ISL Playoffs: (1) Belmont Hill 17, (8) Thayer 8 – Defending champs cruise back into semifinals

BELMONT - Never a doubt. The defending ISL champs Belmont Hill rolled into the semifinals with a dominant 17-8 win over Thayer on Wednesday evening. The Sextants (13-3) will now host fifth-seeded Rivers after the fifth-seeded Redwings beat No. 4 Nobles in their quarterfinal matchup. Thayer dropped to 6-9. Chris Batchelder and John Lynch (4 goals each) combined for 11 points while Lindan Verville added a hat trick and two assists. Dylan Casillo had five helpers and Eli Friedman was dominant at the face off X, winning 23 draws. Will Butler made nine saves. "As we look at it, there's always stuff for us to improve on, but I thought we practiced really well on Monday and Tuesday," sa