's game."

Weymouth got itself into trouble, giving the Red Raiders two five-on-three power-play opportunities through two periods, but sophomore goalie Chris Daugherty (23 saves) kept Central off the board.

Both teams came out flat until Weymouth (22-1) charged up its fans with 27.5 seconds left in the first period. Sophomore Sean Foley dished a long pass to senior center Tim King (two goals, one assist), who took on two defenders and stuffed the puck past Evan Rurak (25 saves) to give the Wildcats a 1-0 edge.

Central Catholic (17- 4-2) tied it at 2:53 of the second when Paul Jaskot (two goals) and Tim Houston (two assists) stormed down the ice on a two-on-one and Jaskot beat Daugherty. But the Wildcats answered 11 seconds later as Ryan Bristol (one goal, two assists) scored to make it 2-1.

Near the end of the second, Weymouth's Paul Carthas added some insurance. This activated the panic button, because Central not only had to win the game but needed to win by six in order to advance to the semifinals on a goal-differential tiebreaker.

Central kept on fighting, pressuring Daugherty multiple times with consecutive shots, which finally paid off with Jaskot's second goal. However, goals by Carthas (7:16) and King (12:21) sealed the deal for the Wildcats.

"They were kind of taking it to us," said King. "They were a pretty good team. They weren't hanging around waiting.

"That [last] goal was huge [for us]. I got tired, but I fought through it and took [Connor Keefe's] pass and put it in."

Weymouth now heads for Harvard and a date with Austin Prep, hoping to advance to the championship game at TD Banknorth Garden Sunday.