EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA

Sports

November 13, 2012

Local hockey players eye U-18 national title

Will skate against nation's best in Hartford in April

When local high school hockey drops the puck in a few weeks, Salem High’s Paul Antkowiak and Garnett Antkowiak, Timberlane’s Nick Lambert, Haverhill High’s Tom Maguire and Pentucket’s Tom Pingree will go back to being rivals, either on the ice or simply every week when they see the area scoring stats.

But when April arrives, those five and numerous others from around the area will become teammates once again, with a national title as the goal.

Last weekend, the New Hampshire East Eagles won a berth in April’s U18 national tournament after surging to the Granite State League title this spring.

“The kids are thrilled,” said coach Brian Toohey. “Every year it seems like we were right there, then something would happen in the end. This year everything came together and we will get to play for the crown.”

Filled with local players, the Eagles finished 25-0-2 overall this season, 15-0-2 in the Granite State League with 126 goals for and 19 against in league play. The season began in September, and playoffs ended last week.

The roster is composed of players from throughout the region, including Timberlane, Salem, Pentucket, Haverhill, Amesbury/Whittier and Central Catholic, along with former area players including Cam Toohey (Timberlane) who now plays for Berwick Academy.

“The core of this group has been playing together for 5 or 6 years and are very close,” said Brian Toohey, Cam’s dad. “When it’s high school season, they will battle each other on the ice or are always texting each other when the stats come out about who is ahead. But they are always pulling for each other. It’s pretty funny. But when they get here, they become a true team.”

The Eagles’ season is now on hold, for the high school season. But it will resume with the national tournament in Hartford, Conn., in April.

“We have had injuries or back luck that have stopped us from getting here,” said Toohey. “So the kids can’t wait. There are over 40 teams from across the country, and it will be played in a span of about five days. So it will be a very intense tournament.”

Going for nationals

Here are the local athletes from the New Hampshire East Eagles that will play for a national title.

Name School

Paul Antkowiak Salem High

Garnett Antkowiak Salem High

Anthony Licciardello Whittier

Tom Maguire Haverhill

Tom Pingree Pentucket

Ian Mitchell Pentucket

John Orlando Pentucket

Nick Lambert Timberlane

Derek Vaillancourt Central Catholic

Cam Toohey Berwick Academy (formally Timberlane)

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Sports

Local Sports Videos
Sports Videos
Lunch Break: What to do with the Phillies? Bottalico thinks Pettibone's fate is not set in stone McCarthy and Wheeler recap Phillies' 10-5 loss in Colorado Does prolonging the selection of a starting QB affect the Eagles? Isenhour and Sigel recap the second round of the U.S. Open Fay says Merion members and neighbors are the real winners this week Thursday U.S. Open Highlights What's Brewing: U.S. Open starts; Phils snap skid A wet and rough opening round at Merion Bubba Watson on Merion: 'It's a beast' Merion's toughness disproving naysayers Why has Mickelson excelled on Day 1 of the U.S. Open? Is Tiger the favorite to win the U.S. Open? 'Red-eye' flight before tournament nothing new for Mickelson Mickelson: 'This is the best setup I've seen for a U.S. Open' McCarthy and Wheeler recap Phillies' fifth straight loss Alert: Round 1 of U.S. Open suspended Feinstein is concerned wet conditions could turn the greens into 'target practice' The history behind the iconic Hogan 1-iron photo What will be Merion's game plan should heavy flooding return?
Boston Sports
Globe 10.0: What's wrong with Jon Lester? Championship Today: Fatigue is not a worry Globe 10.0: is Doc Rivers staying or leaving? Don Cherry on Bruins-Hawks, Rask-Thomas, and more Dupont and Silva on why the Bruins won game 2 Jaromir Jagr did everything but score in Bruins OT thriller Tyler Seguin on setting up the Game 2 OT winner Julien: 'The further the game went, the better we got' Haggerty: Anything from the third line would be welcome at this point Julien: Horton is day-to-day Giardi: Seguin needs to have more battle Felger: What if that Pats choose Tebow over Mallet? Mazz: The Red Sox are running out of pitching options Patriots owner claims Russian president Vladimir Putin pocketed his 2005 Super Bowl ring Thursday U.S. Open Highlights Kraft Discusses Tim Tebow Signing With Patriots SportsNet Central Update: Tim Tebow is a Patriot; Bruins leave for Chicago Fans give send-off to Boston Bruins Tim Tebow addresses media Curran on Tebow: 'It's a mercy signing'