Williston Vermont News and Events
Feb. 24, 2011
Observer photos by Scott Yates (http://scottpyatesphotography.blogspot.com)The Williston Central School students versus faculty game was a nail-biter. The students squeaked out a 48-47 victory. The children went wild and Jenn Oakes, WCS athletic director, had to simmer them down using the public address system. The game was a part of the school’s theme week of healthy body, healthy mind, and healthy world.
ALPINE SKIING
Monday: Girls Vermont Championships, Burke Mountain
Wednesday: Boys Vermont Championships, Mount Okemo
BOYS BASKETBALL
Friday: at Colchester, 7 p.m.
Tuesday: NORTH COUNTRY, 6:30 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Thursday: BFA-ST. ALBANS, 5:30 p.m.
End Regular Season
BOYS HOCKEY
Saturday: NORTH COUNTRY, 4:15 p.m.
End regular Season
GIRLS HOCKEY
Saturday: at Spaulding, 3:45 p.m.
NORDIC SKIING
Monday: State Championship Meet, Craftsbury, 10:30 a.m.
WRESTLING
Friday and Saturday: at Mt. Anthony, 6 p.m. and 10 a.m.
HOME CONTESTS IN CAPS
Feb. 24, 2011
DOBROWSKI TO BE A MIDDLEBURY MAN
After skating and scoring for the Champlain Valley Union Redhawks the past four years, Robbie Dobrowski will be a Middlebury College Panther next season.
The CVU senior made his choice earlier this week and has been welcomed by Middlebury.
With more than 90 goals in his CVU career, Dobrowski has fired in 34 scores and assisted on 23 others this season.
CVU ICEMEN CLOSE REGULAR SEASON AT HOME SATURDAY
Looking for a solid Division I playoff berth, the Champlain Valley Union boys hockey team took a 14-3-1 record to Harwood Union at the Washington County Ice center Wednesday hoping for its second victory over the 13-4 Highlanders this season.
The Redhawks then return home to Cairns Arena Saturday (4:15 p.m.) to close out the regular season against North Country.
After having a three-game winning streak interrupted last Wednesday, 4-3 by 12-4-1 Spaulding, the Redhawks restored their winning ways Saturday with a 5-0 blanking of Missisquoi Valley Union at Cairns Arena.
Dobrowski struck for two goals and now has 12 in the Hawks’ last three games. Linemate Kyle Logan also scored along with Mayson Kropf and Jamie Thayer. J. P. Benoit and Wilson Yandell added two assists.
Goalie Jason O’Brien had six saves in racking up CVU’s fourth shutout of the campaign.
The loss at Spaulding meant a split in two one-goal games for the Hawks against the Crimson Tide.
CVU outshot the Tide 24-19 with Dobrowski netting a pair of goals while Jeff Thompson got one.
Freshman Zack Weimer had 15 saves between the CVU pipes.
CVU GIRLS HOCKEY TEAM HOPES TO STEM TIDE
With a narrow 3-2 loss to BFA-St. Albans Tuesday hurting their chances for a Division I home playoff game next week, Coach Tom Ryan and his Champlain Valley Union girls hockey team wrap up the regular season Saturday (3:45 p.m.) against a solid 13-1-4 Spaulding unit.
The Crimson Tide owns two previous victories over the 12-7 Redhawks and is chasing the division’s top playoff seed.
In Tuesday’s nipping by the 12-6-1 Comets, the two teams traded solid periods of play before BFA managed the lone third period score, a lifter into an open side of the cage by senior forward Taylor Girard.
CVU trailed 2-0 after the first period despite out-shooting BFA 12-7.
But the Redhawks went to work in the second stanza with Molly Howard turning in some more magical moments. With 10:25 remaining, Howard pulled the BFA defenses to the right side of the cage and slipped a pass to Armanda Armell on the left side for a nifty score to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Fast moving blue liner Alyx Rivard helped setup the play when she advanced the puck with a sortie through the BFA fore checkers.
Less than two minutes later, Sophia Steinhoff got the puck to Howard at the top of the offensive zone. Howard snuck to the front of the cage and knocked the puck past BFA netminder Shannon Howigan.
Howard, Steinhoff and Rivard all had narrow misses in an effort to break the deadlock after Girard snapped the 2-2 tie in the final frame.
Emily Sackett came up with 18 stops in goal for the Hawks. She had little chance on the first period goals by BFA’s Ali Evans and Kate Howard, both from point-blank range.
On Saturday, Howard fired in a pair of scores and Molly Dunphy added one as the Redhawks edged visiting Essex 3-2. Rivard and Hannah Johnson had assists while Sackett made 15 saves.
THREE FROM CVU NAMED TO SHRINE FOOTBALL ROSTERS
For the second straight year, the Champlain Valley Union football program will be represented in the annual Vermont-New Hampshire Shrine football game.
