Dimitri Floras and Merrimack will host Salem on Friday.

Friday’s high school slate includes a matchup of two of the top teams in Division I boys basketball, along with a renewal of the Gate City rivalry and a rematch of last year’s title game.

And those are just the boys games.

No. 1: Salem at Merrimack boys basketball, 7 p.m.

With Pinkerton’s loss to Spaulding on Tuesday, the Tomahawks (6-1) are sitting alone atop the Division I standings going into Friday’s game against the Blue Devils (6-2).

Since losing to Trinity on Jan. 3, Merrimack has won four in a row by an average of 22 points per game. Only twice this season have the Hawks allowed more than 60 points in a game – the loss to Trinity and a 10-point win over Keene.

Salem started the year off struggling on offense, scoring 37 and 35 points, respectively, in its first two games. But since then, the Devils have averaged almost 62 points in those six games in which Salem has gone 5-1.

No. 2: Nashua South at Nashua North boys basketball, 6:30 p.m.

This will be the second meeting of the season between the teams, with the Panthers having won the first meet in the championship game of the Chick-fil-A Holiday Tournament a little less than a month ago. North won the previous meeting in the regular season a year ago, taking the game on a buzzer-beater.

South (5-3) has been a bit streaky, winning its first four games in Division I – its first seven if you included the holiday tournament – and then lost its next three. The Panthers snapped that streak Tuesday with a 48-46 win over Dover.

North (5-2) is also coming off a two-point win, having defeated Londonderry 50-48 the last time out. The Titans have beaten teams with a combined record of 6-33, and its two loses have been blowouts against Trinity and Salem.

No. 3: Windham at Hollis Brookline girls basketball, 7 p.m.

The Cavaliers (9-0 in Division II) will try to keep their undefeated record in check when the up-and-coming Jaguars (8-2) come to town.

HB’s four-guard lineup has the ability to shoot anyone out of the gym, but the Cavs have been solid defensively as well, giving up an average of 35.8 points per game.

Windham has won its last four games, including back-to-back victories by at least 28 points.

No. 4: Bishop Guertin at Trinity boys basketball, 7 p.m.

The Cardinals (4-4) and Pioneers (6-2) meet in a rematch of last year’s Division I title game.

After losing four in a row, Bishop Guertin has won its last two, including Tuesday’s 54-50 win over Manchester Memorial. Six of the Cardinals eight games have been decided by 10 points or less.

Trinity started the year off with four straight wins, but has gone 2-2 in its last four, with both losses coming against rivals Manchester Central and Manchester West. The loss to West was Trinity’s second this season.

No. 5: Merrimack at Bow boys hockey, 7:50 p.m. at Everett Arena

The Tomahawks (6-3) have been stellar at times, winning their first four games and capturing the Bauer Christmas Hockey Classic, and not so at times. After its 4-0 start, Merrimack lost its next three before bouncing back with wins over Winnacunnet (7-1) and Kingswood (7-3). In their wins, the Hawks have scored 41 goals; in their losses, they scored seven.

Bow (5-3-1) has gone 4-1-1 in its last six games, including a 3-2 win over Oyster River last Saturday.

Technorati Tags: Bishop Guertin, boys basketball, boys hockey, Brookline, Division I, Division II, girls basketball, Hollis, Merrimack, Nashua North, Nashua South

Tyler Ford and Souhegan will look to improve to 7-0 against Portsmouth Friday.

Two of the top boys basketball teams from Division II will meet Friday night in Amherst, while a couple of rivals will meet on the court and the ice this week.

No. 1: Portsmouth at Souhegan boys basketball, Jan. 20 at 6:30 p.m.

They are two of three undefeated teams in Division II, heading into Tuesday’s games, and they’ll meet in Amherst on Friday in a rematch of last year’s semifinals. Portsmouth won that game 35-31, and will likely try again to slow the Sabers down. Souhegan is coming off a win over Coe-Brown in which it scored 91 points, the fourth time during the regular season that the Sabers have scored 70 or more. Normally, Souhegan coach Mike Heaney would dislike a week off in between games, but with the Clippers coming to town, his team might need it. Meanwhile, Portsmouth plays host to Kingswood on Tuesday.

