Notes on BHS/MVU playdown game

In putting some notes together for tonight's playoff game I found plenty of interesting things. Thought I'd share my notes for anyone who's interested. Some of it may not be of interest to you, just stuff for me to talk about during a solo broadcast.


***My boys basketball playoff preview for local teams
________________________________________________________________________

Boys Division One Playdown Game

(#10)Burlington High School (8-12) at (#7)Missisquoi Valley Union (11-9)

February 29, 2012

-Missisquoi hasn't won a division one playoff game or been to a quarterfinal since 1986, has never been to a division one semifinal

-First home division one playoff game since 2001

-MVU and Burlington have not met since 2006 playdowns. (#2)BHS beat (#15)MVU 78-58 and eventually won Division I title over Spaulding by 20 points*.

*Tyrone Conley, just a junior, reached 1,000 points in that title game

History:

-Burlington has won 20 division one state championships, been to 33 title games and more than 40 final fours. It has finished the season undefeated three times

-Missisquoi has no division one state championships and has never been to a division one title game. It has won one Division II state championship and been to four title games (two in division two, one in d3 and one in d4)

Last Season:

Burlington: #8 Seed in division one, lost in second round

Missisquoi: Won division two championship (graduated four of five starters)

Common Opponents:

CVU: Burlington (0-2), Missisquoi (0-1)

North Country: Burlington (0-1)* Missisquoi (1-1)

*Lost by one point

Burlington: 3-6 on road this season

Missisquoi: 5-4 at home this season

-Burlington coach Matt Johnson (2,121 career points for BFA-St. Albans) is second on Vermont's all-time scoring list and tops the next closest Franklin County scorer by more than 400 points

    -He was named Vermont High School Basketball Player of the Year after leading BFA-St. Albans to the 1987 title, the last D1 title for any Franklin County High School

-Missisquoi junior Matt St. Amour (1364 career points) enters the game tied for 67th on Vermont's all-time scoring list (36 more points has him in top 60). 

   -He is sixth all-time among male basketball players from Franklin County (will move to fifth, ahead of Fairfax's Seth Rebeor with 5 points tonight).

-Will become MVU's all time scoring leader, passing Laurel McWilliams, with three points tonight.

2011-12 Girls Hockey Season Review/Playoff Preview

Dani Schreiner (22) may be out injured, but she and Aly Hardy (5) still found spots on the Kaufmann's Korner All County team after an incredible girls hockey season.

With playoffs starting next week, I wanted to get some thoughts out there on every local team. Please be aware that the seeds and playoff pairings I post are projected. The official pairings are not released until Monday morning.


Boys Hockey Review/Preview
Boys Basketball Review/Preview
Girls Basketball coming next weekend...




Girls Hockey Season Review/Playoff Preview

There isn't much new to be said about girls hockey in Vermont. I covered the BFA/MVU rivalry earlier this season and my dad wrote a column about the potential excitement for this year's girls playoffs. But just in case anyone is checking out this blog after a few years of hibernation, let's take a look.

The top five teams in Vermont this season are as close as possible. I'm not just talking about the records and index points, though it's not a bad place to start:

Bellows Free Academy - St. Albans 13-3-4      47

Spaulding High School 12-4-4 44

South Burlington High School 12-4-4 44

Missisquoi Valley U.H.S.                        13-6-1 39

Essex High School                                 10-8-2 34 

But the state of girls hockey in Vermont goes so much deeper than those final standings. You have to take a look at how these teams have matched up head to head:

BFA-St. Albans:

Wins: Spaulding, Missisquoi (x2), Essex, South Burlington

Losses: Missisquoi

Ties: South Burlington, Spaulding, Essex

Spaulding:

Wins: South Burlington, Essex (x2), Missisquoi,

Losses: BFA, Missisquoi

Ties: South Burlington (x2), BFA, Essex

South Burlington:

Wins: Missisquoi (x2), Essex

Losses: Essex (x2), Spaulding, BFA 

Ties: Missisquoi, BFA, Spaulding (x2)

Missisquoi:

Wins: BFA, Essex (x2), South Burlington, Spaulding

Losses: South Burlington (x2), BFA (x2), Spaulding

Ties: South Burlington

Essex:

Wins: South Burlington (x2)

Losses: Missisquoi (x2), Spaulding, BFA, South Burlington

Ties: Spaulding, BFA

Notice anything? Only one top five team swept another -- that would be MVU over Essex. By the way, those two meet in Highgate for the quarterfinals. Think that sounds good to Missisquoi fans? Look above again. No team that played another three times ended up 3-0. 

