Winter Sports Teams Off To Strong Start

Last year, all three teams made it to their respective playoff tournaments — and by the looks of their performance so far in the 2011-12 season, the Johnston High School boys' and girls' basketball teams and the co-op hockey squad are shaping up for another postseason run.

Fresh off their Division III state championship, the Johnston-North Providence Cougars took to the ice this year with hopes to repeat.

Coaches Fred Morrison and Dave Accetturo adjusted the team's approach to focus on the speed of their lines, rather than the grinding, hitting style the Cougars featured last season — and so far, the transition is working, as J-NP enters the holiday break with a 5-0 record.

The Cougars hold a 26-7 scoring advantage over their opponents, including two shutouts and a second season win over Tolman, 6-5, on Dec. 17, to add to their .

J-NP's next scheduled game is a Dec. 30 match against Warwick Veterans High School at Thayer Arena.

The boys' basketball team — which played its way into the State Championship before a loss to Hendricken on March 5 — returned this year without some of its key players from last year, notably Isaac Medeiros, the school's most recent career 1,000-point scorer.

According to the Johnston Sun Rise, coach Steve DeMeo is looking for a strong performance from Evan Hopson, who tranferred to Johnston from Juanita Sanchez High School.

After splitting the first two tournament (non-league) games of the season, the Panthers defeated Mount St. Charles on Dec. 15 by a score of 66-44.

The victory leaves Johnston tied with Burrillville in Division III North play, though the Panthers' tourney record of 2-1 gives them the edge in overall record.

Over the next two weeks, the Panthers are scheduled to play Dec. 22 at Davies Career and Technical High School and participate in a holiday tournament in Coventry before hosting Burrillville in a Jan. 3 matchup.

Establishing a new identity after a playoff loss and the departure of a 1,000-point scorer is also the theme for the Lady Panthers varsity basketball squad, with the graduation of five starters — including Alaina DeNoncour, who .

Last season, the Lady Panthers made it to the Final Four in Division II before Prout dealt them a 43-35 loss on March 9.

Johnston is also returning to action following the after 22 years. Mazzulla recently returned to coaching at N.A. Ferri Middle School, where his son is on the basketball team.

New JHS head coach Chris Corsinetti told the Sun Rise that he's been using the entire roster in recent games — which included a 48-27 loss to Classical on Dec. 14 that the girls followed up with a 53-48 victory the next night against Hope High School.

The Lady Panthers are scheduled to travel to Moses Brown on Thursday night, then play their next three games at home — against East Greenwich on Dec. 30; Mount St. Charles on Jan. 4 and Scituate on Jan. 10.