Brattleboro boys’ hockey coach Eric Libardoni admits his team got beat up by the top teams in Division II in the first part of the season. “We had a ridiculously hard schedule to start the season,” he said.
But a four-game homestand at Withington Rink against opponents that are at the same level as the Colonels enabled them to get things right heading into the final weeks of the season.
The Colonels picked up their third straight win with a 6-3 victory over Harwood on Jan. 21. Brattleboro sophomore right winger Evan Wright, who scored four goals in an 8-4 win over Burlington on Jan. 14, had a goal and two assists against Harwood. Sophomore Alex Dick added two goals and Riley Dionne, Henry Schwartz, and Carter Mialkowski also scored. Gabe Alexander had a pair of assists and Andy Cay and Rowan Lonergan were credited with one assist each.
“We’re starting to get more scoring from different people, which is always good to see,” said Libardoni. “We’re doing a lot of things right, but we’re not doing everything right.”
The one thing Libardoni singled out that needs improvement is the defense. “We have to start limiting teams to a goal or two,” he said. “You can’t beat the better teams if you’re giving up three or four goals in a game.”
Brattleboro got out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first period as Wright showed off his speed and some nifty stick work in getting an unassisted goal just 53 seconds into the game. Those same moves led to another goal about a minute later as Wright and Alexander set up Dionne for his tally.
Harwood had two power play chances later in the first period. They came up empty on the first one, but Eli Harrington scored the first of his three goals in the game during the second power play with 4:32 left in the period. Brattleboro wasted no time getting that goal back as Cay and Mialkowski set up Schwartz for his goal just 25 seconds later.
Harrington scored again just 2:03 into the second period to cut the Colonels’ lead to 3-2, but Dick scored a power-goal assisted by Wright to make 4-2 with 9:36 to play.
Dick scored an unassisted goal to start the third period, but Harrington finished his hat trick with a power play goal with 11:12 left in the game to cut the lead to 5-3. Mialkowski, a freshman forward, then capped off the Colonels’ scoring with a power play goal assisted by Alexander and Lonergan with 2:04 to play.
Darek Harvey got the start in goal for Brattleboro and wasn’t seriously tested. “The goals we gave up were team goals, and not Darek’s fault,” Libardoni said.
Brattleboro, now 4-6-1, finishes the homestand on Jan. 25 against Lyndon. With six games left in the regular season, the Colonels have a good chance to move up in the Division II standings if they can keep improving.
Girls’ basketball
• Leland & Gray picked up their ninth straight win on Jan. 17 with a 55-11 victory over visiting Rivendell. Senior forward Hannah Greenwood scored 18 points to lead the Rebels. Junior guard Maggie Parker scored 12 points and sophomore guard Abigail Emerson added nine points.
The 10-1 Rebels remain in the No. 2 spot in Division IV, a game behind undefeated West Rutland. At press time, the two teams were scheduled to face each other on Jan. 24 in West Rutland.
• Brattleboro dropped its third game in a row with a 51-22 loss to the South Burlington Wolves on Jan. 21 at the BUHS gym. The Wolves got hot in the second half and outscored the Colonels 37-13. Aleah Staley was the catalyst, scoring 19 of her game-high 27 points in the second half, including four three-pointers. The Colonels are now 4-8.
• Bellows Falls came close, but couldn’t quite finish off Long Trail School, as the visiting Mountain Lions pulled out a 48-46 win at Holland Gymnasium on Jan. 21. BF is 3-8 on the season.
• Winless Twin Valley didn’t play last week, due to weather issues that forced the postponement of their scheduled home game with Proctor.
Boys’ basketball
• Brattleboro traveled south to Northampton, Massachusetts to take on the Blue Devils on Jan. 16, and came away with a 52-45 loss.
The Colonels trailed 28-19 at halftime, but outscored the Blue Devils 15-6 in the third quarter to tie the game at 34-34. Northampton then stopped the Brattleboro rally in the final quarter to secure the win. The Colonels are now 6-4.
• Colby Dearborn scored 21 points and Jamison Nystrom added 19 points as Bellows Falls defeated the visiting Poultney Blue Devils, 67-58, on Jan. 16. BF had a narrow three-point lead at the half, but held off Poultney in the second half. Peyton Book led Poultney with 26 points, while Marcus Lewis added 16 points.
The Terriers then improved their record to 7-3 with a 70-40 win over visiting Leland & Gray on Jan. 19. BF had a 34-21 lead at the half, and started the third quarter with an 11-4 run to dash any hopes of a Rebel comeback.
Dearborn led BF with a game-high 17 points, including an 8-for-9 performance at the free throw line. Cole Moore scored nine points and Jake Moore and Walker James each added eight points. Trevor Stillwagon and Matt Winkler led the Rebels with 15 and 12 points, respectively, while Cody Hescock chipped in nine points.