No. 2: Pelham at Bedford boys basketball, Jan. 20 at 6:30 p.m.

The Pythons embarrassed the Bulldogs, 65-24, on Dec. 22. Since then, Bedford (5-2) has won four straight, including a 52-49 win over Lebanon last Friday. After starting the year 4-1, Pelham has lost its last two, falling to Division III Campbell (51-48) and St. Thomas (59-58) last week. All three of the Pythons’ losses have been by a combined six points.

No. 3: Nashua South at Pinkerton boys basketball, Jan. 20 at 7 p.m.

Both teams have been a bit of a surprise in Division I this season. After opening the season with four wins – including a 49-46 victory over Bishop Guertin – South has lost its last two to Spaulding and Manchester Memorial. In its latest loss, the Panthers managed a season-low 39 points, and scoring may not get any easier against a Pinkerton team that’s allowed an average of 43.4 this season. The Astros (4-1) wins have come against teams with a combined 5-18 record.

No. 4: Hollis Brookline at Souhegan girls basketball, Jan. 18 at 6:30 p.m.

This is game No. 2 of a busy week for the Sabers, who got a much-needed 60-28 win over Con-Val on Monday. Souhegan (4-2) and HB (7-0) both enter the game a little banged up, but each should have a complete lineup on Wednesday. The Cavaliers are coming off a big road win over previously undefeated Portsmouth, 60-45, last Friday, and after losing to the Sabers twice last year, would like a bit of revenge.  Souhegan finishes out its week with a trip to Portsmouth on Friday.

No. 5: Hollis Brookline at Souhegan boys hockey, Jan. 21 at 5:20 p.m. at Conway Arena

Souhegan (7-0-1) gets its first real test of the season against a HB (4-3) that has already had to play undefeated Alvirne twice and Pelham-Windham (5-1). The Sabers have been getting a lot of production from their underclassmen, averaging better than seven goals a game. But the Cavs have been solid at times defensively, giving up 3.7 goals per game.

Technorati Tags: Bedford, boys basketball, boys hockey, Brookline, Division I, Division II, Division III, girls basketball, Hollis, Nashua South, Pelham, Pinkerton, Portsmouth, Souhegan

Meghan Green scored 37 points Tuesday night as Bishop Guertin defeated Winnacunnet.

Stories from around the world of New Hampshire high school sports.

• Meghan Green scored 37 points to lead the Bishop Guertin girls basketball team to a 74-66 win over Winnacunnet. The loss ended the Warriors’ 84-game (or 75-game, depending who you ask) winning streak, which dated back to 2008.
• Portsmouth defeated Milford 65-42 in a rematch of last year’s Division II boys basketball championship game.
• The Bishop Guertin boys hockey team could do the unthinkable – miss the Division I playoffs.
• Manchester Central boys basketball just gets by Trinity 41-40.
• Division III Kennett knocked off Division II Bedford 5-3  in a non-division game, which also happened to be a rematch of the 2010 D3 final.

Technorati Tags: Around the Granite State, Bedford, Bishop Guertin, boys basketball, boys hockey, girls basketball, Milford

Con-Val goalie Paker Wheeler makes a save during Wednesday's game against Hollis/Brookline.

HUDSON – Interesting things can happen in season openers.

Like one hockey team outshooting the other 14-1 in a period, but trailing on the scoreboard.

That’s what the Hollis/Brookline High School boys hockey team faced after two periods of play Wednesday night against Con-Val. The Cavaliers peppered Cougars goalie Parker Wheeler with 14 shots in the middle frame, but it was Con-Val that scored on its lone attempt of the period and led going into the third.

H/B regrouped in the locker room and scored three times in the third to pull out a 4-2 win over Con-Val at Cyclones Arena in Hudson in the Division III opener for both teams.

“We were getting shots, just not quality shots,” H/B coach Bob Field said of the second period. “We really need to get the goalie to move. We were doing give-and-goes down the stretch and moving the puck better. That’s when we were getting better opportunities. That weak-side guy was standing alone and we weren’t hitting him.”

Kyle Berman tied the game for the Cavs (1-0) just 3:26 into the third period, and Jake Kobylarz added the game-winner at 10:24 off assists from Tim Birch and Ian McNamara. Ian Rowe added an empty-net goal with 13 seconds to play while Dan Ash scored in the first period for H/B.

