http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sports Daily news from The Telegraph of Nashua en-us pkincade@nashuatelegraph.com(Phil Kincade) onlineeditor@nashuatelegraph.com(OnlineEditor) http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sports/hockey/1090917-460/senators-earn-4-2-win-over-bruins.html Mike Hoffman had a power-play goal early in the third period and the Ottawa Senators defeated the Boston Bruins 4-2 on Monday night. Derick Brassard, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Alex Burrows also scored as the Senators extended their winning streak to three games. Craig Anderson made 25 saves. Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand scored for the Bruins. Tuukka Rask made 25 saves. Ottawa has a four-point lead on the Bruins in the Atlantic Division. With just six remaining home games, the Senators gave the Canadian Tire Centre crowd something to remember in what could be a preview of a first-round playoff matchup should the standings remain as they are. Ottawa took a 3-1 lead early in the third as Hoffman scored his 20th on the power play. It was Ottawa's first goal with the man advantage in three games. The lead was short-lived as less than two minutes later, the Bruins scored on the power play as Marchand picked up David Pastrnak's rebound to score his 30th, giving him back-to-back 30-goal seasons. There were no goals in the second period, but the Senators clearly held the edge, outshooting the Bruins 16-5. Ottawa had a number of chances as the Bruins turned the puck over several times, but Rask was solid and got a little help when Dion Phaneuf rang a shot off the post. The Senators got a strong start as they held a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes. Trailing 2-0, the Bruins cut the lead in half as Bergeron took a pass from Torey Krug in the slot and quickly turned and beat Anderson with a wrist shot in the final minutes of the period. Brassard opened the scoring at 1:21 as he managed to beat Rask with a turnaround shot through traffic and Ottawa took a 2-0 lead just three minutes into the game as Pageau redirected Phaneuf's point shot. NOTES Ottawa D Fredrik Claesson, D Jyrki Jokipakka and C Christopher DiDomenico were a healthy scratch. Mon, 06 Mar 2017 23:22:00 EST http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sports/baseball/1090916-460/sale-makes-spring-debut-for-red-sox.html WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Chris Sale gave himself a mixed review after his first spring training performance for the Boston Red Sox, an outing that ended a little earlier than originally planned. Boston manager John Farrell had Sale set to go three innings Monday against Houston. But after 37 pitches in two innings, Farrell decided the debut was over. “I understand why, I mean I racked up a pretty good amount of pitches, which is another thing I’d like to get down,” Sale said. Acquired from the Chicago White Sox in December, the dominant lefty gave up two runs, one of them earned, and struck out two. “Happy? I don’t know,” Sale said. “I got some good work in. Mon, 06 Mar 2017 23:19:00 EST http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sports/highschoolsports/1090915-457/south-merrimack-duel-highlights-tuesdays-slate-of-d-i.html The final pieces to the local high school tournament puzzle have been added as the Division I and II boys basketball tournament gets underway Tuesday and Wednesday. Six area teams are involved in preliminary-round games this week, while four other locals will compete in their respective tournament semifinals in girls basketball and boys hockey, as well. Tuesday is the busiest day. There are three Division I preliminary round boys hoop games set for 7 p.m.: No. 11 Nashua South (8-10) at No. 6 Merrimack (12-6), No. Mon, 06 Mar 2017 23:13:00 EST http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sports/football/1090895-460/free-agency-means-its-shopping-time-for.html It’s shopping time. You can always tell who the desperate teams in the National Football League are; they’re the ones who shop until they drop during the first few days of the free-agent frenzy. The New England Patriots, obviously, are never one of those. But this is always an interesting time, as players can begin talking with teams on Tuesday, the NFL’s so-called “legal tampering period.” Late Thursday is when signings can begin. In fact, the Patriots usually make more news for who they lose rather than who they go out and sign. Sometimes it’s “Who’s that?” when the news comes as to who they’ve secured. But they always seem to make a difference, don’t they? Let’s start with who could walk: The key names from the unrestricted pool would be, obviously, led by linebacker Dont’a Hightower. After that: tight end Martellus Bennett, corner Logan Ryan, defensive linemen Alan Branch and Jabaal Sheard, and safety Duron Harmon. Sun, 05 Mar 2017 