-Evan Wright clinched a home playoff game for the Brattleboro Bears boys' hockey team with an overtime goal to defeat the Woodstock Wasps, 2-1, at jam-packed Withington Rink on Feb. 22.
Wright, one of four seniors honored before the game, scored both of Brattleboro's goals. Not resting on his laurels after scoring his 100th career goal against Stowe on Feb. 15, he gave the Bears a 1-0 lead with 5:50 left in the first period when he drove to the net and flicked a shot past Wasps goaltender Dominic Palazzo.
Despite having only two wins this season, Woodstock played an excellent defensive game and held the Bears to that lone goal in regulation time. However, Brattleboro put plenty of pressure on the Wasps and all but shut down their offense in the first and second periods. Woodstock finally broke through in the third period to tie the game and force overtime when Kyle Costales scored with 10:53 to play.
Fittingly, it was Wright who was the hero on Senior Night as he scored his 102nd career goal with 1:02 left in overtime.
"That was sweet," said Wright of his game-winning goal. "There was a ton of room on the short side [of the goal] and I was trying to get a backhander in."
Wright's plan worked as the puck hit Palazzo and trickled in over the goal line. The rink erupted with a roar as fans celebrated that there will be at least one more home game for the Bears this season.
Brattleboro is now 13-5-1 and has a firm hold on the No. 3 spot in the Division II rankings. The Bears will finish the regular season on Feb. 26 against U-32 in Montpelier.
Boys' basketball
• This week, the playoffs begin for boys' basketball teams in Vermont as regular season play concluded last week. Brattleboro finished the regular season with a 7-13 record and the No. 10 seed in Division I.
Their Senior Night finale on Feb. 21 at the BUHS gym ended with a 60-51 loss to the Burr & Burton Bulldogs. The Bears kept things close in the first quarter, but the Bulldogs took a 29-22 lead at the half. Brattleboro came back in the third quarter to cut the Bulldogs' lead to 40-39 heading into the final quarter, but Burr & Burton opened the fourth with an 11-0 run to take control of the game to stay.
Brattleboro had a balanced attack on offense, thanks to the seniors. Keegan Systo had 14 points, including a pair of three-pointers. John Satterfield and Jack Cady each scored 11, with Satterfield sinking three three-pointers, and Oscar Korson added 10 points with a pair of threes.
"They played hard right to the end, and that's what you want to see heading into the tournament," said Bears head coach Winston Sailsman Jr. "But I know the seniors wish they could have had this win."
They won't have to wait too long for revenge. At press time, the Bears were set to meet the No. 7 Bulldogs in Manchester on Feb. 25 in a first-round playoff game.
• Bellows Falls finished with a 10-10 record and ended up with the ninth seed in Division III. While they lost home court advantage, the Terriers will have one of the shortest road trips in their division as they will face No. 8 Green Mountain in a quarterfinal game on Feb. 26.
• Twin Valley finished with a 14-6 record and the No. 5 seed in Division IV. The Wildcats defeated Leland & Gray, 79-35, in the regular season finale in Townshend on Feb. 21. The Wildcats' win over Leland & Gray also featured a big milestone - sophomore guard Brayden Brown scoring his 1,000th career point.
The two teams will face each other again on Feb. 26 in a first-round game in Whitingham. Leland & Gray finished the regular season with a 2-18 record, which got them the No. 12 seed.
Girls' basketball
• Despite 19 points each from Reese Croutworst and Abby Henry, Brattleboro lost to Windsor, 60-42, on Feb. 18. The Bears bounced back the next night with a 49-31 home win over Burr & Burton, but then lost to Rutland, 54-36, on Feb. 22 to drop their record to 10-8.
The Bears hold the No. 7 ranking in Division I, so they still have a chance of a home game in the first round of the playoffs depending on this week's results.
• Bellows Falls has a 12-4 record and the No. 6 ranking in Division III, but close out the regular season this week with four games that will determine if they can hold on and have a home game to start the playoffs.
Against Rivendell on Feb. 20 at Holland Gymnasium, the Terriers used a 16-0 run in the third quarter to put away the Raptors, 42-30. The following night, BF lost to visiting Hartford, 53-47.
• February has not been kind to Twin Valley as the Wildcats have so far compiled a 1-5 record. On Feb. 19, they were beaten by the visiting Mount St. Joseph Mounties, 42-25. On Feb. 22, they were defeated by Long Trail, 47-26, to fall to 6-12 on the season.
