Class C semis: Top-seeded Mahar beats rival Athol for a 3rd time, books WMass final ticket for first time since 2012

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

ORANGE — When two rivals meet in a Western Mass. semifinal, the expectation is that points will be hard to come by.That was the case on Thursday when top-seeded Mahar and No. 4 Athol squared off with a spot in the Western Mass. Class C final on the...

Girls basketball: Greenfield’s Amber Bergeron becomes 8th player in school history to score 1,000th point (PHOTOS)

By JEFF LAJOIE

GREENFIELD — Silence overcame Nichols Gymnasium with 32.4 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s Greenfield-Drury girls basketball game. The result was no longer in doubt, the visiting Blue Devils ahead by 15 points and headed toward an...

UMass hockey: After being swept by BC, Minutemen turn page to series against UNH

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

With just six regular season games remaining on the schedule, the UMass hockey team must quickly turn the page after a pair of tough losses to top-ranked Boston College this past weekend. After falling to the Eagles, 5-1, on Friday, the Minutemen...

Class C semis: Top-seeded Lenox locks down Franklin Tech, 51-36

By DYLAN THOMPSON

LENOX — On Wednesday night, top-seeded Lenox took one step closer to redemption, jumping out to an early 13-point lead, en route to a 51-36 victory over No. 4 Franklin Tech in a PVIAC Western Massachusetts Class C semifinal.One year after losing in...

High schools: Kyler McClelland (28 points) powers Pioneer girls into Class D title game

The Pioneer girls basketball team is on to the Western Mass. Class D championship game. After knocking off Duggan in the quarterfinals, the third-seeded Panthers traveled to Monson to take on the No. 2 Mustangs on Wednesday in the semis. Pioneer...

Class D semis: No. 3 Duggan hits shot with six seconds to play to knock off No. 2 Pioneer (PHOTOS)

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

NORTHFIELD — There will be a new Western Mass. Class D boys basketball champion this year. It was a battle for the entire 32 minutes between second-seeded Pioneer — the defending Class D champs — and No. 3 Duggan on Wednesday at Messer Gymnasium....

Girls hockey: Alyssa Frazier’s OT winner lifts Williston past Deerfield in NEPSAC showdown (PHOTOS)

By CONNOR PIGNATELLO

EASTHAMPTON — Alyssa Frazier played hero for the Williston Northampton girls hockey team on Wednesday afternoon.Frazier ripped the game-winner from the high slot with less than a minute remaining in overtime to give the Wildcats a 2-1 win over...

Class B hockey: Greenfield’s bid for 4-peat halted by Taconic in semifinal round

By JEFF LAJOIE

WEST SPRINGFIELD — After winning three consecutive Western Massachusetts titles, the Greenfield hockey team has found itself as the target of teams across the region.Taconic, which lost in the finals of two of those three championships, was finally...

On The Ridge with Joe Judd: See you this weekend at the 40th Annual Springfield Sportsmen’s Show

Right now, people from across New England are gearing up for this year’s 40th Annual Springfield Sportsmen’s Show, as OSEG’s (Outdoor Sports Expo Group) Doug Sousa again welcomes folks to the Eastern States Exposition for this week’s event being held...

UMass basketball: Minutemen bounce back, roll to 74-52 victory over VCU

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — Anxious murmurs percolated throughout the Mullins Center crowd as a Roosevelt Wheeler layup cut VCU’s deficit to 48-38 – the closest it had been since 12-2 in the opening minutes – with exactly 14 minutes to go in regulation.The UMass...

H.S. Roundup: No. 1 Mahar pulls away in fourth quarter to defeat No. 8 Lenox in Class C quarters

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

ORANGE — The Lenox boys basketball team gave top-seeded Mahar all it could handle on Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the Western Mass. Class C tournament.The No. 8 Millionaires were hitting shots early while its zone gave the Sens problems, with Lenox...

H.S. Roundup: Late run propels Athol boys basketball to opening-round victory over Ware

As to be expected in a 4-5 tournament matchup, it was a close game midway through the fourth quarter between the Athol and Ware boys basketball teams on Monday night.The No. 4 Bears held a 38-35 lead with six minutes to go in the fourth quarter of the...

Class C quarters: Hannah Gilbert (29 points), No. 4 Franklin Tech roar into semifinals via 54-29 win over No. 5 Greenfield (PHOTOS)

By GEORGE MILLER

TURNERS FALLS — It’s not often that teams in such close geographical proximity may go through an entire regular season without facing each other, but the Western Mass. girls Class C quarterfinals took care of that Monday night – and then Franklin Tech...

Class D quarters: No. 2 Pioneer controls the glass, runs away from No. 7 Smith Academy for 63-27 win (PHOTOS)

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

NORTHFIELD — It was the type of performance Pioneer boys basketball coach Scott Thayer was hoping to see from his team on Monday during the quarterfinals of the Western Mass. Class D tournament. Hosting No. 7 Smith Academy, the second-seeded Panthers...

UMass basketball: Red-hot VCU comes to Mullins Center on Tuesday

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — The saying all season long for the UMass men’s basketball team is a simple one: Don’t let the highs be too high, and don’t let the lows be too low.After a disappointing loss to then last-place La Salle over the weekend, the Minutemen are...

UMass hockey: Amherst’s Ryan Leonard scores hat trick to lift No. 1 Boston College past Minutemen 6-4

By GARRETT COTE

For the second time in three days, the UMass hockey team was overwhelmed by the offensive firepower of Boston College, as the N0. 1 Eagles completed a weekend – and season – sweep of the Minutemen with a 6-4 victory at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill on...

Hockey: Cooper Smith, Greenfield blank Easthampton 3-0 to win Wright Division title (PHOTOS)

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

GREENFIELD — The Wright Division title was on the line at Collins-Moylan Arena Saturday night. The Greenfield hockey team entered its final regular season game of the season against Easthampton with a 7-0 record in the division while the Eagles came...

Franklin Tech girls finish third, Mohawk Trail’s Will VanVleet earns All-State invite at MIAA Division 3 Wrestling Championships

Five local wrestlers qualified for the second day of the MIAA Division 3 Wrestling Championships at Wakefield High School on Saturday, with all five walking away with top eight finishes in their respective weight classes. Mohawk Trail’s Will VanVleet...

UMass basketball: Minutemen dig double-digit hole, drop road game at last-place La Salle, 82-81 

Just three days removed from its biggest win of the season, the UMass men’s basketball team followed it up with perhaps its worst loss of the year on Saturday.The Minutemen dug themselves a double-digit halftime hole on the road against last place La...

UMass hockey: Boston College locks down Minutemen, pulls away for 5-1 victory in front of packed Mullins Center (PHOTOS)

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — Late in the third period, Boston College freshman Ryan Leonard found himself free in the attacking zone, skating into the slot with nobody between he and UMass goalie Michael Hrabal.Leonard loaded up and snapped a wrist shot into the top...