Hockomock Sports

Our two editors, Ryan Lanigan and Josh Perry, along with The Boston Herald's Jim Clark check in on the Hockomock hockey season as we are in the second half of it.

Who is the current boys hockey Player of the Year?
Ryan Lanigan, HockomockSports.com: At the halfway point, it has to come down to Attleboro’s Zack Dragun and Mansfield’s Brendan Murphy. Both have put up impressive numbers so far and the tiebreaker might have to go to Murphy based on the Hornets’ success this season. I’ve been impressed with his ability to create plays for teammates and for himself via his skating. If he continues his current pace, he can help lead Mansfield to a deep run and himself to a Player of the Year award.

Josh Perry, HockomockSports.com: Brendan Murphy, Mansfield - The Hornets are back up near the top of the Kelley-Rex division and looking to challenge for the D2 South title that they came so close to winning a year ago. One of the main reasons behind the team's success is forward Brendan Murphy, who just reached double digits in goals scored. Murphy almost singlehandedly beat KP last week with a hat trick and may be the fastest skater that I have seen in the league this season. Big goals at big times, when his team needs it the most has been Murphy's trademark, which is why he gets the nod for the first half of the season.

Jim Clark, The Boston Herald: I probably would go with Brian Brooks at Canton. The Bulldogs are the only unbeaten team in the league and Brooks has made the smooth transition to center. He had a solid sophomore season, but Brian Shuman was looking for someone to step up after losing Nick O'Connor to prep school and Brooks certainly has done that.

Which Hockomock team has been the surprise team of the year?
Lanigan: It’s been a recent turn around, but it looks as though King Philip might be getting back on the right track. Dylan Unger has played solid in net while forwards Jack Riley and Gavin McIntyre have paced the offense. Nick DAmico has competed well on the defensive side of the puck. They will have to play on the road against Franklin and Canton, but will host some winnable games in the coming weeks. 

Perry: North Attleboro has been a huge surprise in the first half with a 9-2 start to the season, now 10-3-1. Sean Young and Marshall Blackman are big reasons for the Rocketeers great start, but more consistency from the second line has helped North get the edge in tight games. I can see there being a little regression from North in the second half with a tough schedule ahead. They still have to play Franklin and Mansfield (twice), as well as rematches with OA, Attleboro, Feehan, and Milford, which were all beaten by a single goal the first time around.

Clark: Attleboro really has opened my eyes. Coming off a four-win season, the Blue Bombardiers already have blown past that, and while they likely would qualify for the tournament under the "Sullivan rule," they have a legit chance to get to the 20 points anyway. They've even hung tough with the league powers like Canton, Franklin and Mansfield.

Hock 5 First Team
Lanigan:
F – Brendan Murphy, Mansfield
F – Zack Dragun, Attleboro
F – Sean Young, North Attleboro
F – Brian Brooks, Canton
F – Connor Ladino, Taunton
G – Matt Raposo, North Attleboro

Perry:
F- Zach Dragun, Attleboro
F- Brendan Murphy, Mansfield
F-Brian Brooks, Canton
F- Sean Young, North Attleboro
F- Mike Patjane, Franklin
G- Jimmy Tierney, Oliver Ames

Clark:
F - Zack Dragun, Attleboro
F - Brian Brooks, Canton
F - Brendan Murphy, Mansfield
D - Kurt Leavitt, Canton
D - Ryan Burns, North Attleboro
G - PJ Sheehan, Stoughton

Having not seen all the teams, I'll try not to just base it on the stats. Obviously Brooks belongs there, and his teammate Kurt Leavitt has been one of the league's top two-way defensemen. Zach Dragun has been a big key to Attleboro's rise this season after leading the team in scoring a year ago, and Brendan Murphy has come up big time and again for Mansfield. North Attleboro has some young forwards who can score, but you can't overlook the senior leadership of Ryan Burns on the blueline.

As far as goalie, I am going to go off the board a bit. There obviously are some very good ones in the Hock like Rich Nee, Rich Shipman, Devon Maloof and Jimmy Tierney, but I have to give a lot of credit to Paul Sheehan at Stoughton. It seems he is under constant siege and even though his numbers aren't great and the Black Knights have struggled all around, you have to tip your hat (or mask) to that kind of performance.