H/B's Zach Rotkiewicz moves the puck behind his own goal.

Con-Val got goals from Ryder Thompson and Mason Ellis, while Wheeler made 33 saves for the Cougars (0-1).

“We have a really good goalie and we try to keep as many shots to the outside as possible,” Con-Val coach Pete McLaughlin said. “We try to play a disciplined game and we do whatever we can to be opportunistic. At the end of our season, if you take a look at our record, we’ll have won or lost a lot of 4-3 or 3-2 games. That’s because of Parker Wheeler.”

Wheeler’s teammates gave him a lead just two minutes into the game, taking advantage of H/B’s sloppy play to go up 1-0 on Thompson’s goal. That lead stood for most of the period until Ash tied the game at 13:07.

“We came out very sloppy,” Field said. “We made a lot of mistakes. We weren’t playing well. We were throwing the puck away, we weren’t forechecking the way we were supposed to.

“In the second period, we regrouped a little bit. We were winning more face-offs. That really turned things around. We showed a lot of character and we come on strong in the third period.”

The Cavs were aided by their ability to continuously use three lines throughout the game. That allowed H/B to keep its legs fresh while wearing down the Cougars.

“We ran out of steam,” McLaughlin said. “We’ve got to work on our conditioning. At the end of the game, we lost a little discipline in our systems and I think their third goal resulted from that. I can’t fault the effort. They worked hard. The first game is always interesting because you just don’t know what you have and how it’s going to work. It’s apparent that I’ve got a hard-working group of kids.”

Both teams return to the ice Saturday, when H/B travels to face Moultonborough-Inter-Lakes, and Con-Val plays at Belmont-Gilford.

Technorati Tags: boys hockey, Brookline, Con-Val, Division III, Hollis

Upton finished with three goals and three assists while Patrick Maguire had two goals for the Sabers (2-0 in Division III) and Conor Casey also scored twice.

Ben Ehrlich, Mike Hayden (two assists), Alek Medic (assist) and Nate Gunter also scored for Souhegan, which got assists from Brendan Dix (two), Vincent Silvestri, Cullen Johnson (two) and Teemu Raina. Ryan Peterson stopped 11 shots for the Sabers.

Zach Allard had the lone goal for West, while Troy Langevin made 30 saves.

Technorati Tags: boys hockey, Division III, Manchester West, Souhegan

Belliveau takes over for Ed Viola, who left to become an assistant coach at Daniel Webster College.

In three years as the head coach of the Sabers, Viola guided the team to one Division III championship game appearance in 2009, the team’s fourth title game in a row, and advanced to the semifinals the following year.

Belliveau spent the last two years as the head coach at Nashua South and was an assistant at Manchester West before that. He was a member of Nashua’s championship teams in 1985 and 1986 and played at St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vt.

The boys hockey practice begins on Nov. 21, with regular-season game starting Dec. 12.

Technorati Tags: boys hockey, Division III, Souhegan

Canney, who was in the top spot for the Hilltoppers for just two seasons, felt he would resign at the end of the season, but thought about it for a few weeks and was leaning toward coming back. But in the end, Canney decided it was best to go.

The Hilltoppers finished with a 23-0 record last year and won their first Division III title after many years of being one of the top teams in the division.

Canney steps down as Somersworth ice hockey coach – Foster’s Daily Democrat

Technorati Tags: boys hockey, Division III, Somersworth

Merrimack goalie Brett Glendye makes a save on Dover's Troy Bartlett during Sunday's game.

MANCHESTER – It’s hard to beat a team three times in one season.

The Merrimack High School boys hockey team found that out the hard way Sunday.

The Tomahawks fell behind 3-0 after one period against Dover in the Division II championship game and top-seeded Merrimack couldn’t recover, losing to the No. 2 Green Wave 5-1 at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Ian Duffy had two goals and Eric Groleau and Dylan Stohrer each had a goal and an assist for Dover (15-5), which won its first title since 2008. Liam Murphy also scored for the Green Wave and goalie Chad Garland made 17 saves.

