BOBBY DEFEO and the Wakefield boys’ hockey team starts their season tonight, 8 p.m. against Matignon at the Stoneham Arena. (File Photo)
WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield High boys’ basketball and boys’ hockey teams will kick off their seasons at home tonight.
The boys’ hoop team will host Lexington, 6 p.m. at the Charbonneau Field House.
The Warriors are coming off a thrilling season in which they finished 14-10 with a wild ride to the Div. 2 state quarterfinals.
Wakefield, who was seeded 28th, beat Masconomet in the preliminary round, upset No. 5 Pope Francis on the road and topped No. 12 Pembroke on the road to make the quarterfinals where they finally fell to No. 13 Scituate.
The Warriors graduated plenty of key players but return an All-Star in senior captain Mike Wilkinson (G/F) along with another starter in senior captain Ethan Margolis (G). Senior captain John Porter is back to lead the forwards.
More returning varsity players include seniors Max Cusack (F) and Ian Dixon (C), junior De’Ari Burton (G) and sophomore Matt Beaver (F).
The Warriors will get a challenging test from the Minutemen and head coach Reggie Hobbs, a Wakefield High and basketball alum, who were seeded 7th in the Div. 1 state tournament last year after going 17-2 in the regular season. The Minutemen beat the Warriors 69-34 early in the season last year.
The Wakefield High boys’ hockey team will take the ice at the Stoneham Arena tonight at 8 p.m. against Matignon.
Wakefield finished the regular season at 10-9-1, earning the No. 11 seed in the Div. 2 tournament where they beat Somerset-Berkley in the first round before falling to Walpole in a shootout.
The Warriors return seniors Bobby DeFeo and Matt Elwell to lead the forwards while senior Joe Colliton is back to lead the defense. Senior Dom DeAngelis will take over as the full time starter in goal.
More varsity returners include seniors Jack Curran (F), Sean Hogan (F) and John Regan (D), juniors Mike Arria (F), Tylor Roycroft (F), Brian Purcell (D) and Liam McNeil (D) and sophomores Nate Brissette (F), Andrew Nemec (F) and Frankie Leone (F).
The Warriors will start their Middlesex League campaign on Saturday, 8 p.m. in Arlington at the Ed Burns Arena.