PELHAM’S 1,000-POINT CLUB ADDS NEW MEMBER
James becomes the 12th Python boy to reach milestone
Zach James had 1,000 reasons to celebrate Friday night in Hollis, N.H.
The Pelham High senior and boys basketball co-captain netted a team-high 29 points, including the 1,000th of his varsity career, as the Pythons defeated Hollis Brookline, 67-54.
Coach Joe Morin’s squad improved to 10-3, 9-1 league, in what’s shaping up to be another historic campaign.
“It feels great,’ said James. “I’ve been working to get it for a while, and it means a lot.”
A 6-foot-2, 185-pound shooting guard, James was dialed in from the opening tip, scoring 20 points in the first half. Needing just three more to hit the mark, James drained his third threepointer of the night to start the second half, breaking the 1,000-point plateau.
He becomes the 12th Pelham High boy to reach the milestone.
“It means a lot,” said James, 17. “I’ve always looked at that 1,000-point banner. I didn’t know if I was ever going to be on it. There are a lot of people on it. I remember going to watch some of those players. So that means something to be joining them.”
According to Morin, Friday’s game was a microcosm of what James means to his team. On the road playing an upstart Hollis-brookline team, the Pythons found themselves in a 10-2 hole before embarking on a 13-7 run to close the quarter. James helped spearhead the comeback, netting eight points, including a pair of treys to reclaim an eightpoint lead by halftime before sinking the historic shot early in the second half.
“When we’re playing well, we’re balanced and our offense is ignited by our defense and transition,” said Morin. “When we’re struggling the team looks to Zach to get us going and he usually delivers. I couldn’t be prouder of him. I’m thankful I had this opportunity to share this moment with him and his family. As the middle school coach, I coached six of Pelham’s 1,000 point scorers. This is special because this is the first one I was on the sideline as the varsity coach and not in the stands.”
The list of Pelham High’s 1,000-point scorers is a lengthy one indeed. The boys program
goal in 4:14 late in the period to take a commanding 4-0 going into the first break.
It got kicked off by — who else? — Pastrnak. Philly is a special place for him. It’s where he was drafted, where he scored his first NHL goal and where he also a hat trick last season that gave him 60 goals. Going into the game, he had 24-15-39 totals in 28 career games against the Flyers.
“I love to play here. This is where my dream started,” Pastrnak told reporters in Philly. “I got drafted here by
the Bruins so it’s always fun for me to come back to this building … I’m mentally positive coming in here. This is where everything started for me and was my first step to the career I’m having right now.”
And what a career the 27-year-old Pastrnak is having.
His first goal required a snipe. Without numbers in the B’s favor, Pastrnak simply took a Pavel Zacha feed high in the zone and, from the top of the right circle, he used Travis Sanheim as a screen and snapped a shot between his legs that beat goalie Sam Ersson to the far top corner at 14:09.
The B’s then went to
work on the forecheck and Zacha found a pinching Charlie Mcavoy (No. 7) for an easy backdoor goal.
They weren’t done. Danton Heinen put the B’s up 3-0 when Brandon Carlo’s shot was first deflected out high by a Flyer and then Heinen (No. 9) in front of the net. It was reviewed for a high stick, but it was deemed a good goal.
Pastrnak added another one, this time on another strong forecheck. Eventually, the sniper came out from behind the net to get a loose puck and fire an in-tight shot that broke through Ersson.
Ersson finished the period but coach John Tortorella
switched him out for Cal Peterson to start the second.
If he was hoping that it would serve as a wakeup call, Tortorella was disappointed.
Just 1:15 into the second period, the B’s top line of Pastrnak, Zacha and James van Riemsdyk again had a dominant shift. This time, Pastrnak made a tough angle pass from the side of the net to van Riemsdyk out front and the former Flyer popped it into the wide open net.
The B’s went on a bit of a cruise control at that point, content to chip it out and chew clock. But the Flyers finally got on
the board at 15:23 on a nice curl-and-drag shot to cut the B’s lead to four, but Ullmark (27 saves through two periods) didn’t let them get any closer.
After the B’s couldn’t quite put it away after given back-to-back power plays in the third, Foerster made made it interesting at 11:24, but Charlie Coyle finished the Flyers off with his 18th of the year.
Now the B’s head into the break. Considering how well they utilized the Christmas break — and the fact that the next seven games are at homecoming out of the hiatus — the B’s could be prime for another tear when the calendar flips to February.