David Downie scored the lone goal for Merrimack (18-2-1), putting home a rebound early in the third period that gave the Tomahawks life. But before Merrimack could capitalize on the momentum, Dover’s defense picked up and whatever it allowed through, Garland stopped.

Dover's Eric Groleau celebrates his first-period goal.

“We lost to a fierce competitor with a lot of history, a lot of firepower, a lot of hunger, good goaltending,” Merrimack coach Dan Legro said. “I think it just didn’t go our way. It was Dover’s day.”

It seemed that way in the first period, as the Green Wave scored three goals in just 2:02 to take a commanding lead.

Duffy got the scoring started, turning a missed shot by Merrimack into a breakaway at the other end. The goal came at 8:45 of the period and it took Dover just 30 seconds to get on the board again, this time when Murphy put home rebound off a shot by Groleau.

Groleau got a goal of his own at 10:47, skating in on a 2-on-1 and keeping the puck for himself, and Dover was out to big lead.

But it wasn’t a lead Legro was uncomfortable with.

“We’ve gotten four goals in a period before against good hockey teams,” he said.

Duffy got his second goal at 8:00 of the second period after Merrimack goalie Brett Glendye  had stopped two shots, but couldn’t cover the rebounds. Glendye finished the game with 22 saves.

Downie’s goal came early enough in the third for Merrimack to attempt a comeback, but the Tomahawks couldn’t get anything going. That didn’t mean Legro gave up hope, especially when Merrimack got a power play at 14:16 of the period.

“If we were able to get a goal on the power play, it’s 4-2,” he said. “Call time out, (get another) and it’s 4-3. All we needed was a bounce in the last minute-and-a-half to tie it up and send it into overtime. The dagger was the fifth goal.”

That was an empty-netter by Stohrer, who got a short-handed tally right after Merrimack pulled Glendye for a two-man advantage.

“I’m very proud, as I just told the kids on my team” Legro said. “I think my guys and girl did a great job (this season). I hope it sinks in with them. Although we didn’t get what we came here to get, we lost to a team that played fantastic. It was a great season.”

Technorati Tags: boys hockey, Division II, Merrimack, playoffs

Marcus Doucette scored the game-winner with nine minutes left in the game and the No. 1 Tomahawks rallied to beat No. 4 Bow 3-2 Wednesday in the semifinals.

Merrimack will now face No. 2 Dover, which defeated No. 3 Oyster River in the other semifinal, in the championship game on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester.

The Hawks (18-1-1) fell behind 2-0 early in the second period, but goals by Erik Glendye and Rutger Tapper tied the game before the second intermission.

Division I hockey

Bishop Guertin had a 1-0 lead going into the third period, but two goals by top-seeded Trinity ended the Cardinals season, 2-1, in the semifinals.

Austin Ricci scored the lone goal for No. 5 Bishop Guertin just before the end of the second period, but Trinity got two goals in the first three minutes to erase the deficit and advance.

The Pioneers will now face No. 3 Hanover, which defeated No. 7 Londonderry 6-3 in the other semifinal, in the championship game at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday at the Verizon.

Division III hockey

Alvirne fell behind early and couldn’t catch up against Kennett, falling 6-3 to the defending champs in the semifinals. The No. 2 Broncos trailed 4-0 in the first period, but a goal by Cam Brock before the end of the period and one by Lee Vandergraaf early in the second cut the lead to two.

But Kennett scored the next two and held off Alvirne the rest of the way. Seth Aubin also scored a late goal for the Broncos.

Kennett will take on No. 1 Somersworth in the final at 12:15 p.m. at the Verizon. Somersworth finally advanced to a championship game, beating No. 5 Pelham-Windham 10-3, in the other semifinal.

Division I girls basketball

No. 2 Londonderry ended the season for No. 6 Alvirne Wednesday, beating the Broncos 53-47 in the semifinals. Alvirne led by seven, 37-30, with under seven minutes to play. But the Lancers outscored Alvirne 23-14 in the fourth quarter to pull out the win.

The Broncos got 14 points from Maya Desfosses and another 12 from Taylor Carbone.

Londonderry advance to the final and will take on No. 1 Winnacunnet, which won its 69th straight game Wednesday night. The Warriors knocked off No. 4 Manchester Memorial 44-34 in the other semifinal.

