RallyNorth.net

Nine in a row and no further.

After a remarkable run of play capped off by the win for the ages over Gloucester in the Division 2 North quarterfinal, Newburyport's season came to an end in the semifinal last night, 4-0, to a team that has not lost a Division 2 game all season in Tewksbury.

SALEM | Mike Cabral had a pretty good idea of what he'd be facing against the high octane Peabody High offense last night.

"They did everything I figured they would: storm the net, crash for rebounds, throw a ton of shots at me," Wilmington's all-league goaltender remarked. "They put constant pressure on me and kept me on my toes almost the entire game. I tip my hat to them."

SALEM | When you're in the state hockey tourney, you have to be on the attack from the beginning. Peabody didn't do that last night and it proved fatal to its chances in the Division 2 North semifinals.

On average, 18 million youths each year will suffer some sort of injury related to athletics. Of those, roughly 3.5 million will be sustained by kids under the age of 15 years old.

That was the topic of discussion at a lecture on kids and sports injuries held at Merrimack College. The was sponsored by Eagle Tribune Publishing's RallyNorth.net, as well as Merrimack College and the Northeast Rehab Health Network.

Deafening cheers spilled out of the Newburyport hockey team's locker room Sunday evening only minutes after the Clippers pulled off the upset of Gloucester in the Division 2 North quarterfinal at Richard H. Rockett Rink.

It's simply a matter of what your preference is.

On the one hand, you have a team that has scored 101 times this winter, has five different players with at least 20 points and is stacked both up front and on defense. More than one coach has called them the deepest, most talented team in Division 2 hockey.

It wasn't much consolation after yesterday's loss, but it did seem to soften the blow a bit for Timberlane sniper Nick Bundzinski.

"We have a lot of our best kids coming back next season," said the forward, sporting a quality playoff beard. "We are definitely going to give this another shot next year."

Timberlane coach Andrew Merrick shrugged and acknowledged what had doomed his team.

"You could see we were gripping our sticks a little tight in the first period," he said. "I think we were nervous and a little surprised by the pace of play and made a few mistakes. We gave them a few breaks, and they took advantage."

NORTH BILLERICA | It was likely the furthest thing from Ellery Smith's mind.

The Marblehead High sophomore hockey forward probably wasn't thinking he had just scored the game's only goal when he threw the puck towards the net a mere 54 seconds into last night's Division 3 North semifinal against top-seeded Trinity Catholic at Chelmsford Forum.

So what exactly was it like to be a part of yesterday's Division 2 North quarterfinal boys hockey game between No. 3 Gloucester and sixth-seeded Newburyport?

"I had pins and needles man, pins and needles," said Newburyport head coach Paul Yameen. "I knew it was going to be a battle."