In their first four games of the season, the Brattleboro boys' ice hockey team gave up 20 goals and scored seven goals. That gave the Colonels a 2-2 season record heading into a Dec. 27 matinee at Withington Rink against the Mount Mansfield Cougars.
The Colonels scored more goals against Mount Mansfield than in any of their first four games, but unfortunately followed the pattern of giving up too many goals in a wild 6-5 win for the visiting Cougars.
Mount Mansfield opened the game with a pair of goals in the first period by Sam Molson and Alec Spensley for a 2-0 lead.
Brattleboro got back in it with a pair of goals by Evan Wright in the second period. Wright's first came on the power play with 9:52 to go in the period; Will Taggard and Alex Dick assisted on goal.
Spensley scored another goal for the Cougars with 5:56 to play, but Will Miskovich then set up Wright's second tally with 5:15 remaining to make a 3-2 game. Dick then tied the game with 3:32 to go with a goal from Derek Parsons.
Brattleboro got their first lead of the game with a power play goal from Miskovich, assisted by Wright, with 10:59 left in the third period. That lead was short-lived as the Cougars took advantage of three straight power plays to score three unanswered goals.
Alex Brown got the first of those goals with 9:17 to play to tie the game, and Jack Senacal got the next two to give the Cougars a 6-4 lead with 2:31 to play. Garrett Marchant assisted on both Senacal's goals.
To Brattleboro's credit, they put up a tremendous effort in the final two minutes and, thanks to a pair of Mount Mansfield penalties, were able to pull goalie Derek Harvey and launch a 6-on-3 attack in the final 90 seconds. The Miskovich-Wright connection clicked again for a goal with 25 seconds left in the game, but the Colonels ran out of time before they could get the equalizer.
Together with a 2-1 loss to Rutland on Dec. 29, the defending Division II state champions finished December with a 2-4 record heading into the New Year.
Boys' basketball
• Brattleboro lost its first four games of the season, but got into the win column on Dec. 29 with a 51-41 victory over the Otter Valley Otters at the BUHS gym.
Junior forward Tate Chamberlin and senior guard Cam Frost led the way for the Colonels. Chamberlin scored 13 of his game-high 19 points in the first half as Brattleboro overcame a slow start to pull even with the Otters, 23-23, at halftime. Frost was the second-half hero, coming off the bench to score 11 of his 15 total points in the final 10 minutes.
With Chamberlin scoring from inside, and Frost showing good range from beyond the three-point line, the Colonels may have found a good combination on offense.
On defense, sophomore forward Willem Thurber, junior center Paul McGillion, and junior guard Waylund Walsh combined for four blocked shots as the Otters could not get any scoring beyond the trio of seniors Elijah Tucker-Bryant (16 points) and Hayden Bernhardt (8 points), and ninth-grader Logan Letourneau (8 points).
The win over the Otters was a nice bounceback for the 1-4 Colonels, after losing a 58-52 game to Mount St. Joseph in Rutland two nights earlier. Senior guard Sam Mattocks was the high scorer for Brattleboro with 15 points, while Frost and Chamberlin added 11 and 10 points, respectively, and Alex Carpenter made three three-pointers.
• Bellows Falls used its depth to wear down Hartford, 72-65, on Dec. 27 at Holland Gymnasium. Jonathan Terry led the Terriers with 19 points, and Owen LaRoss (14 points), Jackson Goodell (13 points) and Jamison Nystrom (10 points) also pitched in on offense. BF followed up that effort two nights later with a 48-34 road win over Arlington to improve to 3-2 on the season.
• Just before the holiday break, Twin Valley got its first win of the season with a 70-15 demolition of West Rutland in Whitingham on Dec. 22. Noah Dornburgh made eight three-pointers and finished with 28 points to lead the 1-4 Wildcats, while Liam Wendel made six three-pointers for 18 total points. Caleb Dupuis added 10 points.
Girls' basketball
• Brattleboro had a brutal vacation week, losing 67-29 to Champlain Valley in Hinesburg on Dec. 28 and losing 93-28 at Essex on Dec. 30. Since beating Leland & Gray on Dec. 11, the 1-5 Colonels have lost four straight games against four of the top teams in Vermont - Springfield, St. Johnsbury, CVU, and Essex.
