Sports Update Thru December 2104

EPHS Hockey, Defending Champions Underway:
The successful Townie Hockey team coming off a Division III State Championship year has been elevated to Division II hockey. The Townies have won a couple of state championships under Head Coach Kevin Croke. East Providence has been rewarded for their consistent good play and success by the Rhode Island Interscholastic league as they move up a division. The Townies have 9 returning seniors, led by goalie Marc LaValley that should keep them in consideration for a good playoff run and chance at another championship.

The Townies Hockey Team opened its 2014-15 season with an 8-2 victory over the Toll Gate Titans at Cranston Veterans Memorial Rink. "After a sluggish first period in which we were outshot 6-5 by the Titans, we managed to grab a 1-0 lead," said coach Croke. "The team tallied four goals in the second period then added three more after the break as the guys got the victory," Croke said. Both Toll Gate goals came via the power play. "Our team will need to exercise greater discipline throughout the season in staying out of the penalty box," added Croke. The Townies were whistled for 7 penalties in the contest.

The Townies continued to get their feet wet in the Division 2 ranks as they took on the strong North Smithfield Northmen next. The first period was all North Smithfield who held a commanding 13-2 shot advantage over the Townies and a 2-0 lead on the scoreboard. The Townies were whistled for 8 minutes of penalties in the period to 4 minutes for the Northmen.

The second period saw a much more consistent pace of play, as the Townies seemed to adjust to the quicker and more layered style of play the Northmen skate. The Townies cut the lead in half early in the second period, the shots were even at 6 and both teams served 2 minutes in penalties. As the third period began though, the Townies were whistled for a penalty in their first shift. As soon as the Townies got their player back, the Townies were whistled for another penalty. "Despite being down a player, we were able to score and tie the game at 2 with 11 minutes to play in the game," said Croke. On the ensuing play, a Townie player hit the post squarely to the North Smithfield goalie's right, but it bounced out. Shortly after, the Townies had a 2 on 1 break and missed the net with the shot. Unfortunately, that ended what had been a well played game to that point.

With about 10 minutes left in the game, the penalty bug bit both teams. Thirteen penalties were whistled, 7 minors on the Northmen for 14 minutes and 5 minors and a major on the Townies for 15 minutes. The Northmen capitalized 3 times, once 4 on 4 and twice on power plays to pull away from the Townies late in the third period and get the 5-2 win.

EP is making their way slowly in the early going as they went on to lose to Portsmouth, St. Ray's and Narragansett in December games. However, Coach Kevin Croke remains very hopeful. Croke spoke with us after a recent practice after Christmas. "Division 2, despite being a challenge, has been a pleasant experience so far. I think we fit right in and every week we adapt a little bit more. We struggle a bit with depth at times, and with discipline at other times. Penalties have been our nemesis, especially late in games. We've been in every game through two periods, but have given up about 7 or 8 power play goals in the third," said Croke. The coach will lean heavily on his returning star goaltender Marc LaValley and his other senior skaters. "Being backstopped by one of the top goalies in the state always gives us a chance. Marc LaValley has seen probably twice as many shots as most other goalies in the league. In front of LaValley are our two mules, Kyle Marquis and Tyler Maxwell, both are logging well over 30 minutes of ice time per game. Bubba Maxwell rounds out the defensive corps," said Croke. The Townies look to the talented top line of Ryan Costa between Jared Estrella and Brynne Costa. "We also have senior forward James Carlson and our second line has Andrew Gordon between Ryan Galvao and Jake Crombie and Mike Allienello centers the checking line with Cody DeCastro and Colin Feeney on the wings. Tony DaSimas ably backs up LaValley in net and Rachel LaValley sees action at both forward and defense," added two time and defending Division 3 State Champion coach Kevin Croke. The Townies play their home games at the Dennis Lynch Arena in Pawtucket and have several games this month home and away. You can check the Townies schedule at http://www.riil.org.

St. Mary's Bay View Basketball:
The Bay View basketball squad sits atop Division 1 with a 3-0 record to date. The Bengals have December wins over Moses Brown, Westerly and Barrington. There will be 9 games in January for perennial power BayView. Find their full schedule at: http://www.riil.org.

EPHS Boys Basketball:
Townies boys basketball is underway and as always, veteran coach Alex Butler is leading the program. The Townies picked up their first win of the season in tough injury fund battle with Tiverton. "The game is typical of early season basketball with nerves, and uneven play always showing up. We didn't shoot well on the evening but did play tough, physical defense to earn the win," said coach Butler. The Townie JV squad also won their game 41-17. EP defeats Shea in first game. "We had a balanced attack as four players were in double figures en route to defeating Shea, 61-45," said coach Butler. In their first game of the season, EP took the lead mid way through the first half and pushed the lead up to 20 in the second half. "Devie Rose had a game high 16 points and Justin McCoy posted the first double double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds." The Townie JV team dropped their game 53-48. Ep loses to LaSalle: "We played slow, soft and selfish en route to getting run off the court at LaSalle," said Butler. LaSalle ran the floor for easy layups and shots. EP didn't put up much of a fight defensively as LaSalle shot 59 percent for the game. EP was paced by Zack Veiga's solid performance. Zack had 16 points and 11 rebounds.

EPHS Girls Basketball:
East Providence girls basketball is 1-1 in league play with a win over Tiverton. The Townies lost to Portsmouth and Rogers in December. The team is coached by Michael Solitro. The lady Townies have 7 home games this month (January).

EPHS Boys & Girls Indoor Track:
East Providence High boys are right in the middle of the Metro Division with an early 1-1 record through the end of December. The Townies won over Wheeler by a score of 77-32. The East Providence loss came against LaSalle in a 61-48 match. The boys will have several meets on January 6, 13 and 20th at the Providence Career and Technical Academy. The girls squad is also at 1-1 with a win over Wheeler and a loss to Chariho. The girls will compete on January 7, 14 and 19 also at the Providence Career and Technical Academy in Providence near Central High School. The BayView girls are off to an 0-2 start in indoor track as of late December.

Middle School Sports:
Bay View Basketball is undefeated with 4 wins over Jenks, Goff, Martin and Riverside Middle schools in December.

Martin Boys Basketball is off to a 4-1 start with wins over UCAP, Jenks, DeLaSalle and Goff. Their only loss came against Slater. Martin girls has a 1-3 record with its win over UCAP.

Riverside Boys Basketball is also off to a great start with a 5-1 record. RMS has wins over Jenks, UCAP twice, Goff and DeLaSalle. Their lone loss was against Slater. The RMS girls team has a 3-1 record with wins over UCAP, Slater and Jenks.

Martin Wrestling is undefeated through the end of December with a 5-0 record. The Wildcats defeated Ferri, McCourt, Feinstein, Westerly and Barrington by a combined 345-117 point differential. Martin also won the annual Holiday Birchwood Tournament held in North Providence. The Birchwood tourney featured 20 middle schools and Martin took home the championship, with Riverside Middle school finishing in a strong 7th place.

Riverside Wrestling is at 2 wins and 2 losses and had the strong 7th place finish at the annual Holiday Birchwood Tourament.