Which player has surprised you this season?
Lanigan: At this point, I'd say I've been most surprised by Taunton's Connor Ladino. The Tigers are an incredibly young team, stocked with sophomores, freshman, and eighth graders. Ladino has been an offensive force, despite getting the most attention from opposing defenders. He continues to impress despite Taunton's record. 

Perry: Zack Dragun, Attleboro - Dragun is the league's surprising top scorer. As far as talent, Dragun's scoring rate is not surprising, but he is the Bombardiers star on offense and one if its few weapons. It has been surprising to see him spearheading the league's top attack, despite drawing most of the attention from opposing defenses. His growth (both in size and talent) is the main reason that Attleboro is headed for another playoff berth this year.

Clark: I figured Mike Donadio would be the top goalie for Franklin after leading the Panthers back to the state final a year ago, but Devon Maloof has grabbed the reins and had the bulk of the playing time so far. Maybe Chris Spillane goes back to his rotation at some point, but we all know Franklin's success always is from the goal out. I feel bad for not having any Franklin players in my Top 5, but as always, they're a team that has a lot of balance and no real go-to guy, but some very solid forwards like Cam Curley, Troy Donahue and Aiden Isberg. But if Maloof stays hot, the Panthers could ride him back to the Garden again.

At this point, which team will be going the furthest in the tournament?
Lanigan: It looks as though Canton will have the depth and skill to make a strong tournament run. Their quest last season was stopped short via rival Oliver Ames but they seemed to have figured them out with their 3-1 win just recently. Rich Nee has played solid in net while players like Brian Brooks, Pat Ward, and Kurt Leavitt are taking turns being the focus of opposing defenses. Their depth will prove key in their postseason run. 

Perry: This season Canton has the look of a team that can make a deep postseason run. Rich Nee is an underrated goalie and the Bulldogs are tenacious defensively. These are good traits heading into the pressure cooker of the playoffs and the improved offensive play of Brian Brooks and Pat Ward will give them plenty of confidence. Canton will be happy to avoid Oliver Ames, which has knocked them out of the playoffs each of the past two season and don't count out two-time defending sectional champs Franklin either because they always step up a gear in the postseason.

Clark: It's tough to go against either Canton or Franklin. As for which one of them it will be, I'll have to dig a magic coin out of my pocket. Franklin won the early meeting, and Canton got the one that counts for the league standings. It would be silly to think we won't see them face off again at Gallo sometime a month from now, but I couldn't tell you which way that will go. But I like the Hock to have a team in the Garden again on March 17.

Which team is going to surprise people in the second half of the season?
Lanigan: It might not be a big surprise, but Oliver Ames could throw together a strong second half of the season. They started off strong but have recently struggled on offense. They just scored nine goals against Stoughton earlier this week, and a match up with Brockton should help continue their offensive rhythm. They won 7 of their last 9 games last year, averaging over 3 goals a game. If they can start playing on both ends of the ice, they could be a team no one wants to see in the tournament.

Perry: King Philip has raced out to a 5-2 record in the league and has improved leaps and bounds from the opening game when I saw them struggle in a tie with Dartmouth to the team that nearly knocked off Mansfield last week. KP still has games against Franklin and Canton as well as rematches with North Attleboro and Oliver Ames, but the Warriors will go into those games with confidence and I can see them adding to the league's playoff representatives in D2.

Clark: I think King Philip has kind of snuck up already, sitting at a game over .500, and the Warriors have some very winnable games over the second half of the season. Mark Homer has done a nice job in his second year stabilizing the program after it went through three different coaches in three seasons, and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see KP return to the postseason for the first time since 2008.

By Josh Perry, Managing Editor

Franklin, Mass. – With 4:33 left to play and Franklin leading by a goal, the Panthers were handed a man advantage. It seemed as though Franklin had the game locked up. It may have seemed that way, but Mansfield was not going to go quietly.

The Hornets had been limited to just a few shots on goal in the third period prior to going shorthanded. In the final four minutes, Mansfield created five solid scoring chances. Senior captain and leading scorer Brendan Murphy, who had already scored once, had two point-blank chances in the final seconds but could not put either on target.

“I just can’t believe we didn’t score,” exclaimed Hornets head coach Rick Anastos. “It started when we got the penalty with four minutes remaining. We totally dominated from that moment on.”

Mansfield’s inability to find the game-tying goal cost them more than just a 2-1 loss to a rival – it also cost them the lead in the Kelley-Rex division. Mansfield (7-3-3) is now 6-2 in the Hockomock League, while Franklin (9-3-2) moves to 6-1.