23:49:00 EST http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sports/othersports/1090894-457/keselowski-snares-win-after-harvicks-miscue.html HAMPTON, Ga. – Kevin Harvick was faster than everyone at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Too fast, it turned out. Kevin Harvick ruined a dominating performance by speeding on his final pit stop, allowing Brad Keselowski to steal a NASCAR Monster Energy Cup victory Sunday. “I’m just snake-bit here,” Harvick said. “But it’s my own doing.” Harvick won the first two stages under NASCAR’s new race format and led a staggering 293 out of 325 laps overall. But, after a late yellow came out when Austin Dillon lost power, the No. Sun, 05 Mar 2017 23:43:00 EST http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sports/basketball/1090893-460/celtics-stumble-down-stretch-in-109-106-loss.html PHOENIX – Some said Tyler Ulis was too small for the NBA. That’s why he wasn’t drafted until the second round. He sure looks like he belongs now. On a night where small players took center stage, the diminutive rookie, listed optimistically at 5-foot-10, threw in a 3-pointer at the buzzer after Isaiah Thomas’ turnover and the Phoenix Suns came away with a wild 109-106 victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday. The Suns’ Eric Bledsoe tied it at 106 with a reverse layup with four seconds to play after Thomas and Jaylen Brown each missed a free throw over the final 20 seconds. The 5-foot-9 Thomas, the league’s No. 2 scorer who had 35 points, took the inbounds pass from Jae Crowder and the Suns’ Marquese Chriss knocked the ball away. “He got a hand on it,” said Thomas, a former Sun. “I thought Jae would get it out quicker than he would. Sun, 05 Mar 2017 23:40:00 EST http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sports/highschoolsports/1090886-457/merrimack-stopped-by-pinkerton.html DERRY – When No. 7 Merrimack and No. 2 Pinkerton met earlier this year, only one basket separated the teams. That wasn’t the case on Saturday night, but one could have figured otherwise if not watching the scoreboard. Pinkerton advanced to the NHIAA Division I semifinals following the Astros’ 46-40 home win against Merrimack. Sun, 05 Mar 2017 17:22:00 EST http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sports/highschoolsports/1090885-457/alvirne-drubs-dover.html HUDSON – No. 12 Dover High had this upset-minded trip from the Seacoast mapped out extremely well. The Green Wave took care of business on a similar trek to No. 5 Londonderry in Wednesday night’s Division I playoff opener. Sun, 05 Mar 2017 17:19:00 EST http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sports/highschoolsports/1090884-457/bg-brushes-off-north.html NASHUA – You know you’re watching a good basketball team when you blink and suddenly the whole complexion of the game changes. That certainly was the case on Saturday night with the Bishop Guertin High School girls en route to an 83-44 win in the Division I quarterfinals at the Colligadome. The Nashua North Titans were stunning everyone, jumping out to leads of 9-1 and 11-4 over the Cardinals. But by the end of the first quarter, Guertin led 23-14 and 45-25 at the half. “I think we were a little shocked,” senior Meghan Cramb, the Cards leading scorer with 16 points, said of the team’s slow start. “Definitely not the start we were looking for. But we bounced back, our team definitely rallied together.” Top-ranked Guertin (17-1) will now head to Southern New Hampshire University on Thursday night to take on another local rival, No. Sun, 05 Mar 2017 17:10:51 EST http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sports/football/1090882-460/quick-primer-on-free-agents.html On first look, it’s tempting to ask “Is that all there is?” on the NFL free agency front. A deeper investigation reveals some talent being available at most positions. As for studs, game changers and franchise players, well, there simply isn’t much now that the Steelers won’t be letting prize running back Le’Veon Bell slip away. While last year’s crop had a collection of All-Pros, some of whom wound up with franchise tags, this year’s group had only one full-time All-Pro, Kansas City safety Eric Berry, who also went through this in 2016 before being tagged at $10.8 million. He got his long-term deal at the end of February. Minnesota kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson is the other All-Pro whose contract is up. The salary cap increases from $155.27 million to $167 million. So let the spending begin. The cream Unquestionably, Bell was the best among the unrestricted guys — and the most untouchable. Sun, 05 Mar 2017 17:04:01 EST http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sports/football/1090881-460/feeling-a-draft-well-not-really.html Somehow the entertainment value of the National Football League Scouting combine eludes this humble scribe. Of course, that