• Leland & Gray also has a 6-12 record and has struggled to find a winning groove. On Feb. 19, the Rebels lost at Rivendell, 42-31, and fell to White River Valley the following night, 60-41.
Nordic skiing
• The Brattleboro boys are in third place after the first day of competition in the Vermont Nordic skiing championships on Feb. 20 at Craftsbury Outdoor Center.
The individual freestyle competition saw Nico Conathan-Leach finish third in 13 minutes, 31.5 seconds, while teammate Willow Sharma was eighth in 14:21.9. The relay event saw Brattleboro finish third in 32:11.4.
At press time, the classic portion of the state meet was set for Feb. 25 at Prospect Mountain Nordic Ski Center.
Girls' hockey
• Brattleboro lost both of their games last week. On Feb. 19 at Withington Rink, the Bears were beaten by Harwood, 8-2. On Feb. 22 at Woodstock, the Bears lost to the Wasps, 4-3, to fall to 2-14 on the season.
Local ski jumpers make Eastern Junior National Team
• Three Brattleboro area ski jumpers qualified for the Eastern Division Junior National Ski Jumping Team. Spencer Jones of Putney qualified for the second straight year, while Ava Joyal of Brattleboro and Wesley Leonard of Hinsdale, New Hampshire, are first-time qualifiers.
Joyal, Leonard, and Jones earned their spots on the team with strong performances on the 65-meter jump at the Salisbury (Conn.) Winter Sports Association's 99th annual Jumpfest on Feb. 2.
The National Junior ski jumping and nordic combined competition will be Feb. 26–March 1 at the Utah Olympic Park and Soldier Hollow Nordic Center as Joyal, Leonard, and Jones compete with the best junior ski jumpers from all over the country.
The Eastern Team is coached by Colin Delaney and Larry Stone of NYSEF (New York Ski Educational Foundation), Seth Gardner of Salisbury Winter Sports Association, and Will Rancourt of the Andover Outing Club.
All three Brattleboro jumpers will be representing the towns of Brattleboro and two jumping clubs, Ford Sayre of Hanover, New Hampshire, and Brattleboro's Harris Hill Nordic. They had to qualify over the series of four Junior National qualifying competitions this season, all culminating in Salisbury at the Eastern Championship.
Don't forget to remove your ice shanties
• The ice on the ponds may seem nice and thick now, but with the arrival of March comes a reminder from the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department that ice fishing shanties must be removed from the ice before the ice weakens.
Vermont state law requires shanties must be removed before the ice becomes unsafe or loses its ability to support the shanty out of the water, or before the last Sunday in March - the 30th this year - whichever comes first. All contents, debris, wood, and supports must also be removed so they do not become a hazard to navigation in the spring.
Also, leaving your ice fishing shanty on the ice can result in a fine and points on your license, and shanties may not be left at state fishing access areas.
Senior bowling roundup
• The Brattleboro Senior Bowling League finally got a Thursday without stormy weather, and they were able to gather at Brattleboro Bowl on Feb. 17 for Week 6 of their winter/spring season. Renegades (21-9) took over first place, with Full Monty (20-10) close behind, followed by Charlie's Angels (19-11), Slo Movers (18-12), Niners (16-14), Wayne's World, Double Trouble, and Let 'Em Roll (all 14-16), and Sandbaggers (13-17).
Debbie Kolpa had the women's high handicap game (255) and series (748), while Robert Rigby had the men's high handicap game (268) and series (740). Niners had the high team handicap game (951) and series (2,579).
Rigby had the men's high scratch series (716) with games of 247, 245, and 224, while Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 622 series with games of 243 and 198. John Walker had a 596 series with games of 247 and 195, Kevin Napaver had a 595 series with games of 231 and 205, and Duane Schillemat had a 563 series with a 203 game. Milt Sherman had a 523 series, Jerry Dunham had a 519 series, and Charlie Marchant had a 505 series.
Kolpa had the women's high scratch series (532) with games of 184, 175, and 173. Diane Cooke had games of 169 and 163, Debbie Rittenhour had a 168 game, Nancy Dalzell had a 166 game, and Carol Gloski rolled a 162.
Randolph T. Holhut, deputy editor of this newspaper, has written this column since 2010 and has covered sports in Windham County since the 1980s. Readers can send him sports information at [email protected].
This Sports column by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.