Panthers head coach Chris Spillane spoke to his team about the need to grind out results, but praised the Hornets for pushing them right to the end and called his team lucky to get the win that qualifies Franklin for the tournament.

“We kept turning the puck over and it just happened that every time we turned the puck over it landed on No. 2’s (Murphy’s) stick, the best player on the team,” said Spillane. “The last five minutes they were by far the better team and they probably deserved a piece of it.”

Both teams created chances in the opening period. Murphy had a chance midway through the first, but his shot was stuffed by Franklin goalie Devon Maloof. Franklin answered with a chance of its own but Pat Slason’s shot bounced up and landed on top of the net. It looked like the teams would head into the locker rooms scoreless, until Murphy struck.

With just 10.7 seconds on the clock, the Hornets forward was in the right place at the right time to finish off a scramble in the crease. Linemates Adam Blackman and Kevin Flynn assisted on the goal, which was helped on to Murphy’s stick by Maloof’s pad.

After falling behind, Franklin began asserting itself and limiting the Hornets’ chances for long stretches of the game. Three minutes into the second period, the Panthers tied it at 1-1 with a bit of luck. Ryan Lessard’s shot from the point deflected through Shipman’s five-hole off the skate of Hornets defenseman Will Kelleher.

“We need to get shots on a goalie like that,” explained Spillane about his team’s willingness to get shots on the net (Franklin outshot Mansfield 24-22). “The defenseman, as he took the shot, had a man blocking him so he was right to go off net and if it gets blocked it would be a great play. Sometimes you get the breaks.”

Anastos was disappointed with his team’s inability to create chances, despite controlling the puck and spending plenty of time in the attacking zone.

“Our guys don’t shoot enough and for the life of me I can’t figure it out. Did you see the rebounds that were given up the whole game…incredible. We need more shots,” he said.

Franklin got the eventual game-winner 5:22 into the third period. Mansfield turned the puck over in its own zone and senior forward Aiden Isberg took advantage. Isberg split two defenders and was able to drag the puck onto the backhand and slip it past Shipman.

Spillane said, “It was a broken play and he picked it up and drove hard at the net and, you know, their goaltender is outstanding so anytime that you can get the puck by him it’s great.”

Although his team was on the losing end, Anastos was impressed by the overall level of play and the playoff intensity that both teams brought to the game.

“You know what, it was a great game and that’s the intensity and the game that you want to see at this point in the season,” he said. “I was impressed with the way we played. If we played like that the other night against North Attleboro we would have killed them.”

Franklin has taken the lead in the league, but these two teams, which met in the D2 South finals a year ago, look prepared for another meeting once the playoffs roll around.

By Yoni Monat, HockomockSports.com Contributor

SHARON, Mass. -- The Sharon High boys basketball team found its offensive rhythm in the third quarter on Tuesday night, and the Eagles rolled past Foxboro, 59-45, at Eagle Gymnasium.

Senior captain Ian Beach was pleased with the Eagles’ performance, which snapped a three-game skid. “It feels pretty good. It was a pretty big win. A lot of kids stepped it up. Good to get on a roll again.”

Sharon was unable to get much going offensively in the first half. The Eagles mustered just five points against the Warriors in the second quarter. However, in the third quarter, Beach moved to point guard, sparking an Eagle flurry.

Beach says that the change gave the Sharon offense more room to operate. “Everybody stared at Muk [junior guards Brian Mukasa] and Jimmy [Fritzson] up top, but when they moved to the sides, it spread out; there was more space for us to run our offense.”

Head Coach Bruce Jackman said of Beach, “He handled the ball really well, made some great passes for us, got everybody involved in the offense.

“We were doing a lot more in the second half than they were in the first half. I think that’s directly attributable to what Ian did with the basketball out front,” Jackman added.

A crucial third-quarter sequence was Fritzson (team-high 21 points) scoring a basket, stealing a Foxboro inbounds pass, finishing the layup while getting fouled, and sinking the free throw – a seven-point swing.

Senior forward Brian Lawrence, who scored nine points and added three rebounds, said, “We moved the ball well, and we executed well. We were going through the plays fully. We were getting three or four passes instead of one or two.”

