Both of Brattleboro's ice hockey teams opened the season on Dec. 12 at Withington Rink, and both teams were undone by making ill-timed defensive mistakes that their opponents pounced upon.
• For the Colonel girls, they were overwhelmed by the Middlebury Tigers, 9-1, in a game that first-year coach Eugene Frost said should have been closer.
“They outhustled us,” said Frost. “We worked hard, but we gave up a couple of soft goals. It should've been a 5-2 game.”
Brattleboro got the first goal off a slapshot by senior captain Elizabeth Day with 6:55 left in the opening period. After that, it was all Middlebury. Carlisle Brush tied up the game with 5:14 to play, then Nyna Cole and Audrey Tembreull each scored on Colonels goal Natalie Gadowski in the final 30 seconds of the period.
The Colonel girls tried to get back in it and kept the Tigers off the board for most of the second period, but they expended a lot of energy killing off three Middlebury power plays.
At even strength, Middlebury goalie Lydia Deppman was flawless after Day's goal. Aleta Mathers scored twice in the final four minutes to give the Tigers a 5-1 lead.
Middlebury got their last four goals in the final period as Tembreull, Taylor Moulton, Audrey Schnoor, and Merry Kimble all lit the lamp.
The Brattleboro girls then traveled to Woodstock on Dec. 15 to face the Wasps and got shut out, 3-0.
Woodstock's Alessandra Cimis scored one goal and assisted on two goals by Samantha Yates to lead the Wasps. The Colonel girls are now 0-2 to start the season.
• The shorthanded Colonel boys came away without a goal despite a strong first period, and were eventually worn down by the Burr & Burton Bulldogs, who came away with a 4-2 win.
Brattleboro played well in the opening period, and appeared to have the first goal of the game when Anthony Polumba poked in a shot past Bulldog goalie Ethan Simonds.
However, the on-ice officials disallowed the goal, saying that teammate Joe Koes somehow knocked the goal cage off its moorings a split second before Polumba's shot crossed the goal line. Instead of seizing the momentum in the final minutes of the first period, the Colonels had to settle for a scoreless tie.
The Bulldogs, however, wasted no time in taking control and scored three goals in the first four minutes of the second period. They added another late in the period. Jacob Mulac scored twice, and Joey McCoy and Owen King also got goals.
“We gave up those quick goals, and our energy was gone,” said Colonels coach Eric Libardoni.
Ryan Gerard got Brattleboro's first goal with 9:23 left in the second period, and Nathan Powers scored with two minutes left in the third period. Mason Foard and Gabriel Heiden got the assists.
The Colonel boys rebounded from the Burr & Burton loss with a 2-2 tie against Hartford at Withington Rink on Dec. 15.
Gavin Howard got Brattleboro's first goal, assisted by Foard and Gerard. Heiden also scored, with an assist by Foard. Colston Allen scored his first two varsity goals for the Hurricanes. Brattleboro is now 0-1-1.
Boys' basketball
• Brattleboro rallied back from a 12-point deficit late in the first half to beat the Amherst (Mass.) Hurricanes, 53-43, in the Colonels' season opener at the BUHS gym on Dec. 10.
Defense and free throw shooting were the keys to the Colonels' victory.
Point guard Tyler Millerick led all scorers with 15 points. His three steals in the second quarter helped start Brattleboro comeback, as they closed the gap to 21-16 at the half. He also went 9-for-10 from the free throw line, including eight free throws in the final quarter.
Charlie Galanes scored 12 points, as he and sixth-man Keegan Givens (six points) chipped away at the Amherst lead in the second half. The Colonels finally pulled ahead with just under four minutes left, and hung on for the win.
Hunter Beebe added nine points, and Greg Fitzgerald and Jack Price scored six and five points, respectively.
On Dec. 15, the Colonels hosted the South Burlington Wolves, and the visitors came away with a hard-fought 60-55 win.
Brattleboro started hot with an 11-3 run in the first four minutes of the game, but South Burlington rallied in the second period, and took the lead to stay in the final two minutes of the half.
The Colonels trailed by as many as seven points early in the third quarter, but hung with the Wolves and trailed by just a point going into the final two minutes of the game. They got no closer than that.
South Burlington's Evan Parker led all scorers with 24 points, teammate Brendan Bridge added 14. Beebe was the top scorer for the 1-1 Colonels with 21 points, while Millerick scored 12.
• Bellows Falls opened its season at home at Holland Gymnasium with a pair of wins. On Dec. 12, BF eked out a 54-50 victory over Long Trail. Ryan Kelly led the Terriers with 21 points; Isaac Wilkinson added 14.
Two nights later, BF breezed to a 57-40 win over Springfield. This time, Wilkinson was the high scorer with 16 points, and Kelly followed with 15 points. The Terriers had a 34-20 lead at the half and were not threatened after that.
• Leland & Gray opened its season on Dec. 12 with a 55-31 loss at Poultney. Kaie Quigley led the Rebels with 8 points and Lucas Newton added seven points.
Girls' basketball
• Halle Dickerson scored 20 points as Bellows Falls grounded the Arlington Eagles, 50-24, at Holland Gymnasium on Dec. 10. Taylor Goodell added 10 points, eight assists, and seven steals for the Terriers.