The players named in last week’s announcement were quarterback-defensive back Konnor Fleming, lineman/punter Cameron Fitzgerald and linebacker Eric Palmer.
In addition, CVU head coach Jim Provost will pilot the Vermont squad.
In 2010, CVU had its first two players make the Vermont squad, end Matt Long and lineman Nathan Mills.
STATE TITLE RUNS NEXT FOR CVU ALPINE SKIERS
Taylor Spillane will lead the Champlain Valley Union girls alpine ski team into the Vermont State Championships Monday at Burke Mountain. The boys will have their chase for the crown Wednesday at Mount Okemo in Ludlow.
Spillane won the Northern Vermont Athletic Council regional event last Monday at Burke but got disqualified Wednesday in giant slalom at Sugarbush Resort’s Lincoln Peak. The Redhawks were second in the team totals at both events.
After finishing fourth at Burke, the boys improved to second place at Lincoln Peak. Cody Putre won the competition and Dan Caffry took fourth despite a fall on his second run.
According to coach Mike Minnerly, Christian Goulette finished just out of the top 10.
“If our boys ski to potential we can do quite well,” Minnerly said of the upcoming states.
— Mal Boright
Feb. 24, 2011
By Mal Boright Observer correspondentIt has been a week of grit and grind for the Champlain Valley Union girls basketball team.
With three consecutive home games against foes who in their own dens beat them the first time around, the Redhawks retaliated with victories on Feb. 17 against St. Johnsbury Academy and Monday against Essex.
BFA-St. Albans now comes to Bremner Gymnasium Thursday (5:30 p.m.) to close out the regular season.
The grit this past week came in tough, laborious defenses by the Redhawks and their foes. The grind was of teeth, as the Hawks and their opponents endured long stretches of shooting woes.
The Big D was CVU’s rite of passage Tuesday in a 40-29 win over 14-5 Essex in which the man-to-man playing Hawks held the Hornets to 19 percent shooting (10-for-53) and outrebounded them, 43-26.
“Yeah, this was much better,” said a smiling CVU guard Carlee Evans, who recalled the 41-19 loss CVU suffered at Essex after a 10-day layoff in January.
“It was a big win,” agreed Carlee’s dad, coach Jeff Evans, who was thinking about how it could give the Redhawks a higher playoff seeding.
The Redhawks took the lead for good in the second period, breaking out of a 9-9 first period tie with a 9-4 run sparked by Shae Hulbert’s inside work of a hoop and feed to Remi Donnelly for an inside turn around twine twitcher.
Sophomore Lauren Miles came off the Essex bench and sank four straight deuces to haul the Hornets back to within 20-19, but Hulbert’s two charity tosses with 2:02 left in the half started a five-point CVU run to intermission.
Defenses took charge in the third period. CVU was 1-for-11 from the floor, and Essex was 1-for-12.
The Redhawks snapped an 0-for-8 scoring slump when Amanda Kinneston hit Carlee Evans with a sharp pass for an easy layup to help CVU enter the final reel with a 27-23 advantage.
The Hawks then snapped off a 9-2 run started by another Kinneston pass to Evans for a layup, followed by inside lay-ins from Caroline Limanek and Hulbert. That put Essex down by 11 points, and it never got closer than eight.
Hulbert had a big day with 17 points, 10 rebounds and a pair of assists. Joining her in the rugged stuff on the boards were Lazrin Schenck (8 rebounds), Donnelly (7). Limanek, Elana Bayer-Pacht and Carlee Evans each had five grabs.
Amanda Kineston had four assists, four rebounds, and four steals.
CVU stymies St. Johnsbury
In whacking defending Division 1 champ St. Johnsbury, the defensively gritty Redhawks dug in for a 21-6 lead at halftime, containing the Hilltoppers to 3 of 19 shooting in the first half.
St. Jay had its own tough defense and showed it in the third period, holding CVU scoreless and forcing seven turnovers.
The Hilltoppers crept to within 21-14 early in the fourth quarter, and furrowed brows of worry were seen on the CVU bench.
A Hulbert free throw and shortly thereafter a 3-point bomb by Amanda Kinneston (assist to Hulbert) got CVU past the crisis.
The Redhawks held the Hilltoppers to 18 percent shooting from the floor and held a 33-23 rebounding. Limanek, Hulbert and Bayer-Pacht lead CVU’s board fury with six rebounds apiece. Hulbert paced the scorers with eight points. Amanda Kinneston and Schenck each scored six.