Beach says that the effort was a collective one. “It was pretty good. Everybody contributed. Brian Lawrence hit a couple shots, Jimmy had a big game, kids came off the bench and did their jobs – that’s all you can ask for.”

Lawrence says that the Eagles played strong defense on Foxboro throughout the game. “We are very active [defensively]. We have the right people in the right places; that’s why we generate a lot of steals.”

Sharon (8-6 overall, 5-6 Hockomock) begins the regular season’s final month with a matchup on Friday night in Attleboro. The Eagles have not yet faced the Bombardiers this season.

Beach said, “We’ve just got to go out, play our game. Hopefully, we can get two in a row.”

Here are Wednesday's Hockomock hockey games.

Hockey
North Attleboro, 2 @ Attleboro, 2 - Final
Canton, 8 @ Stoughton, 0 - Final - Canton's Pat Ward recorded a hat trick. 
Mansfield, 1 @ Franklin, 2 - Final
Taunton, 0 @ King Philip, 6 - Final
Milford, 1 @ Oliver Ames, 6 - Final - Senior Kyle Hayes recored his first career hat trick for OA. 

By Ryan Lanigan, Editor-in-Chief 

CANTON, Mass. – It may have been just another game, but for members of the Oliver Ames basketball team, it was a sense of normalcy.

With heavy hearts, Oliver Ames pulled away late from Davenport Division rival Canton on Tuesday to win 60-49.

Just days after losing a classmate in senior wrestling captain Devin Ness, the Tigers rallied to an emotional victory over the Bulldogs.

“One of our driving forces was obviously Devin,” senior Andrew Reardon said, a classmate of Ness’. “He was a good kid. He was a driving force for us, which helped us come out in the second half and have a good second half.”

Signs of respect for the tragedy were all over the Canton gym. Reardon was one of the Tigers who had “RIP Devin” written on their sneakers, while all Canton players and coaches wore orange laces in their sneakers and dress shoes. The Canton cheerleaders wore orange ribbons in their hair and there was a moment of silence before the game.

“OA’s a tight school,” Oliver Ames head coach Don Byron said. “Everything ranging from close friends, to close family friends to acquaintances. You could see it in their eyes. They were working like crazy to pull some emotion out of themselves to play a basketball game, and it wasn’t easy.”

The Tigers trailed entering the final frame, down 38-36, but a Brendan Welch jumper and a Ryan Carney three gave OA the lead for good. Carney finished with a game-high 19 points, 11 in the fourth quarter.

Oliver Ames stretched their lead to eight after senior St. Clair Ryan’s high-arching three put them up 52-44. Late free throws and strong defense helped the Tigers seal it.

“We picked it up defensively in the second half, and it starts with [St. Clair],” Byron said.

It was a tale of two different defenses, as Canton clamped down in the first half, and more specifically in the second quarter where they only allowed five OA points.

But in the second half, Oliver Ames only allowed eight in the third quarter and then 11 in the final frame,

“I don’t think they did anything different,” Byron said of Canton’s defenses. “Our shot selection, we kind of shot the ball kind of quickly. We didn’t get one offensive rebound in the first half – not one – and that’s kind of an indicator that emotionally you’re not there.”

Sam Larson scored a quiet 17 points to lead Canton while junior Tristin Mullen had 12 points.

“They did a pretty good job on Larson,” Canton head coach Ryan Gordy said. “Every time, he’s the focus of the scouting report. His shot just wasn’t falling. Everyone has those types of games, he’s still a great player and one of the best scorers in the league. It just wasn’t his night.”

Canton took a 28-21 lead into the break, and extended it to 12 with two quick baskets in the third, but OA proved to be resilient, behind the leadership of Cidado.

“I saw something in him I really liked,” Byron said. “He was urging kids that we could get this.”

Cidado outscored the rest of his teammates, netting 8 points to keep the Tigers afloat heading into the final quarter.

“Nick already has a lot of experience,” Reardon said. “He already has that mental edge against some of those kids who are in their first year on varsity. Maybe sometimes, Ryan and I aren’t feeling it, [Cidado] is always there to step up. He’s an important part to this team.”

As the final buzzer sounded, a relieved Oliver Ames looked as though a weight had been lifted off their shoulders. Canton played a tough game, but proved to be even classier hosts with the respect they showed.

“Sports is a great venue to show respect," Gordy said. "They’re dealing with something that’s a complete tragedy and our hearts go out to them. Even though it was small, it was a little something we could do to show we respect them. At the end of the day, it’s just a basketball game.”