These girls skated to seven ties this season! They played seven other games which were decided by one goal! If Vermont had high school sportsbooks, the odds would be in favor of more overtime games than regulation this postseason.

Seeding is crucial this year. (#1)BFA plays 0-19 CVU, piece of cake. (#2)Spaulding plays 3-17 Colchester, easy as pie. (#3)South Burlington plays Hartford, a decent program but one which is 0-3 against the Rebels this season.

But #4? That's Missisquoi. They get an Essex team which finished its year with ties against Spaulding and at BFA. And we already went over the difficulty of beating a good opponent three times in one season. Think the regular season isn't important? If MVU had beaten South Burlington in either of the games it ended up losing, it would be prepping for a Hartford team it's already beaten twice instead of gearing up for a championship-level fight in round one.

What I'm trying to get at is if you want a guaranteed good show in the next few weeks, go watch two of these teams play each other in a playoff atmosphere. 14 ties/one-goal games in one regular season! Except for MVU/Essex, each loss has been avenged with at least a tie. And if you think MVU/Essex this week is going to be anything other than absolutely electric, I have some timeshares I'd like you to take a look at.

Best of all, this year is just a warm-up. Essex is led by a phenomenal freshman and a solid young supporting cast. BFA has a few good seniors, but is led primarily by its underclassmen. MVU's seniors, well, they must play other sports because there are none on this hockey roster.

Is anyone petitioning the VPA to charge double for meetings between these teams next year? I think I just figured out how to save Vermont schools. 




Kaufmann's Korner All County Girls Hockey Team
A reminder from the fall, this is a little different than other all-star teams for a few reasons: First of all, nobody really cares. Secondly, these aren't the 12 best players I've covered this winter, they're the best teams I could send out to represent Franklin County in a state-wide tournament. It's close to an all-star team, but more fun to create. Actually, could we follow up the season with my team against SB/Essex or Spaulding/Hartford? Who needs baseball season?

G- Shanley Howrigan (BFA) 

D- Mikaela Flanagan (MVU)

D- Taylor Jackson (BFA)

F- Amanda Conger (MVU)

F- Katie Campbell (MVU)

F- Aly Hardy (BFA)

Second Team:

G- Shelby Christian (MVU)

D- Hanna Lovelette (BFA)

D- Desiree Hurlbut (BFA)

F- Camille Rainville (MVU)

F- Tori Hubbard (BFA)

F- Dani Schreiner (BFA)

*I had more fun with this team than any other. It's always fun to start off your team with a brick wall in net (and another pretty solid wall as her backup). The forwards on the first team are as skilled as any I've ever watched and none has a hint of attitude. Now that I look at it, I'd love to see Flanagan and Jackson defend together. And look at the speed on the second team. Even if you put that line out there tonight with Schreiner on crutches, they'd win a relay against any other skaters in the state with time to spare. And I don't want a fake hockey team without Campbell or Hurlbut, they just have too much fun. 

Enjoy these playoffs, I know I will!

2011-12 Boys Hockey Season Review/Playoff Preview

With playoffs starting next week, I wanted to get some thoughts out there on every local team. Please be aware that the seeds and playoff pairings I post are projected. The official pairings are not released until Monday morning.


My boys basketball review/preview
Girls Hockey

Boys Hockey -- Division I:

(#3)BFA-St. Albans (16-4) -- Hosts (#11)Rice/(#6)Middlebury winner in quarterfinals

Tough team to predict. The Bobwhites have perhaps the two best players in Vermont in Michael Schreiner and Matt Palmer. They do have the best coach in the state and a long tradition of hockey excellence. When things are clicking for this group, who's going to beat them? The problem is, things haven't clicked as often as fans would like. BFA's goaltending hasn't been consistent and at times its skaters have followed suit. Two of its final four games were losses, including a dumbfounding defeat at the hands of Spaulding (7-12-1). Undefeated Essex has dispatched St. Albans twice and (#2)South Burlington embarrassed BFA on its home ice earlier this month. But despite the blemishes, this is one of the most talented groups you'll find. If they're on, there's no reason to think they won't hoist a trophy at Gutterson Fieldhouse.

Boys Hockey -- Division II:

(#6)Missisquoi Valley Union (11-8-1) -- Hosts (#11)Lyndon Institute in first round

Like the Enosburg boys basketball team, I declared this group dead when Matt Conger's season was to a broken femur. Like the Hornets, MVU proved me wrong by showing some signs of life but it's safe to say this group needs its star player badly. The team has come a long way but still, at times, shows problems with composure. Still, the seed doesn't reflect the talent. When MVU isn't fighting referees or opponents and is focused on the game, it might be the most talented squad in Division II (even with Conger on crutches). MVU barely lost to (#1)Northfield in overtime this week and looked fantastic in a 3-1 victory over (#2)U-32 earlier this month. Nobody is excited to face MVU in the postseason.

