Falcons Grounded by Defending Champs in North Final

The Danvers High School boys hockey team pulled off several upsets on the way to the North Division 2 title game. But on Monday night at Lowell's Tsongas Center, Wilmington showed the upstart Falcons why they're the defending state champions.

After scoring 1:23 into the game, the Wildcats cruised to a 7-2 victory despite a pair of goals from Falcon forward A.J. Couto. As a result, the Danvers season came to an end while Wilmington's continues to Sunday when they'll shoot for a second straight state championship. 

Danvers head coach Kevin Brown said his team ran into a buzzsaw on Monday night, but that it didn't take away from the run the Falcons put together to reach the title game.

"Sometimes you run into a team like that in the tournament. But it's been a nice run for us. I want to credit our senior class and everything that's gone on the last couple weeks," said Brown. "Speed is tough to scout sometimes until you get out there. They took advantage of a big ice surface and were able to capitalize on opportunities."