Elise Burger finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots to lead CVU in the Dec. 28 game, while Chloe Givens led the Colonels with 10 points.
In the Essex game, Paige Winter led the victors with 20 points. Brenna Beebe was Brattleboro top scorer with eight points, while Givens added six points.
• Maggie McKearin scored 29 points as Proctor rolled to a 47-18 win over Leland & Gray in Townshend on Dec. 20. The visiting Phantoms got off to a slow start, as the Rebels led 16-15 at halftime.
But McKearin, one of the top basketball players in Vermont, scored the first 11 points of the second half as Proctor went on a 27-0 run to snuff out any hope for an upset win by the Rebels.
Maggie Parker and Mary Sanderson each scored seven points for Leland & Gray in the sixth game in nine nights for the Rebels.
On Dec. 28, the Rebels lost 40-31 to visiting Woodstock to fall to 2-5. Again, the Rebels played a strong first half and were tied with the Wasps, 27-27, heading into the third quarter. But Woodstock held the Rebels to just four points in the second half to come way with the win.
Parker led Leland & Gray with 12 points, including three three-pointers, with five steals and two blocked shots. Sanderson and Hannah Greenwood chipped in six and five points, respectively.
• Hartford used a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter to beat Bellows Falls, 42-28, on Dec. 30 at Holland Gymnasium. BF led 16-15 at halftime, but the Hurricanes came back strong in the second half despite a huge game from Laura Kamel, who had 19 points, six offensive rebounds, and two blocked shots. The loss dropped the Terriers to 1-3 on the season.
Nordic skiing
• The Brattleboro nordic teams finally got a chance to get out on the snow in a seven-team meet on Dec. 27 in Woodstock.
In the boys' race, Twin Valley's one-man team of Luke Rizio was the individual winner, covering the 5-kilometer course in a time of 11 minutes, 47 seconds. Mount Anthony won the team competition with 27 points, followed by BFA-St. Albans (38), Woodstock (55), Rutland (59), and Brattleboro (82).
In the girls' race, BFA's Lydia Hodgman was the first-place finisher with a time of 13:44. Brattleboro's Sylvie Normandeau came in fifth to lead the Colonel girls. Mount Anthony made it a sweep with 26 points to win the girls' team competition, followed by Woodstock (36), BFA (37), and Brattleboro (54).
Girls' hockey
• Brattleboro got to play only one game in the Woodstock Holiday Tournament last week after their Dec. 27 game against Rice was postponed. The next night, the Colonel girls faced Hartford. Brattleboro lost, 3-2, to fall to 1-4 on the season.
Nighttime jumping comes to Harris Hill
• As part of its 100th anniversary next month, the Harris Hill Ski Jump recently added lights to the jump and will offer a free nighttime celebration featuring a ski jumping exhibition, local food and beverages, and fireworks on Friday, Feb. 18, from 6 to 8 p.m.
According to the Harris Hill organizers, telephone poles donated by Consolidated Communications were erected just before Christmas in the final phase of the lighting project. Once in place, they say that stadium lights will then be installed in anticipation of the free Friday night event.
The Harris Hill Ski Jump and Brattleboro Outing Club were both founded by Fred Harris in 1922, and organizers hope the first night festivities will make for a splendid kickoff for the centennial weekend. Find out more at harrishillskijump.com.
Senior bowling roundup
• The fall/winter season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl concluded on Dec. 30 with Stayin' Alive (61-27) finishing in first place. Pin Falls (50.5-39.5) came in second place, followed by Alley Katz (50-40) Pin Setters and Old Farts (both 43-47), Trash-O-Matic (42-48), Team Four (40-50), and Rolling Stones (30.5-59.5).
Sally Perry had the women's high handicap game (236) and series (638), while Warren Corriveau Sr. had the men's high handicap game (277) and series (784). Team Four had the high team handicap game (870) and series (2,576).
In scratch scoring, Corriveau led the men with a 748 series, with games of 265, 248, and 235. Chuck Adams had a 661 series, with games of 255, 211, and 195. Robert Rigby had a 609 series that featured games of 243 and 187. Pete Cross had a 191 game and Fred Ashworth rolled games of 189 and 180.
Carol Gloski had the women's high scratch series (454), while Pamela Greenblot (171) had the high scratch game. Perry had a 170 game.