• With a 44-38 win over White River Valley on Jan. 21, the Rebels ended their week at 4-4.
• Weather woes kept Twin Valley, now 1-7, from playing any games last week.
Girls’ hockey
• Brattleboro started its week with a 5-1 loss to South Burlington. Sabrina Brunet scored twice in the first period as the Wolves took a 3-0 lead and cruised from there. Ava Hershberg, Izzy Redzic and Rosa DiGulian also scored for South Burlington. Willow Romo got the Colonels’ lone goal and goaltender Angela Jobin made 36 saves.
The Colonels then snapped their six-game losing streak with a 3-0 road win over Harwood on Jan. 21. The Colonels are now 2-9.
Nordic skiing
• A lack of snow forced the cancellation on Jan. 18 of Brattleboro’s lone regular season meet. Their home course at the Brattleboro Outing Club’s trails at the Brattleboro Country Club has seen more rain and days above freezing than snow.
For the BOC, that has meant very few days where there has been enough snow for skiing, although that changed with the most recent storms that unfortunately came too late for the Colonels to host their meet.
The next chance to see the Colonel skiers on their home course is Wednesday, Feb. 15, when the Southern Vermont League’s relay championships are scheduled. Weather permitting, of course.
Harris Hill Ski Jump prepares for its 101st year
• The annual Harris Hill Ski Jump competition, featuring up to 40 of the world’s up and coming jumpers who soar more than 300 feet at speeds of nearly 60 mph, is set to take place on Feb. 17-19 in Brattleboro. Organizers have their fingers crossed that the weather in mid-February will be favorable for snowmaking so they can get the hill ready for competition.
For the first time at Harris Hill, the weekend will kick off on Friday, Feb. 17 with two rounds of a fun target jump challenge under the lights. Saturday’s and Sunday’s events will be the official judged competition sanctioned by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. This year will mark the 101st year of the event.
Harris Hill’s inaugural nighttime event will be held under new lights installed last year. There are no advance ticket sales for Friday night; admission is first come, first served and parking is only available at the ski jump. Pricing is $10 per adult (kids age 10 and under are free) or fill the car for $30. Light food concessions will be available.
Saturday the 18th features the Pepsi Challenge and Sunday’s competition is the Fred Harris Memorial Tournament. Each day, gates open at 10 a.m., and competition starts at noon. The event features professional announcers, music, a bonfire, a beer garden, local food concessions, and a great family atmosphere. Tickets start at $15.
Full details on the Harris Hill Ski Jump weekend — including details on tickets — can be found online at harrishillskijump.com, and you can follow the latest news on Harris Hill on Facebook and Instagram.
Martinez to play pro football in Germany
• BUHS and Castleton University alumnus Anthony Martinez will try his hand at playing professional football this summer in the German Football League.
Martinez, a receiver, will be playing for the Dusseldorf Panther, which was founded in 1978 and is the oldest American football club in Europe. It is also the most successful, with six league championships.
After starting for the varsity for three seasons and finding his niche as a pass catcher for the Colonels, Martinez went to Castleton and was a four-year starter with the Spartans from 2017 to 2021. He finished his collegiate career as Castleton’s fourth all-time leading receiver with a total of 1,830 yards, and is ranked fifth all-time in career receptions with 125 and fourth all-time with 12 career touchdown catches.
Since graduation, the 23-year-old Martinez has been a receivers coach last fall at Castleton, and hopes to return to Castleton to continue coaching in some capacity this fall after the Dusseldorf Panther season— which runs from June though September — is finished.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 3 of the winter/spring season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl on Jan. 19 saw The Markers (Team 5) move into sole possession of first place with a 5-0 week to improve to 13-2. The A-1’s (Team 1) had a 1-4 week to fall into a second place tie with Slo Movers (Team 7) at 9-6, followed by Split Happens (Team 8) at 8-7, Trash-O-Matic (Team 3) at 7-8, 10 Pins (Team 4) and The Strikers (Team 2) at 5-10, and Fab Four (Team 6) at 4-11.
Nancy Dalzell had the women’s high handicap game (240), while Carol Gloski had the high handicap series (678). Robert Rigby had the men’s high handicap game (271) and and Larry McIntosh had the high handicap series (678). Slo Movers had the high team handicap game (883) and series (2,591).
In scratch scoring, Rigby led the men with a 689 series with games of 268, 289, and 191, while Chuck Adams had a 591 series with games of 204, 194, and 193. Warren Corriveau Sr. had games of 211 and 191, and Pete Cross also rolled a 191 game.
Gloski again had the women’s high scratch series (533), with games of 187, 178, and 172. Dalzell had the high scratch game with a 191, and Shirley Aiken rolled a 172.