Here are Tuesday's Hockomock games.

Boys Basketball
Attleboro, 62 @ North Attleboro, 60 - Final - Attleboro rallies from 16 points down.
Oliver Ames, 60 @ Canton, 49 - Final - OA's Ryan Carney finished with a game-high 19 points. 
Foxboro, 45 @ Sharon, 59 - Final - Jimmy Fritzon scored a team-high 21 points for Sharon. 
Franklin, 66 @ Taunton, 61 - Final - Sam Bohmiller scored 25 points in the Panthers' win. 
King Philip, 26 @ Mansfield, 58 - Final - Ryan Boulter had 13 and Rocky Andrade had 11. 
Stoughton, 52 @ Milford, 69 - Final

Girls Basketball
North Attleboro, 61 @ Attleboro, 53 - Final - Meg Ronaghan had 25 points for North.
Canton, 27 @ Oliver Ames, 75 - Final - Caitlyn Abela had 25 points and 9 boards for OA. Michaela Lievi chipped in with 17 points. 
Sharon, 29 @ Foxboro, 45 - Final
Taunton, 38 @ Franklin, 55 - Final - Alicia Kutil had 16 points and 10 boards for Panthers.
Mansfield, 59 @ King Philip, 65 - Final
Milford, 32 @ Stoughton, 59 - Final

At the beginning of the season, our writers plus ESPNBoston's Brendan Hall previewed this year's boys basketball season. Halfway through the season, we check in on where things stand in the Hock.

Who is the current boys basketball Player of the Year?
Ryan Lanigan, HockomockSports.com: The current player of the year is Sharon’s Brian Mukasa. I’m not going strictly off the top scorers of the league either. Mukasa has really stepped up big time this year, taking complete control over a team that had way more preseason hype than it’s had in recent memory. They returned four starters in Mukasa, Jimmy Fritzon, Ian Beach, and Kevin Bartas. The only constant for Sharon in all of their games this season has been Mukasa, as the four aforementioned players have all missed time this season and the fifth starter rotates. Mukasa has helped lead the turnaround after the Eagles dropped their first three games.

Josh Perry, HockomockSports.com: Brendan Hill, Mansfield - He is the best player on the best team and a legitimate All-State forward. His combination of size, shooting, passing, and ballhandling makes him a constant threat even when he's not the team's leading scorer. Hill's combination of offensive weapons opens up the floor for his teammates and by running the offense through him, Mansfield can space the floor to open up its great shooters or to provide lanes to the basket.

Brendan Hall, ESPNBoston.com: It sounds crazy that we’re talking about a sophomore as Player of the Year in one of the state’s most competitive leagues, but right now my vote would be for Mansfield’s Brendan Hill. When you talk about consistency, he is the model example. One coach told us earlier this month that Hill is “a raw Pat Connaughton without the athleticism” – lofty comparison if you followed Connaughton’s career arc, but hard to argue with. The kid does it all for one of the state’s most efficient offenses. Nary a possession is wasted when Hill is on the floor.

Which Hockomock team has been the surprise team of the year?
Lanigan: It might be foolish to say this of a team that finished 15-5 last year, but Milford has been the most surprising team for me. Not to knock other leagues, but it’s not exactly a cake way in the Hockomock. Milford hasn’t skipped a beat though, jumping out to an 11-1 mark so far. They have argubably the strongest senior class in the league and seem to have a different leading scorer each night. It will be interesting to see how teams come back at them the second time around, which is why the second half of the season should be tough, especially with a match up with Mansfield. 

Perry: Milford Hawks - Not a lot was known about the Hawks as they came into the league for the first time, but they have opened up the season at 11-1. I knew Milford would be good, but nowhere near as deep and talented as they've proven to be. Milford looks like the team that will run away with the Davenport this season and will be even better with point guard Michael Titlebaum back on the floor.

Hall: It has to be Milford, for the simple element of the relative unknown. Coming from a Central Mass. district where they certainly weren’t known for deep postseason runs (Milford is a baseball town, after all), the Scarlet Hawks have come in and run roughshod over the Davenport division. Their lone blemish so far is a 20-point loss to Taunton, and they’re sure to get tested against Mansfield. But it’s impressive that the Hawks rank third in the league in scoring yet only have one player in the Top 10 in individual scoring.

