In hockey, you can play a great game, and lose because you're facing a goalie who is stopping every shot fired at her. Conversely, you can put out the same effort in the next game and win big because you're not facing a great goaltender.
That was the story for the Brattleboro girls' hockey team last week. The Colonels ran into a hot goalie, Harwood's Siena Damon, last Wednesday at Withington Rink, and ended up with a 2-0 loss.
Damon made 21 saves to get the win, and was tested often by the Colonels skaters. Brattleboro goalie Alex Fellows made 22 saves, and kept Harwood off the score sheet for two period before giving up a pair of goals to Emma Cummings and Hailey Spittle.
Then on Saturday, the Colonels traveled to Montpelier and clobbered the winless Solons, 10-0. Emily Wilson had the best game of her high school career in scoring 6 goals. Maddie Rollins added 3 more goals and 2 assists and Miranda Moseley also scored. Lou Lou Terwilliger faced only 5 shots to pick-up the shutout.
How do you go from a disappointing 2-0 loss to a 10-0 laugher in three days? It helped that the 5-7-1 Colonels faced a struggling Montpelier team, but it also helped that the Colonels put forth a consistent effort on both sides of the puck and executed their game plan to perfection.
Boys' hockey
• The Brattleboro boys split their two games last week to end up at 5-8 for the season thus far.
Last Wednesday, the Colonels lost 3-2 in overtime to Burr & Burton in Manchester. Andy Harris gave the Colonels a 1-0 lead, but goals by Sean Paradis and Henry Buckley gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead. Brattleboro's Senou Lynn tied the game with 10 minute left in the third period to force overtime. Brock Pollard then got the game-winning goal just 3:17 into the extra period. Zack Stewart made 26 saves for the 9-2-1 Bulldogs. Greg DiSilva stopped 28 shots for the Colonels.
On Saturday at Withington Rink, the Colonels beat up on St. Johnsbury, 8-3. Andy Harris and Adam Griffin each produced 3 goals for Brattleboro, and Nick Rancourt and Romello Lindsey also scored. Goalie Hunter Neilson had 21 saves to get the win.
Girls' basketball
• Good teams find ways to overcome injuries, but the Brattleboro Colonels girls' basketball team is in a real jam right now.
The problem started two weeks ago, when sophomore forward Arianna Harrison suffered a concussion against Wahconah Regional. Brattleboro coach Paul Freed said it was her second concussion this year, and it will likely keep out of action for the rest of the season.
Then last Tuesday, against the Hartford Hurricanes, junior guard Alyssa Bezanson suffered a bad ankle sprain.
With two of the Colonels' mainstays sidelined, Brattleboro lost to the Hurricanes, 51-21, at the BUHS gym last Tuesday. After starting the season with three straight wins, the Colonels have lost six games in a row and are in danger of not qualifying for the Division I playoffs.
• Bellows Falls could not overcome a slow start last Friday and lost to Fall Mountain, 47-31. The Terriers trailed 16-2 in the early going and never recovered. Emily Dufault scored 12 points and Darion James added six for the 4-6 Terriers.
• Poor free throw shooting and missed lay-ups came back to bite Twin Valley in a 43-36 loss at Arlington last Tuesday. The Wildcats shot 2-for-12 from the free throw line. By contrast, Arlington went 16-for-20. Micah Andrews and Sylvia Pike scored 21 and 12 points, respectively, for the Eagles, while Shannon Lozito led the Wildcats with 13.
Against Mount Everett in Sheffield, Mass., on Saturday, the Wildcats lost, 43-27. Savannah Nesbitt led the 7-5 Wildcats with 8 points.
Boys' basketball
• Brattleboro picked up its 10th win of the season with a 48-24 victory over Springfield last Monday. Tommy Heydinger scored 17 points, while Soren Pelz-Walsh added 13 and Jay Vinci chipped in 10.
On Saturday, the Colonels traveled to Great Barrington, Mass., and lost 46-44, to Monument Mountain. The Colonels struggled to run their offense, since Massachusetts uses a 30-second shot clock in high school basketball. Heydinger was again the high scorer with 12 points. It was only the second loss of the season for the 10-2 Colonels.
• Bellows Falls staged a late rally, but fell short to Springfield, 42-40, last Tuesday. Mike Hall scored 15 for the Terriers. On Friday at Fall Mountain, the Terriers fell short, 51-49. It was the third loss in a row for the 6-3 Terriers.
• Twin Valley found themselves in a 20-5 hole after one quarter against Proctor last Monday, and never recovered on the way to a 62-46 loss. Colin Lozito and Hunter Therrien led the Wildcats with 19 and 15 points, respectively.
Last Thursday, the Wildcats picked up their second win of the season with a 55-38 victory over West Rutland. Dal and Cade Nesbitt combined for seven three-pointers, and scored 26 and 19 points, respectively, to lead the Wildcats. Lozito chipped in with 10 points, 10 assists and 5 steals, while Sam Molner had a career-high 14 rebounds.
Dal Nesbitt had a game-high 18 points for the Wildcats, but it wasn't enough as Twin Valley lost at home to Mount Everett, 54-47, on Saturday. Lozito had 10 points and 8 assists and Molner pulled down 12 rebounds for the 2-11 Wildcats.
Wrestling
• The Bellows Falls-Hartford wrestling team placed ninth out of 22 teams in Saturday's Rodney Smith Tournament at East Windsor (Conn.) High School. Sophomore Nolan Viens improved to 32-2 on the season and won the 138-pound championship for his fourth tournament title this season.
BF/Hartford's three freshmen also did well. Austin Viens placed second in the 106-pound division, while Kyle Record finished third at 145, and Steve Cerrone went 2-2 at 132 pounds.
Clark defends X Games title
• West Dover's Kelly Clark came away with the gold medal in the women's snowboard superpipe competition last week at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colo. It was the 13th straight victory for Clark, and her second straight year taking the gold at the X Games.
Clark had some hometown company on the medal stand, as West Dover's Devin Logan captured a silver medal in women's freestyle skiing.
Ski/Ride 'Til You Drop-A-Thon at Mount Snow
• How many downhill runs can you get in on a single day? You can find out on Saturday, Feb. 4 at Mount Snow during the Ski/Ride 'Til You Drop-A-Thon.
This is a fundraiser for AbilityPLUS, which provides adaptive sports programs for people young and old who, due to their physical or cognitive impairments, would otherwise not be able to ski or snowboard.
Participants will ski/ride as many runs as possible, with each run raising money. Following the day on the slopes, the fun continues at an après party with silent auction at The Lodge on Route 100. For more information about the fundraiser, silent auction party and to register, visit www.AbilityPLUS.org, where you can also create an online fundraising page.