BF traveled to Rutland on Dec. 15 to face Mount St. Joseph, and rolled to a 54-14 win. The Terriers led 16-5 after one period, 26-8 at the half, and 40-14 after three periods.
All nine BF players scored. Dickerson led the way with 17 points, Goodell added eight, and Emily Bazin and Molly Kelly had seven and six points, respectively, for the 3-0 Terriers.
• Brattleboro headed north on Dec. 15 to face defending Division I champion St. Johnsbury and lost, 60-30.
Sadie Stetson led the Hilltoppers with 21 points. Maya McAuliffe and Lauren McKenney scored seven points apiece for the 2-1 Colonels.
• Twin Valley dropped two games last week. At home on Dec. 11, the Wildcats fell to Mid Vermont Christian, 37-23. MVC's Hayley Goodwin scored a game-high 17 points, while Jayden Crawford and Sadie Boyd each scored six points for the Wildcats.
The next night, in West Rutland, the Wildcats lost, 48-18, as Elizabeth Bailey led the Golden Horde with 11 points. Boyd finished with four points and five rebounds to lead the 1-2 Wildcats, which committed 36 turnovers in the loss.
BFUHS ends football pact with Vermont Academy
• Vermont Academy students who wish to play football will have to find another school to host them.
According to the Reformer, at a Dec. 10 meeting of the Bellows Falls Union High School Board, BFUHS Principal Chris Hodsden said that a “member-to-member” agreement between the two schools would not be renewed for the 2019 football season.
Since the private Saxtons River school dropped football as a varsity sport a few years ago, BFUHS opened its doors to VA students who wanted to play for the Terriers.
These sorts of arrangements are permitted by the Vermont Principals' Association, which allows students at one school to play a sport at another school if their home school doesn't offer it.
Opposing football coaches over the years have grumbled about the arrangement between VA and BFUHS, claiming it gives the Terriers an unfair advantage. Certainly, BF has picked up some pretty good players from VA, the most recent being running back Jahyde Bullard, who was a key player on the 2016 Division II state championship squad.
Hodsden told the BFUHS board that the main reason for dropping the agreement with VA was that it might affect the Terriers' ability to stay in Division II. That's a reasonable concern for BFUHS to have, since the next round of Vermont football division re-alignments is coming soon, and the Terriers don't want to get bumped.
Rec. Dept. offers youth basketball clinic
• The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department will offer a basketball clinic on Friday, Dec. 28 at the Gibson-Aiken Center. The clinic is for children in grades K-6. The cost for this one-day clinic is $5 for Brattleboro Recreation & Parks players and $10 for all others.
The clinic is co-ed and for all ages and abilities. Children in grades K-2 will meet from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. Children in grades 3-6 will meet from noon to 1:30 p.m. Paul Freed and the BUHS varsity girls' basketball players will instruct the clinic.
Pre-registration is required at the Recreation & Parks Office at 207 Main St. Any questions, call the Recreation & Parks Office at 254-5808.
Girls on the Run seeks volunteer coaches
• Girls on the Run of Vermont's spring Coach Registration is now open. Girls on the Run is a 10-week physical activity-based, positive youth development program that inspires girls in grades 3-8 to be joyful, healthy, and confident.
Volunteer coaches utilize a curriculum to engage teams of girls in fun, interactive lessons that teach critical life skills, encourage personal development, and foster team building and community service. Teams meet twice a week for 90 minutes and the program culminates with all teams participating in a 5-kilometer event.
Girls on the Run Vermont serves girls at 44 sites in Southern Vermont and is in need of 130 more coaches to ensure that every girl will have an opportunity to participate this spring.
Area schools in need of coaches include Readsboro, Academy School, Oak Grove, St. Michael's, and Hilltop Montessori in Brattleboro, Bellows Falls Middle School, Flood Brook in Londonderry, The Grammar School in Putney, Jamaica Village School, Marlboro Elementary, NewBrook Elementary in Newfane, Putney Central, Saxtons River Elementary, Twin Valley Elementary in Wilmington, Vernon, and Wardsboro.
Coaches do not need to be runners but are required to be a minimum of 18 to serve as an assistant or 21 to serve as a head coach. All volunteer coaches must complete a background check and attend a training session. For more information, visit www.gotrvt.org/coach.
Senior bowling roundup
• With just two weeks left in the fall season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl., Team 5 (53-22) remains in first place, while Team 2 (50-25) is three games back in second place. Team 7 (47-28) is in third place, followed by Team 10 and Team 4 (both 40-35), Team 3 and Team 8 (both 38-37), Team 1 and Team 11 (both 37-38), Team 9 (36-39), and Team 6 (27-48).
Dolly Stone had the women's high handicap game (266), while Shirley Aiken had the high handicap series (706). Gary Montgomery had the men's high handicap game (255) while Duane Schillemat had the high handicap series (694). Team 9 had the high team handicap game (930) and series (2,651).
In scratch scoring, Robert Rigby (640) was the lone bowler with a 600-plus series, while Josie Rigby (561) and Aiken (526) joined Schillemat (577), Warren Corriveau Sr. (572), and Gary Montgomery (557) in rolling a 500-plus series.
Montgomery (235), Robert Rigby (228), and Corriveau (225) were the male bowlers to top 200 for a single game, while Josie Rigby rolled a 225 to lead the women, and Stone and Nancy Dalzell each rolled a 188 game.