Hock 5 First Team
Lanigan:
G – Brian Mukasa, Sharon
G – Sam Bohmiller, Franklin
G – Tim Walsh, Attleboro
F – Brendan Hill, Mansfield
F – David Mercier, Milford

Perry:
F - Brendan Hill, Mansfield
F - David Mercier, Milford
G - Sam Bohmiller, Franklin
G - Brian Mukasa, Sharon
G - Tim Walsh, Attleboro

Hall:
Brendan Hill, Soph. F, Mansfield
Brian Mukasa, Jr. G, Sharon
Marcus Middleton, Sr. G, Stoughton
Sam Bohmiller, Sr. G, Franklin
Shaquille Davis, Sr. G, Taunton

Which player has surprised you this season?
Lanigan: Foxboro’s Justin Zupanick has been a very solid players for the Warriors during the first half of the season, helping them edge out close wins over Oliver Ames and Sharon. He has the ability to beat you from down low or mid range which can cause troubles for defenses. We knew about Josh Patkin, Tim O’Halloran, and Alex Pacitti heading into the season, but Zupanick has emerged as their leading scoring, helping them to an 8-4 record.

Perry: Ryan Boulter, Mansfield - The sophomore was the team's leading scorer earlier in the season and is still averaging over 12 points per game. While fellow sophomore Ryan Carney is lighting things up at Oliver Ames, there was some talk coming into the season that he was a player to watch. No one saw Boulter taking this big of a leap forward and it probably would not have even been possible if not for a preseason injury to Michael Hershman, which opened up playing time.

Hall: Some of us might not have been sure what Oliver Ames had coming up the pipe following the graduation of Nick Bruha, but sophomore guard Ryan Carney is having a breakout season right now and keeping the Tigers in contention in the Davenport. At 18.7 points per game, he’s the second-leading scorer in the league. He’s certainly an underclassman to watch the next few years.

At this point, which team will be going the furthest in the tournament?
Lanigan: It looks as though Mansfield will be a serious contender in Division I this season. Two crazy things to look at is that they’ve done this all without Michael Hershman – a solid contributor from last season – and that they are going to be arguably just as good next year. Before looking too far ahead, this year will be vital because of the contributions they get from senior Greg Romanko. They seem to be able to adjust their offense when needed and their defense has been solid throughout the entire season.

Perry: Mansfield should be the answer, but (as was the case during the soccer tournament this fall) D1 South is going to be an incredibly deep sectional to get through. I still feel as though the Hornets will be the team to represent the Hockomock deep into the playoffs and have the best chance to bring home some silverware for the Hockomock, but don't count out a strong run from Taunton or from Milford in the Central. Another sleeper could be Foxboro as the Hockomock's representative in D3.

Hall: Mansfield is the safe pick here. They’ve been the most dominant, and consistent, and are staring down a top seed in Division 1 South. I pegged them as a favorite in the district before the season, and they’ve done nothing to discern me from that in the first half. That said, D2 South is literally the most wide-open bracket in the state, so I wouldn’t be surprised if a Stoughton or a Sharon went on a nice little run.

Which team is going to surprise people in the second half of the season?
Lanigan: Based on what I saw earlier this week, Franklin has improved greatly since their first game of the season. It’s no surprise, seeing they did the same exact thing last year. This year brought a new challenege, but with sophomore Marcus Geise stepping up, junior Chris Rodgers emerging as a true scoring threat, and players like Pat O’Reilly, Brendan Kuzio, and Craig Anderson forming a solid rotation down low, things are getting a little easier for senior guard Sam Bohmiller. Dean O’Connor admitted this year’s squad is a defensive one, and numbers don’t lie as they are ranked the best defensive team in the league in terms of opponents scoring.

Perry: The Franklin Panthers are a very different team than early in the season with the emergence of Chris Rodgers as a consistent second scorer alongside Sam Bohmiller. It's never a surprise to see the Panthers near the top of the league, but I expect them to have a strong second half of the season and avenge a few of their losses. While this is not a team that could challenge Mansfield for the league title this season, they will have a chance at a good seed in the playoffs.

Hall: Franklin is a team that always gets better in February. We’ve probably overlooked this, likely because Mansfield and Taunton have dominated the talk of the Hock in the first half, but the Panthers are 7-3 right now with five straight wins since taking one on the chin to Mansfield earlier this month. I’m calling it right now – Franklin will upset Taunton on Tuesday, and it will be a six-point swing when they face Mansfield again on Feb. 12.

