Jake Higgins sparks Hingham boys’ hockey over St. John’s Prep

Jake Higgins has never considered himself to be much of a scorer. But with the Hingham boys’ hockey team graduating a good chunk of its offensive firepower from last year’s Super 8 semifinal team, including Jake’s older brother, Frankie, the senior defenseman has stepped up to fill the void.

After posting two goals and an assist in a 7-0 opening win over Milton, Higgins continued his impressive play from the blue line, scoring a goal and adding an assist to help the No. 3 Harbormen to a convincing 5-2 win over No. 6 St. John’s Prep at Essex Sports Center on Saturday night. With five points through two games, he is well on pace to surpass the 18 points he tallied last season.

“That’s definitely the most points I’ve had in the first two-game span,” said Higgins. “I always try to be as offensive as possible and the last two years I’ve kind of developed my skating game. I just try to get up in the play as much as possible.”

The Eagles (0-1) opened the scoring four minutes into the first period after Ryan Bradley kept the puck on a 2-on-1 and fired home a shot past senior netminder Aaron Richardson (21 saves). The Harbormen controlled the puck in their offensive zone for a majority of the first period as they sought an equalizer, finally breaking through with 18.1 seconds left when Higgins’ shot from the point in traffic found the back of the net.

The opener from their captain opened the floodgates for the Harbormen (2-0), who scored five unanswered goals from all five of their starting skaters. Caleb Woodin and Trevor O’Brien added goals in the second period to make it 3-1, while Will Kenney and Jacob Clark beat Prep goalie Jake Essensa (19 saves) with third-period tallies of their own to make it a 5-1 advantage.

“We don’t know who we’re going to rely on for goals this year, so if everyone chips in, it doesn’t matter,” said Hingham coach Tony Messina. “We got all lines scoring and are creating offense from the defense, which helps, so I’m pretty happy about it.”

Prep got one back courtesy of Zach Scarpola with three minutes left, but it wasn’t enough to overcome an 0-for-4 performance on the power play and a Hingham penalty kill unit that limited them to just three shots on net.

“We practice [the penalty kill] a lot and were aggressive on it, so when it’s working well it frustrates the other team,” said Messina. “They had a pretty good power play, though. They were trying to get shots through, but we got a lot of blocks and a lot of sticks on pucks . . . We’re proud of the penalty kill.”

Masconomet 3, Amesbury 0 — Junior Tucker Hanson notched a shutout and senior captain forward Andrew Gotts scored two goals to lead the Chieftains.

Peabody 2, Danvers 2 — The Tanners (0-1-1) secured their first point in over a year.

Westwood 2, Norwood 1 — Senior captain Connor Donohue potted two goals, including the winner in the third period, to propel the Wolverines.

Wilmington 3, Belmont 1 — Senior Ryan Barrett scored the winner shorthanded with five minutes left for the Wildcats (2-0). Anthony Cuozzo stopped 23 shots in the win.

Boys’ basketball

Abington 72, Nantucket 50 — Bryson Andrews led the way for the Green Wave (3-0) with 28 points, five assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Arlington Catholic 63, Matignon 37 — Senior forward Jack Connaughton scored 13 points and added 11 rebounds to power the Cougars (2-0).

St. Sebastian’s 49, Deerfield 48 — Sophomore Lyndel Erold hit two free throws with nine seconds left to lift St. Sebastian’s (2-4) to the win. Classmate Benen Kaczmarek scored a team-high 19 points in the win.

Girls’ basketball

Bishop Feehan 44, Bishop Fenwick 33 — Senior guard Sarah John and senior forward Bri Gillen led the No. 18 Shamrocks with 10 points apiece.

Cambridge 47, Chelmsford 44 — Sophomore guard Kizziah Russ led the Falcons with 14 points.

Newton South 35, Billerica 31 — Amari Turner had 16 points to pace the Lions (3-0).

Boys’ hockey

Lincoln-Sudbury 8, Concord-Carlisle 3 — Angelo Venuto and Tim Duffy each scored two goals for the Warriors.

Masconomet 3, Amesbury 0 — Junior Tucker Hanson notched a shutout and senior captain forward Andrew Gotts scored two goals to lead the Chieftains.

Peabody 2, Danvers 2 — The Tanners (0-1-1) secured their first point in over a year.

Westwood 2, Norwood 1 — Senior captain Connor Donohue potted two goals, including the winner in the third period, to propel the Wolverines.

Wilmington 3, Belmont 1 — Senior Ryan Barrett scored the winner shorthanded with five minutes left for the Wildcats (2-0). Anthony Cuozzo stopped 23 shots in the win.

Girls’ hockey

Wellesley 3, Weymouth 0 — The Wildcats fell in their season opener, but found a silver lining in the play of senior goalie Peyton Beady, who made 41 saves in her season debut. “I think Peyton is one of the better goalies in our league,” said Wellesley coach PT Donato. “She gives her team a chance to win.” Weymouth will have a chance to win some games on her play in goal alone. The Raiders (1-1) put Weymouth under siege for much of the game, firing 44 shots, 15 by junior forward Emily Rourke, who scored the eventual winner on the power play in the first period. Erin Fleming and Devon Chapman added goals in the second period.

Archbishop Williams 4, Burrillville (R.I.) 0 — MaciKate O’Brien notched a hat trick and Allison Delmonte made 15 saves in net as the No. 7 Bishops (3-0) rolled.

Braintree 6, Brookline/Newton South 0 — Junior captain Abby Holland scored two goals and junior captain goalkeeper Ellie Foley registered a shutout for the Wamps.

Lincoln-Sudbury 5, Concord-Carlisle 2 — Freshman Sophie Ensley had a hat trick on power play, shorthanded and even strength goals for the Warriors.

Milton 7, Framingham 3 — Freshman Grace Long scored a hat trick and added an assist, and sophomore defenseman Maggie Mitchell chipped in three assists to lead the Wildcats.

Ursuline 8, Saint Joseph Prep/Mt. Alvernia 3 — Sarah Manning notched a hat trick for the Bears (1-1-1) in the victory.

Wrestling

Plymouth South 39, Foxborough 27 — Heavyweight Tristen Reynolds recorded a big win for the Panthers (5-0) in the tournament final.