Sports Roundup: Regular Season Coming to an End

With the regular season winding down, the boys and girls basketball and boys and girls hockey teams have all clinched spots in the state tournament.

Here's a look at the past week in Winchester athletics:

Girls hockey: After losing a 6-5 thriller against Watertown/Melrose, the Sachems clinched a berth in the state tournament with a 6-1 win over Burlington on Wednesday.

On Saturday afternoon the Sachems lost when Erika Kelly scored her fourth goal for Watertown/Melrose on a breakaway with just 30 seconds left.

Winchester had leads of 2-0 and 3-1 against the Raiders, who had already clinched a tournament berth for the first time. Michaela Chiuccariello and Katherine Zavez both scored twice for the Sachems.

But Winchester bounced back on Wednesday by beating Burlington, as Chiuccariello recorded a hat trick and Zavez scored twice.

Boys hockey: Jed Robinson earned shutouts against two league opponents, Melrose and Burlington.

First came a 4-0 win over Melrose as the Sachems outshot the Red Raiders 35-12. Freshmen Nolan Redler and Brendan Greene and senior Evan Eaton all scored in the first period as Winchester jumped in front.

“We came out ready to play," Winchester coach Matt Spang said. "It’s getting to that time of year with the tournament coming up that you have to come out strong every night and we did that tonight."

Unfortunately for Winchester, it was the Sachems opponent who came out strong in the next game. Austin Prep scored on its first two shots, and though Winchester came back and took the lead, Austin Prep wound up with a 5-3 win.

But Robinson recovered from that game to make 33 saves against Burlington on Wednesday as the Sachems won 3-0.

“He had a tough one Monday, but he came back Tuesday and worked his butt off in practice. He worked so hard. He was very impressive tonight and I am thrilled for him,” Spang said.

Colin Edwards finally put the Sachems on the board three minutes into the third period, assisted by Peter Troiano and Scott Carson. Troiano added to the lead, and then Edwards scored into an empty net.

Girls basketball: The Sachems go into the final weekend on a five-game winning streak after defeating Watertown 35-31 and Burlington 43-28 this past week.

Winchester had defeated Watertown 42-30 on Jan. 11, and the teams had another defensive battle this past weekend. The Sachems trailed at one point in the second half, but Winchester senior captain Shelby Santini helped clinch the victory by scoring nine of her game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter.

Santini then scored 20 points in a 43-28 win over Burlington. It was the second straight time the Sachems had shut down Burlington's offense, following a 37-18 win on Jan. 14.

Boys basketball: After starting the week with a 65-44 loss to Watertown, the Sachems snapped a three-game losing streak with a 53-47 road win over Burlington. Junior center Peter Miller and Greg Thomspon both scored 16 points in the win.