Page 14 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2020 Revere hockey falls short of playoff spot Patriots goalie Cam Wickens, shown here in action alongside defenseman Jared McNamara, impressed in his freshman season. (Advocate Photos by Greg Phipps) By Greg Phipps I t was a matter of close but no cigar for the Revere/Malden/Matignon Patriots as they missed qualifying for the hockey postseason by just four points. The Patriots were competitive in a number of their games but couldn’t produce enough to make it into the tournament. Head coach Joe Ciccarello took responsibility for his team not making the tourney. “In that respect, I’m disappointed in myself for not fi nding a way to get those four points,” he said. “There were certainly opportunities to do so. We fi nished the year on a good note, beating East Boston and Lynn.” Patriot player Kevin Ivany is one several seniors who will be missed. The Patriots finished 6-10-4 and Ciccarello praised the eff ort of his top players: “Our seniors will be missed for their level of hard work, leadership and care.” The coach cited seniors Eric Platcow, Joe Papasodora, Dante Raffa and Kevin Ivany for their performances. “We struggled to score all year, but defense and goalRevere boys suffer rough loss in first round By Greg Phipps E ntering the postseason on an uplifting note, having won six straight games and notching a tournament trophy to end the regular season, the Revere High School boys’ basketball team didn’t see any of that momentum spread to the postseason. The Patriots squared off against Waltham in the fi rst round of the Div. 1 North playoffs on Tuesday night and were soundly defeated by a 9049 count. The loss left the 11th-seeded Patriots with a fi nal record of 11-10. Given where they were a few weeks back – on the verge of not even making the playoff s – a fi rst-round loss to the sixth-seeded Waltham does not take away from the spirited surge Revere made to end the regular season. Sitting at 5-9, the Patriots reeled off six straight victories to earn a postseason qualifi cation. That streak culminated with a championship trophy at the annual General Patton Tournament held at Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School. The Patriots bested Arlington Catholic, 62-55, and Marblehead, 56-50, to come away with the top prize. tending was our strength. Eric, Joe and Dante were big parts of our defense, and our freshman goalie, Cam Wickens, was outstanding,” said Ciccarello. If the Patriots had been able to parlay at least two of those tie games into wins the situation would have been diff erent. But a slow start hampered them early on, and the team could not recover. “The merger with Matignon [this season] took some time, for the kids to get to know each other and play together,” Ciccarello explained. “That certainly had something to do with the slow start. Hopefully, next year we get off on a better foot and catch fi re early.” NAVIGATORS MAKE LOCAL “CALL TO ARMS” LYNN – The North Shore Navigators have signed some “small school” talent to their roster in the form of two pitchers who will be working close to home during the upcoming summer season. Franklin Pierce junior Jack Wallace of Winthrop and Fisher College freshman Will Carpenter are both expected to take the mound for the local Futures Collegiate Baseball League club in 2020. President and General Manager Derek January made the announcement on Thursday. The right-handed Wallace made a team-leading 21 relief appearances for the Ravens in 2019, holding opponents to a .247 average as he allowed eight NAVIGATORS | SEE PAGE 16
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