RallyNorth.net

BILLERICA — Central Catholic fell victim to seven tough minutes.

“I don’t know if it was nerves, but we came out flat,” said Raiders head coach Mike Jankowski. “It took us a while to get in the groove, and in the end we just couldn’t recover.”

Arlington Catholic netted two power play goals to take a 2-0 lead after the first period of their D1 North semifinal game and held on for a 3-1 win over Central Catholic.

No. 2 Central, which lost the Super 8 play-in game, ends up at 15-5-3. No. 6 AC improves to 13-7-4 and will play the winner of the St. Mary's-Burlington game for the North title.

WOBURN, Mass. — If critics still wondered if Central Catholic could bounce back after being eliminated from the Super 8 tourney, the Raiders have answered those questions.

“We were disappointed,” said senior tri-captain Steve Balsamo. “But a state championship is a state championship and we are out to get it.”

STONEHAM — One thrilled fan could be heard loudly capturing the thoughts of every Central Catholic supporter last night.

“It’s about time,” he shouted with joy.

BILLERICA — The good news for Central Catholic hockey is that its season isn’t over. The bad news, however, is that its 2010 Super 8 run is.

“We wanted so badly to be in the Super 8,” said Raiders head coach Mike Jankowski. “But, unfortunately, we arrived and couldn’t play our best hockey when it mattered. We played well at times, but on the biggest stage we didn’t have one of our better games.”

Jonathan Daniels netted a hat trick to help Central Catholic past Chelmsford, 6-2, and repeat as Merrimack Valley Conference Dual County Division 1 title. Tommy Evangelista and Nick Leonard added a goal and three assists apiece.

Kyle Daniels made 15 saves for his fourth shutout of the season to pace Central Catholic past Arlington 4-0. Nick Owen scored his first varsity goal for the Raiders and Tom Evangelista and Steven Balsamo each notched a goal and two assists. Central Catholic remains in play for a Super 8 spot at 12-2-1 on the season.

Tommy Evangelista and Johnny Daniels each scored a goal as Central Catholic pounded Acton-Boxboro 7-2. Steve Balsamo added a goal and two assists. 

Central Catholic's hockey team lost for only the second time of the season last night when Austin Prep converted off a turnover to score with 2:23 left in the game for a 3-2 victory. Shawn Bradley had a pair of assists for the Raiders (9-2-1).

TEWKSBURY — After 10 minutes of back and forth play, Central Catholic’s Johnny Daniels delivered a game-turning play against his hometown team.

The Andover resident picked off a pass at the Golden Warrior blue line, deked a defender and flipped the puck past the goalie for a shorthanded goal. That sparked the Raiders in a 3-0 victory over archrival Andover.