The Lancers and Warriors will play at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Southern New Hampshire University.

Division II boys basketball

Top-seeded Milford advanced with a blowout win over No. 16 Laconia, 80-38, and the Spartans will face No. 9 Bedford in the quarterfinals. The Bulldogs won their seventh straight by beating No. 8 Coe-Brown 60-53. Trevor Fahmy scored 19 points and Joe Maher added 18 for Bedford.

No. 12 Oyster River upset No. 5 Goffstown, 79-63, in the opening round, and the Bobcats will take on No. 4 Pelham in the quarterfinals. Pelham defeated No. 13 Kingswood 74-58.

No. 10 Souhegan made its free throws down the stretch to take care of No. 7 Lebanon 59-49 and advance. The Sabers will now travel to No. 2 Pembroke for the quarterfinals. The Spartans defeated No. 15 Kearsarge 50-45.

Third-seeded Portsmouth moved on with a 73-51 win over No. 14 John Stark and the Clippers will take on No. 6 Hanover, which defeated No. 11 Merrimack Valley 71-49.

Technorati Tags: Alvirne, Bedford, Bishop Guertin, boys basketball, boys hockey, Division I, Division II, Division III, girls basketball, Merrimack, Milford, Souhegan

The No. 4 Giants handed the No. 5 Cardinals their worst loss of the regular season – 5-0 on Bishop Guertin’s home ice – and BG returned the favor to get back to the semifinals. The Cardinals will face No. 1 Trinity at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at JFK Coliseum in Manchester.

Erik Kelly and Austin Ricci both had goals for Bishop Guertin in the second period and goalie Andrew Pearson made 24 saves to help his team advance.

Shane Earley had a shorthanded goal for Bishop Brady with six minutes left in the game, but the Giants had a goal waved off and failed to score on a penalty shot in the second period.

Bishop Guertin and Trinity will be playing for a spot in the final to face either No. 3 Hanover or No. 7 Londonderry, which upset No. 2 Pinkerton in the quarterfinals.

Division II hockey

Top-seeded Merrimack survived a scare to win its first tournament game, 3-2 over No. 8 Bedford, and advance to the Division II semifinals.

The Tomahawks trailed the Bulldogs 2-0 going into the third period on Saturday, but Casey Bourque’s goal with a little more than five minutes to play completed Merrimack’s comeback. The ‘Hawks will face No. 4 Bow, which defeated No. 5 Keene, in the semifinals at 7:30 on Wednesday at the Rinks in Exeter.

Chris Fortin and Chris Kinney also had goals for Merrimack.

The other semifinal will be between No. 3 Oyster River and No. 2 Dover, with the winners playing in the final March 13 at 2:30 p.m. at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Division III hockey

No. 6 Hollis/Brookline rallied late, but it wasn’t enough to knock off No. 3 Kennett in the Division III quarterfinals Saturday.

The Cavaliers trailed 3-0 in the final minutes, but scored twice to cut the lead to one with a minute remaining. Kennett added an empty-net goal after H/B pulled its goalie with 35 seconds left in the game.

Kennett moves on to face No. 2 Alvirne, which defeated Kearsarge 5-0 in the quarterfinals. The two will play in the semifinals at 5:30 Wednesday at Everett Arena in Concord.

The winner will face either No. 1 Somersworth or No. 5 Pelham-Windham in the final March 13 at 12:15 p.m. at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Division I girls basketball

For the second time in two weeks, Alvirne defeated Pinkerton, as the No. 6 Broncos upset the No. 3 Astros 38-34 in the quarterfinals Saturday. Alvirne rallied back from a 10-point deficit at halftime and got 15 points from Deanna Purcell.

The Broncos will take on No. 2 Londonderry in the semifinals at 5:30 on Wednesday at Southern New Hampshire University. The Lancers advanced by beating No. 7 Bishop Guertin 63-44.

Top-seeded Winnacunnet defeated No. 8 Timberlane while No. 4 Manchester Memorial knocked off No. 5 Dover. Winnacunnet and Memorial will meet in the other Division I semifinal.

Technorati Tags: Alvirne, Bedford, Bishop Guertin, boys hockey, Brookline, Division I, Division II, Division III, girls basketball, Hollis, Merrimack