In a 44-second span, fifth-ranked Hingham boys’ hockey strikes twice to topple No. 3 Arlington

Hingham delivered a dominant effort throughout, but a pair of goals in a 44-second span in the second period was the difference in a nonleague boys’ hockey showcase against Arlington Sunday afternoon.

Back-to-back tallies from senior Connor Lasch and junior defenseman Jack Rakauskas pushed fifth-ranked Hingham past the No. 3 Spy Ponders, 2-1, at Bentley Arena, a game dedicated to former Arlington student Catherine Malatesta.

Lasch, a 5-foot-8-inch center who skates on the fourth line, slotted home a loose puck from the bottom of the right circle to open the scoring. Senior captain Chase McKenna fired the puck into a slew of bodies in the slot, where it bounced around onto Lasch’s stick.

“We’ve got seniors on those lines,” said Hingham coach Tony Messina of his team’s depth. “It’s a big difference for some of these teams. I don’t care how talented you are, if you’re a 190-pound forward and you’ve been beaten up for four years as a senior, you can be physical and maintain the puck and create some offense.”

Less than a minute later, Rakauskas capitalized for the Harbormen (5-1-2), receiving a feed from senior captain Ace Concannon and firing a wrist shot that barely ricocheted off an Arlington jersey in front into the top corner.

Just 17 seconds into the third period, senior Drew Fecteau punched in a rebound for the Spy Ponders (5-2-1), but Arlington kept up the pressure, refusing to afford time and space.

The matchup was devoted to preserving the memory of Malatesta, who died Aug. 2, 2015 at age 16 from sarcoma cancer, before the start of her senior year at Arlington. She was the president of student council and captain of the field hockey team.

“The Malatesta family is super special to Arlington and Arlington high,” said Arlington coach John Messuri. “[Her father] Gregg was my teammate. It’s a special thing. Catherine was a great person, so we’re happy to keep her name going.”

Messina has gotten to know the Malatesta family over the years. Their son, Reid, a former standout at Arlington, plays at Phillips Andover Academy. His roommate, Bobby Falvey, is Messina’s nephew.

“It’s great, we’ve been doing [this game] for years and John [Messuri] is good at finding good [venues],” said Messina. “This is great for us, happy to be a part of it.”

North Andover 3, Medford 0 — Dylan Fitzpatrick scored two goals, Kyle Donnelly tallied three assists and Troy Takesian made 29 saves to spearhead a nonleague win for the Scarlet Knights (4-3) at Merrimack College.

Wakefield 2, Wilmington 1 — Jack Curran and Sean Hogan notched goals for the Warriors (3-4) in the Middlesex League win at Stoneham Arena.

Girls’ hockey

Bishop Feehan 6, Westwood 0 — Avery Blanchard racked up 29 saves and secured her second shutout in a 24-hour span to backstop the Shamrocks (2-3) to a nonleague home win. Molly Braga scored twice.

Martha’s Vineyard 4, Nantucket 1 — Alana Nevin, Elle Mone, Savannah Meader, and Audrey Heidt each scored in a Cape & Islands road win for the Vineyarders (3-2-2).

Boys’ basketball

Catholic Memorial 72, Attleboro 43 — Peter Gellene (19 points), Malachi Bryant (17) and Jake Cofield (16) helped the fifth-ranked Knights (7-1) roll to a nonleague home win.

Mansfield 57, BC High 41 — Senior Chris Hill stuffed the box score with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 7 steals, and 3 blocks in a nonleague victory for the sixth-ranked Hornets (8-0).

Girls’ gymnastics

Notre Dame (Hingham) 137.4, Cohasset/Norwell 134.850 — Katie McCormack won the all-around (36.2), with wins on the vault (9.3), the floor (9.3) and was second on bars (8.5) and beam (9.1) for host NDA (3-1) in the victory.

Correspondent Ethan Fuller contributed to this story. To report scores, call 617-929-2860/3235 or email [e-mail].