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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
With Thanksgiving and the month of November now behind us, Medfield High School enters December ready to kick off its winter sports season and see great success from its winter athletic teams.
Amongst the several Warrior athletic teams ready to drop the puck or tip off the ball for the first time this season is the boys varsity ice hockey team. The Warriors return to the ice in 2016-2017 as the defending MIAA Division II state champions after last season’s historical run through the state tournament, which culminated with a 3-1 victory over Lincoln-Sudbury in the state championship game at TD Garden. Medfield enters the season as the No. 1 ranked team in Division II according to MassHSHockey.com’s power rankings, so expectations for 2016-2017 are certainly high for Toby Carlow’s squad.
Meanwhile, Mark Nicholson’s varsity girls basketball team will look to improve upon a successful 2015-2016 campaign that saw a 17-7 record and a deep run into the MIAA Division II State Tournament, ending with a heartbreaking 58-53 loss to Notre Dame Academy (Worcester) in the Central Sectional Finals. The Lady Warriors were a power in the Tri-Valley League in 2015-2016, going 13-2 in conference play. The Medfield girls will look to continue their success within the TVL, but will also play a share of strong non-conference opponents such as the hosting of Mansfield (Hockomock League) in December 9’s season opener.
The boys varsity basketball team is also coming off of an extremely solid season, having went 18-3 and battled all the way to the D2 state semifinals where the Warriors came up just short in a 59-58 loss to Marlboro. Head coach Herb Grace has obviously built a solid foundation and will look to keep up the success in 2016-2017 when the boys travel to Millis on December 13 to open up their season.
The long wait is over, and it is now time for some hoop and some puck to get underway in Medfield.
Good luck to all the MHS winter sports programs as they begin their seasons this week.