also goes for the NFL Draft, the NBA Draft, the NHL Draft and the Major League Baseball Draft and any other draft, other than a military draft and a cold draft beer. But there are lots of folks out there who seem fascinated by what, in any other industry, would be a very basic administrative exercise. Admittedly, the scouting combine does involve wataching athletes perform various physical feats. But once you’ve seen one wide receiver timed in the 40-yard dash you have pretty much seen them all. They are all quick and all finish about two tenths of a second within one another. Fascinating. Wake me when a receiver breaks the 4-second mark in the 40. WAITING AND WATCHING: Jimmy Garoppolo may hold the record for most widespread discussion of a backup quarterback. Sun, 05 Mar 2017 17:01:00 EST http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sports/baseball/1090880-460/price-says-too-early-to-tell-when.html FORT MYERS, Fla. – Boston Red Sox ace David Price says it’s still too early to tell when his ailing left elbow and forearm will heal enough for him to pitch in a game. Price was told this week that he won’t need surgery or an injection. The team said he will be shut down for seven to 10 days, take anti-inflammatory medicine and be re-evaluated after that. “I’m not going to put a timetable on it,” Price said Saturday. “If it doesn’t get better in a certain time period, it’s something we’re going to have to talk about again. Sun, 05 Mar 2017 16:55:00 EST http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sports/highschoolsports/1090879-457/bishop-guertin-hockey-advances-to-semis.html BOYS HOCKEY D-I quarterfinal No. 5 Bishop Guertin 6, No. 4 Hanover 2 Ben Peterson netted a hat trick to pace the Cardinals to victory in a Division I quarterfinal at Hanover. Guertin scored two in the first and padded the advantage with three goals in the second to seize a 5-0 cushion and complete control. Austin King, Cam Fagan and Ryan Flynn each accounted for a Guertin goal, while Doug Barker and Chase Blazak had two assists apiece. Jake Perrin made 15 stops for BG (12-5-2), which will meet defending champion and top-seeded Bedford (18-1-1) – a 9-1 winner over Manchester Central – for a 7:30 p.m. Sun, 05 Mar 2017 16:49:01 EST http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sports/kidssports/1090878-457/mya-wrestlers-bring-home-state-crowns.html The Merrimack Youth Wrestling Program earned five titles and three seconds in the annual NH State K-4 Elementary Wrestling Championship Tournament at Nashua South High School. As many as 16 wrestlers for Merrimack competed, with the following highlights: Olivia Dine, grade K, breezed through her bracket pinning two of her opponents and winning one by technical fall to take first place on the podium and state champ title. Grade two teammates Liam Bright and Rhys Dewar met each other in the championship match with Bright grabbing second place and his only loss being a four-point defeat to state champ Dewar. Dewar maintained his winning streak bringing home his third state title in three years. Cayden Dine, grade three, also grabbed first place on the podium for the second year in a row. Another third grader, Jackson Meehan, maintained his state champ title for the second year in a row with two pins. Second grader Liam Newman once again breezed through his bracket pinning all of his opponents and taking a first place crown. Meanwhile, kindergartner Grayson Chestnut fought hard against opponents with a large weight advantage and grabbed a third place medal with one win by pin. Second grader Micah Dodds notched his first and second career wins bringing home silver medal. First grader Ryan Marone wrestled up against two of his second grade teammates to bring home a third place medal and his first career win. Luke Emond, also grade two, wrestled hard and finished in fourth place. Second grader Aiden Kennedy captured his first career pin and then followed it up with pin number two to take second place. Another second grader, Kael McAloon, completed one win by pin en route to a third place finish. Third graders Gryffen Gelinas, Christian Chestnut and John Regal all fought hard in their brackets each taking a fourth place medal on the day. Fourth grader Ivey Johnson wrestled her way to third place on the podium. BASKETBALL Nashua Biddy Boys playoffs Cavs 50, Satellites 14 Colin Holbrook had 11 and T.J. Sun, 05 Mar 2017 11:34:00 EST http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sports/highschoolsports/1090850-457/bedford-cruises-past-guertin.html BEDFORD – In a roller coaster of a regular season, Bishop Guertin hopes its final valley came Friday night at Bedford. Troy Meservey poured in 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds, pacing the Bulldogs to a 68-53 victory over the Cardinals in a Division I boys basketball tilt at Bedford High School. Max Chartier added 18 