Redmen Will Face Boston Latin In Quarterfinal, Saturday in Salem

The location has changed but the opponent will be very familiar when the Tewksbury High hockey team faces off against Boston Latin Saturday evening at 5:30 p.m. at Salem State University in the quarterfinal round of the MIAA Division 2 North Sectional tournament.

The Redmen have already played Boston Latin twice in Merrimack Valley Conference/Dual County League play this season, and .

Boston Latin was one of only two teams that Tewksbury didn't steamroll twice this winter on its way to winning the MVC/DCL Division 2 championship with an 8-1-1 record. Latin finished second in the division at 6-2-2. Overall, Tewksbury sports a 15-5-1 record while Latin stands at 14-3-3 on the year.

The Redmen are seeded sixth in the Division 2 North Sectional bracket and the Wolfpack is seeded third.

Having seen Latin twice already this season, TMHS coach Derek Doherty is well aware of what hit to expect out of the Wolfpack.

"They're a real good skating team and they have a good first line," Doherty said. "We're going to have to shut them down in the neutral zone and not let them get the puck into our zone."

And while Tewksbury has had success against Boston Latin this year, Doherty is not concerned that his team will be overconfident on Saturday.

"It's not like we beat them twice," Doherty said. "They tied us the last time we played them, so we know they're a good team. We're going to have to go out and perform in order to win."

If individual credentials had anything to do with the outcome of a game, Tewksbury would have an advantage in that area. No fewer than nine Redmen were named conference all-stars or named to the all-conference team when it was announced last week.

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Senior defenseman Sean MacLeod, who co-captains the team along with Ryan Doherty, and sophomore forward Derek Petti were named to the all-conference team along with Doherty. Six other players earned conference all-star honors; senior forwards Mark Petti and Frank Mazzei, senior defensemen Rob Pruyne and Sean Taylor, senior goaltender Niko Cunha and junior defenseman PJ Mugford.

 And while Doherty realizes that individual honors mean nothing in the state tournament, he acknowledges that having half his team earn post-season recognition is a loud testimony to Tewksbury High's on-ice success this winter.

"I guess it says we're doing pretty good with our program," Doherty said. "The kids deserve it. They worked hard all year."

None harder than the coach's son, either, which is why Ryan Doherty took home Player of The Year honors.

"Ryan is one of our hardest workers," Doherty said. "He had a real good year. He sees the ice well, he has pretty good speed when he needs to explode and he's a good leader, too."

The game, which was originally scheduled to be played in Stoneham at 7:00, was moved to a 5:30 p.m. start on Saturday at Salem State's O'Keefe Center on Canal Street in Salem.