Our two editors, Ryan Lanigan & Josh Perry, check in on the girls basketball midway through the season.

Who is the current girls basketball Player of the Year?
Josh Perry, HockomockSports.com: Caitlin Abela, Oliver Ames - Similar to Brendan Hill at Mansfield, Abela is the best player on the best team and is the focal point of everything that the Tigers do on offense. Abela has always been a solid shooter, but has added an off-the-dribble game, which has taken her scoring to the next level. She can draw big defenders away from the basket and take smaller opponents down to the post, as well as being a solid passer in transition and in the half-court.

Ryan Lanigan, HockomockSports.com: Oliver Ames’s Caitlin Abela has been a star and helped lead her team to a perfect 11-0 mark. North Attleboro’s Meg Ronaghan has been another name that could be considered, but Abela has outplayed everyone at this point. The Sacred Heart-commit has altered games with her presence in the paint but don’t think that she can’t bring it out and beat you from outside as well.

Which Hockomock team has been the surprise team of the year?
Perry: Attleboro Bombardiers - When star player Bri Hochwarter was potentially lost for the season to another knee injury, it seemed like that would be the end of the Lady Bombardiers postseason hopes. Instead, the team has rallied behind players that gained valuable experience last season and newcomers Kim Runey and Emily Houle. Attleboro is currently 9-5 and needs three more wins to qualify for the postseason. The Bombardiers face a tough schedule for the rest of the season, but there is a confidence about the program that wasn't there just a few season ago.

Lanigan: Foxboro has already doubled their win total from last year and it’s in large part due to Ashley Snyder. The senior has a knack for scoring and it’s rare that anyone will question her toughness. The Warriors won’t have an easy road to start the second half of the season, but have the chance to pick up more quality wins with Sharon, Stoughton, and North Attleboro left on the schedule.

Hock 5 First Team
Perry:
F- Caitlin Abela, Oliver Ames
F- Ashley Snyder, Foxboro
F- Karlie O'Driscoll, Sharon
C- Nicole Daniels, Stoughton
F- Meg Ronaghan, North Attleboro

Lanigan:
F – Caitlin Abela, Oliver Ames
F – Meg Ronaghan, North Attleboro
F – Ashley Snyder, Foxboro
F – Karlie O’Driscoll, Sharon
C – Nicole Daniels, Stoughton

Which player has surprised you this season?
Perry: This a tie between North Attleboro's two sophomore starters, guard Danielle Perron and forward Melissa Beaupre. Everyone knew that Ronaghan would be a star for the Rocketeers, but the question marks lay with the supporting cast. Perron has done an admirable job providing the ballhandling and composure that was lost with the graduation of Jill Cullen. Beaupre has provided energy and rebounding to keep defenses honest on Ronaghan. The pair of sophomores are a big reason why the Rocketeers are on top in the Kelley-Rex division.

At this point, which team will be going the furthest in the tournament?
Perry: Oliver Ames should be considered, at least, one of the the favorites in D2 South and looks likely to be the Hockomock team that has the best chance to bring home some silverware this winter. The combination of Abela and Asia Mitchell along with solid role players such as Kristin Ellis gives OA balance on both offense and defense, which should be a recipe for success in the postseason. 

Lanigan: The Lady Tigers at Oliver Ames have continued to improve which is a scary thought for other teams in Division II. Abela has played very well, Asia Mitchell has emerged as a top guard in the league, and the supporting cast has continued to get better and better as the season progresses. They should be able to make a deep run into the playoffs on the backs of Abela and Mitchelle while others play key rolls along the way.

Which team is going to surprise people in the second half of the season?
Perry: In the preseason, a lot was expected of Sharon, but after a 3-3 start doubts started to creep in about how good the Eagles really were. Those three losses were by a combined 11 points, including 2-point losses to both division leaders. I think that Sharon is poised for a very strong second half and will be right back into the consideration as one of the best teams in the league. The Eagles rematch with OA on February 12th is already circled on the calendar.

Lanigan: It might not exactly be a surprise based on their capabilities, but Sharon is due to have a better second half than they did the first half. That’s saying a lot considering they went 7-3 in their first 10 games. Karlie O’Driscoll is a dangerous player, while a player like Katie Lowerre can easily take over a game herself.