Monday
Essex (29)
Lavalette, 0 3-6 3; B. Panton, 2 2-4 6; Sheftic, 1 0-0 2; Wells, 2 0-0 4; J. Panton, 0 2-2 2; Harris, 1 2-2 4; Miles, 4 0-0 8; Esposito, 0 0-0 0; Barry, 0 0-0 0; Maglione 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 9-14 29
CVU (40)
Hulbert, 5 7-9 17; Bayer-Pacht, 1 2-4 4; Donnelly, 2 1-2 5; A. Kinneston, 1 0-0 2; C. Evans, 2 4-5 8; Riordan, 0 0-0 0; Giles, 0 0-0 0; Leach, 0 0-0 0; Schenck, 0 1-2 1; Lozon, 0 0-0 0; Limanek, 1 0-0 2; E. Kinneston, 0 0-0 0; R. Evans, 0 1-2 1. Totals: 12 16-24 40
Essex 9 10 4 6 – 29
CVU 9 16 2 13 - 40
Junior Varsity: CVU (15-4) 47, Essex 31
Feb. 17
St. Johnsbury Academy (20)
Calkins, 0 0-0 0; Carbone, 1 0-0 2; Kay, 4 1-4 9; J. Brown, 0 4-6 4; Bruckner, 2 0-0 5; A. Brown, 0 0-0 0; Thomas, 0 0-0 0; Elliott, 0 0-0 0. Totals: 7 5-10 20
CVU (33)
Hulbert, 0 8-12 8; Bayer-Pacht, 0 1-3 1; Donnelly, 1 2-2 4; A. Kinneston, 2 1-1 6; C. Evans, 1 0-3 2; Riordan, 0 0-0 0; Giles, 0 0-0 0; Leach, 0 1-2 1; Schenck, 3 0-0 6; Lozon, 0 0-0 0; Limanek, 1 0-0 2; E. Kinneston, 1 0-0 2; R. Evans, 0 1-2 1. Totals: 9 14-25 33
St. J. 4 2 8 6 – 20
CVU 10 11 0 12 – 33
Junior Varsity: CVU 36, St. J. 25
Feb. 24, 2011
By Mal Boright Observer correspondentThe Champlain Valley Union boys basketball combine got a second look at the high-flying 15-2 Rice Memorial Green Knights Tuesday at Bremner Gymnasium – and a second loss.
Rice, likely the playoff’s top seed, handed 5-12 CVU its seventh consecutive loss, 55-37.
Coach Scott Bliss’ squad will try to heat things up for the playoffs Friday night (7 p.m.) at Colchester. The final home contest of the season is Tuesday night when North Country comes to Hinesburg for a 6:30 p.m. tap.
CVU bowed 56-55 at home to Colchester a little more than a week ago. North Country nudged the Redhawks 47-44 on Feb. 11 in Newport.
The Hawks hung with Rice until the final two minutes of the second quarter. Ahead by just 19-16, The Knights unleashed a 16-0 run that carried into the second half, taking advantage of CVU turnovers to fuel an effective transition game.
Chief culprit for Rice at the start of the third quarter was 6-6 center Tim Rensch, who popped in four straight inside shots to help carry the Green Guys to a commanding 36-18 edge with more than five minutes to go in the period.
By the end of a 21-point third reel, the Knights were up 47-26 with the Redhawks unable to create a serious multi-point run on the tough Rice defense. For the game, the Hawks shot a reasonable 36 percent but pegged just 39 shots at the hoop, hitting 14. Rice was 23-for-53 (43 percent).
The Knights also held a 27-18 advantage on the boards.
Sophomore guard Casey Tipson led scorers with 17 points including three treys. Austin Robinson had 11 points and Rensch finished with 10.
Robert Russ hit 4 of 6 shots from the floor to lead CVU with 10 points. Jake Donnelly had eight points, four rebounds and two assists. Ryan Pierson came off the bench to hit six points.
Essex drops CVU
Russ and Donnelly had solid nights Friday when the Redhawks fell to 8-8 at Bremner Gym, 46-42.
Essex, which had rapped CVU in the Junction a couple of weeks ago, had no easy time Friday, winning on a late 3-point play from out-of-bounds that had Ben Ferris (24 points) get to the hoop and convert the deuce plus a free throw to snap a tie with 25 seconds left.
Russ fired in 15 points for the Redhawks. Donnelly had 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Rice Memorial (55)
Robinson, 5 1-3 11; McCormick, 3 2-2 8; Willingham, 1 0-0 2; Rensch, 5 0-1 10; Tipson, 7 1-2 18; Maynard, 1 2-2 4; Poland, 0 0-0 0; Bellows, 0 0-0 0; Conroy, 1 0-0 2; Langlais, 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 6-10 55
CVU (37)
Donnelly, 2 4-4 8; Bissonnette, 1 0-0 2; Gale, 2 0-0 4; Kohlasch, 0 0-0 0; Russ, 4 2-4 10; Lambert, 0 1-2 1; Karmes, 1 0-0 2; Boland, 0 0-0 0; Spencer, 1 0-0 2; Pierson, 2 1-2 6; Keen, 1 0-0 2; Burns, 0 0-0 0; Whitbeck, 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 8-12 37
Rice 12 14 21 8 - 55
CVU 7 9 10 11 - 37
Junior varsity: CVU (12-5) 47, Rice 39.
