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STONEHAM | There was no crying afterwards, no slamming of sticks or moaning about what could've or should've been.

Instead, the Danvers High hockey team simply tipped their helmets to the boys in the other locker room wearing Wilmington sweaters for a job well done, knowing they themselves had given everything they had, yet came out on the losing end of a 2-1 battle in the Division 2 North quarterfinals last night at the Stoneham Arena.

SALEM | The odds were not in John McInnis' favor. When the 2007-08 high school hockey season began a little over three months ago, McInnis was a sophomore defenseman fighting for ice time at Danvers High.

Finding someone who could help complete the team's second line and add a scoring presence is something the Danvers High hockey team has been looking for all season.

They may have found that person in Chris Kontos. A sophomore winger, Kontos had his first varsity goal last night and also dished out his first assist as the Falcons knocked off Haverhill, 4-2, in the first round of the 13th annual Newburyport Bank Classic.

SALEM | Just five seconds into their contest Saturday night, Danvers High hockey captain Steve Kontos drilled Gloucester defenseman Nick DeCoste so hard that he actually knocked the rearguard off his skates and into the visiting team's penalty box.

If this one game represented a fork in the road, you can plainly see how the Danvers and Beverly High hockey teams took very different paths.

Similar to the way their seasons have played out. Playing some of its best hockey of the year, Danvers continued on its late-season roll by scoring three times in the final period and owning all areas of the ice. Paced by junior Troy Thibodeau's hat trick, the Falcons turned a close game into a blowout by hammering the Panthers, 5-1, at the Rockett Arena.

SALEM | It started out as a frustrating Saturday night for the Peabody Tanners.

By game's end, that frustrating feeling had turned to happiness.

A little over an hour later, that happiness became pure glee.

Danvers High hockey coach Kevin Brown has taught his team not to rest their laurels on the achievements of their forebearers.

Translation: just because the previous 19 Falcon editions had qualified for postseason play, this year's club had to make it on its own.

It was just about the best compliment an opposing coach could have ever given Andrew Fulford.

The heart and soul of the Gloucester High hockey team, who had been struggling to find the back of the net this season, had just scored twice to lead his Fishermen to a 3-1 victory over their arch rivals from Danvers in another classic at The Tank.

First half analysis: The Falcons have shown flashes of being a cohesive unit that works best when all of its parts are on the same page. Pat O'Kane has really picked up his play in goal, and the first line of Steve Kontos, Troy Thibodeau and Kyle Larson can skate with anyone. However, they're still plagued by bouts of inconsistency, which has caused them to give away points that should have rightfully belonged to them.

PEABODY | Off the ice, Danvers High hockey co-captain Patrick O'Kane is shy yet friendly, quiet yet verbose, controlled yet extremely confident. As a multi-talented musician, he quite literally beats to his own drummer.