The boys’ hockey teams are sponsoring a Stuff-A-Bus drive throughout the weekend, with proceeds going to benefit the Island Food Pantry. Bring canned goods to the Martha’s Vineyard Arena today from 4 to 10 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to midnight (with a break for the teams’ games against Bourne), and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

In addition to the boys’ 6 p.m. game on Saturday, be sure to support the girls’ squad in their 1 p.m. match against North Quincy.

Both basketball teams also have home games Saturday, with the girls tipping off against Sandwich at 4 p.m. and the boys taking to the court at 6 p.m.

Boys’ Hockey

The boys split their schedule this week, winning their home opener against Old Rochester 6-3 last Saturday, but falling 5-1 to visiting Franklin on Wednesday. Sophomore Tyson Araujo scored the first Vineyard goal of the season on Saturday, and would notch a hat trick by the end of the game. “[Tyson] sort of set the tone for us in the first period,” said head coach Matt Mincone. “It was 4-1 after the first; we out-shot them 16-3.” Senior captains Tyler Araujo and Nelson Dickson also scored in the first, as did sophomore Brian Fraser. Though Old Rochester made attempts to tie up the game in the remaining periods, the damage was minimal and negated by the second and third of Tyson Araujo’s goals. By contrast, Wednesday’s game against Franklin, a team that went all the way to the state championship game last year, was “a real eye-opener,” said Coach Mincone.

Tyler Araujo ice hockey
Cocaptain Tyler Araujo fends off Old Rochester. — Alison Mead

“We were competitive,” he said, “We just didn’t have the depth [Franklin is more than twice the size of MVRHS], and made a lot of panic-type mistakes.” But the Vineyard didn’t quit, he continued, with senior Noah Stobie scoring his first high school goal late in the third period on an assist from Tyler Araujo. “That’s one mentality that’s instilled in these guys,” said Coach Mincone. “The game is 45 minutes long.”

The boys play rival Bourne tomorrow at 6:10 on home ice.

Girls’ Hockey

The girls hockey team traveled to Boston University this weekend to take on Division 1 Brookline at the Walter Brown Arena, walking away with a decisive 4-1 win. Senior captain Celia Mercier notched the first goal on an upper-corner forehand with 47 seconds left in the first period. Assists came from junior Emily Cimeno and senior Olivia Cimeno.

Brookline laced their lone goal into the net midway through the second period, but Mercier answered the challenge after textbook assists from Emily Cimeno and junior Kassidy Bettencourt. The Vineyarders kicked into high gear in the third, with Cimeno scoring a minute and a half in on assists from Bettencourt and senior Lily Gazaille. Freshmen Aubrey Ashmun and Sydney Davies blew past their Brookline defenders with 5:58 to go in the period; Ashmun scored on the breakaway for her first varsity goal, with Davies getting the assist. Junior goalie Texe Craig had 29 saves.

“It was nice to open with a win, “ said head coach John Fiorito. “Celia is our senior captain for a reason, but it was great to see the freshmen score.”

The girls take on North Quincy tomorrow at home in a league matchup at 1 p.m. They will take on Falmouth on home ice on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Boys’ Basketball

The boys nabbed their first win of the season on Tuesday, defeating Sandwich 60-59 in the final seconds of the game.

The Vineyarders led at the half, 35-25, but were outscored by Sandwich in the third quarter as the Blue Knights evened the game.

The lead bounced back and forth in the fourth quarter. Sandwich claimed the upper hand with less than a minute left only to miss the first shot of a one and one, and have the Vineyard grab the rebound.

With seconds ticking down on the clock, senior Peter Keaney drove to the Sandwich basket. Keaney’s shot missed, but junior Izak Browne grabbed the rebound to score the game-winner with 2.6 seconds left. Sandwich had no timeouts left. Browne had 14 points and 6 rebounds in the game. Keaney had seven points and seven rebounds. Junior Jack Roberts scored 14 points (4 rebounds), while senior Del Araujo notched 11 points (7 rebounds). Seniors Ryan Fisher scored 8 points with 6 rebounds and 3 steals; fellow senior Will Stewart had 6 points and 12 rebounds. The team was 24 for 63 for the game.

The Vineyarders host Sandwich in a rematch tomorrow at home. Tipoff is at 5 p.m. They will travel to Cape Cod Academy on Monday.

Girls’ Basketball

Down two starters (senior Maggie Riseborough and sophomore Kat deBettencourt), the girls fell 58-26 in their opening game against Sabis last Saturday. Starters Jennie Lindland and Katie Stewart went down with injuries in the third quarter, further hindering the Vineyard effort. Freshman Lucy Hackney stepped in for her first varsity start, nabbing several rebounds and scoring once. Junior Kendall Robinson scored 8 points, with Lindland and Stewart each notching 5. Senior Madison Hughes scored 4 points.

The Vineyarders came back strong against Sandwich on Tuesday night, however, winning 59-52 in what head coach Lisa Stewart described as a “balanced team game.” Riseborough returned to the courts in top form, grabbing key rebounds and scoring 13 points. Katie Stewart scored 13 as well, shooting 7-9 from the line. Lindland led the Vineyard scoring with 19 points. Robinson scored 14 points.

“I told the girls at the beginning of the season that if we have four kids in double figures that we will be hard to stop,” Coach Stewart wrote in an e-mail.

Swimming

The Vineyard swimmers hosted two home meets this week; both squads competed against Sacred Heart last Thursday, while the girls swam against Pope John Paul 2nd High School on Tuesday.

The girls won four events against Sacred Heart, including the 400-free relay and the 1,500-freestyle (junior Paige Nitardy taking the victory in the latter), but fell 75-55. The boys squad lost by a similar margin, 81-54. Liam Cosgrove won the 200 free, with Tyler Shapiro taking first in the 100 breaststroke.

Nitardy took first place in the 100 backstroke against PJP, with Mariah Campbell winning the 100 breast stroke. The girls lost 63-93.

Despite the losses, head coach Robin Tuck-O’Callaghan was pleased with the Vineyard’s growth as a team.

“It was a nice competition,” she said. “We can’t even fill up all of our events [yet].”

The squad is hosting a swim-a-thon fundraiser today at the YMCA to raise money for team jackets.