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists for the Bulldogs (15-3), who will receive a first-round bye in the 13-team tournament which starts with the preliminary round Tuesday. Bishop Guertin will learn its seed and opponent Monday, but coach Matt Regan knows his team will need to buckle down to earn an extended stay in the postseason. “It was very disheartening, the effort on defense,” Regan said. “This has kind of been us all year – up and down, up and down – but I just told them that the next one, if you’re down, that’s it. If we play like this, it’s over. Sun, 05 Mar 2017 01:40:00 EST http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sports/highschoolsports/1090849-457/merrimack-scores-45-39-win-over-memorial.html MERRIMACK – For anyone that enjoyed defense, Merrimack was the place to be on Friday night. In the final game of the regular season for both teams, Merrimack beat Manchester Memorial, 45-39. Scoring was at a premium throughout most of the contest, with the teams combining for only 11 points in the first quarter, struggling to penetrate each other’s tight zone defenses. The lack of early offense occurred for different reasons, however. Sun, 05 Mar 2017 01:37:00 EST http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sports/highschoolsports/1090848-457/north-outlasts-londonderry.html LONDONDERRY – At some point, probably right around the 30th minute, Friday night’s regular-season Nashua North boys hoop finale transformed from playoff tune-up to epic classic. And Alonzo Linton had his magic brush working on this one every step of the way. “If he doesn’t get votes for first team (Division I all-state) or Player of the Year, or something, I don’t know what they’re voting for,” said North coach Stephen Lane of the 6-foot-4 junior who led all scorers with 38 in the Titans’ 93-85 double OT thriller over host Londonderry High. “He hit every big shot right up until the second overtime. And he did it with two guys on him, guys hanging all over him. Just spectacular.” Linton had to be. The Titans trailed from the jump and found themselves down 60-51 headed to the fourth. Without the big fella twisting, spinning, slashing and slamming his way through and over the Lancers, the hole might have been 30. But suddenly in the fourth, it was like Coach Lane opened auditions for the hero’s role. Sun, 05 Mar 2017 01:31:01 EST http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sports/highschoolsports/1090847-457/hb-girls-storm-into-semifinals.html CONCORD – Hollis Brookline High School girls basketball coach Bob Murphy said the other night he might have a better idea of how his team could shut down the powerful Bishop Brady attack. His better idea turned into a better result than a week ago when the Cavaliers last played the third-ranked Green Giants, as they avenged a 10-point loss with a stunning 66-62 Division II quarterfinal road win. The Cavs, now 15-5, will now head to the Division II semifinals at Southern New Hampshire University on Tuesday night where they will face No. 2 Portsmouth at 6 p.m. “Our zone defense wasn’t working particularly well, they shot lights out in the first quarter,” Murphy said. “Then we went with a man-to-man defense and it seemed to make a difference for us.” Did it ever. The sixth-seeded Cavs, who got 18 points from Cassandra Stapelfeld, found themselves in a 56-56 game with 2:48 to play. Sun, 05 Mar 2017 01:28:00 EST http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sports/baseball/1090846-460/sox-say-no-surgery-for-price.html After David Price consulted two renowned orthopedic doctors, the Boston Red Sox said Friday the left-hander will not need surgery or an injection in his ailing left arm. Price traveled to Indianapolis on Thursday for consultation with Drs. James Andrews and Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who were at the NFL Combine. Price is expected to return Saturday to Boston’s spring training complex in Fort Myers, Florida. “Indy is a little chilly right now so I’m gonna head back to fort myers! My 40 time was 4.11...ill let one of you name my island,” Price tweeted Friday. Manager John Farrell said the findings represented a best-case scenario for Price, who will rest and receive treatment for the next seven to 10 days. Sun, 05 Mar 2017 01:19:00 EST http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/sports/highschoolsports/1090783-457/alvirne-boys-hoop-falls-to-portsmouth.html Portsmouth 79, Alvirne 41 The Broncos had a tough time on the road against Division I’s top seeded Clippers (18-0), falling behind 19-11 after one quarter and unable to recover. Max Bonney-Liles had 11 points while Ryan Ruigrok added six for the Broncos, who couldn’t match Clipper Joey Glynn’s 30 points or the 21 by A.J. McManus. Alvirne finishes the regulars season at 7-11 and now waits to see if it wins a Division I tourney spot. Thu, 02 Mar 2017 23:07:00 EST