(#8)Milton (7-12-1) -- Hosts (#9)Hartford in first round

I didn't see a ton of Milton this season, but had a lot of fun when I did. Probably because the Yellowjackets are 2-0 in games I've written. Milton plays good, hard hockey. They're a fun team for me to cover since kids from other local high schools take up roster space. It took this group a while to get going (they went 0-5 in January before winning on the 28th) but have strung together some nice play. The bad news for Milton: it's 0-3 against the top three teams in D-II and was outscored 18-5 in those contests. It will take some luck for Milton to advance very far, but it's not out of the question.

***Update (2-27-12)*** Had the right seeds but the wrong opponents for Division II. (#6)MVU faces (#12)Woodstock, a team which finished just 2-17-1. The unsettling news: that one tie came in its only meeting with MVU. (#8)Milton goes against (#9)Mt. Mansfield, which not only makes for an easier trip but also gives the Yellowjackets an opponent it split with in the regular season as opposed to a Hartford team it lost to in its only matchup.

Kaufmann's Korner All County Boys Hockey Team:

A reminder from the fall, this is a little different than other all-star teams for a few reasons: First of all, nobody really cares. Secondly, these aren't the 12 best players I've covered this winter, they're the best teams I could send out to represent Franklin County in a state-wide tournament. It's close to an all-star team, but more fun to create. Finally, when I say Franklin County, I'm taking the geographical liberty of including Milton because this is my blog and I can do whatever I want.

G- Brandon Rhoades (Milton) 

D- Taylor Raftery (BFA)

D- Caleb Lothain (MVU)

F- Matt Conger (MVU)

F- Michael Schreiner (BFA)

F- Matt Palmer (BFA)

Second Team:

G- Brian Fortin (MVU) 

D- Ryan Lothian (MVU)

D- Ian Hengemuhle (BFA)

F- Seth Amstein (Milton)

F- Jack Raleigh (MVU)

F-  Cole Tessier (MVU)

2011-12 Boys Basketball Season Review/Playoff Preview

With playoffs starting next week, I wanted to get some thoughts out there on every local team. Please be aware that the seeds and playoff pairings I post are projected. The official pairings are not released until Monday morning.

My boys hockey review/preview
Girls Hockey

Boys Basketball -- Division I:

(#6)BFA-St. Albans (11-9) -- host (#11)Essex in first round: 

Same old same for the Bobwhites. Very good season, entering the playoffs with the nagging feeling that it would be better off in the playoffs with a slightly lower seed after playing a Metro schedule. Taking control of the Lake year in and year out is admirable but does St. Albans no favors come March. BFA has been in the top 10 each year for the last six years and has had a home game four of those years. In that span, no Bobwhite team has made it out of the second round. 

#4 2011 (lost in 2nd round)

#5 2010 (lost in 2nd round)

#9 2009 (lost in 1st round)

#9 2008 (lost in 1st round)

#8 2007 (lost in 1st round)

#4 2006 (lost in 1st round)

Of BFA's 13 games against Division I opponents this season, only six were against teams which finished with winning records. This Bobwhite squad is talented, fit and potentially dangerous. It took Mt. Mansfield, the top team in the state, to the final seconds on the road before losing by three. There isn't a team St. Albans can't beat when it plays its best. But I can't help thinking BFA would be more confident  right now as an eight or nine seed with fewer games against Milton and Montpelier and more against CVU and Rice. I love the fire of these kids and could see them playing in Patrick Gym in a couple of weeks following a great run. Unfortunately, I could also see them being upset in the first round by the struggling Hornets.

(#7)Missisquoi Valley Union (11-9) -- host (#10)Burlington in first round:

Similar to BFA in that it has a much higher seed because of its Lake schedule than it would if it played Metro. But unlike the Bobwhites, MVU doesn't belong in the Metro. In fact, the Thunderbirds barely belong in Division I and were just moved up this year after winning the Division II title last year. Missisquoi may be the top seed in its first round matchup but will have to bust its butt for any victory from here on out. The T-Birds finished just 3-4 against Division I opponents and didn't beat a D-I team which finished .500 or better.

That being said, I'm not willing to bet against MVU. The team already exceeded my expectations by playing as well as it did this season. Let's remember, not only was this MVU's first year in Division I, but it was playing without five of its top six players from last year's D-II title team! To win from this point forward, Matt St. Amour will need to be on his game each night and everyone else will have to play to full potential. There isn't a team in the forecast that Missisquoi can beat if St. Amour is having an off-night or if everyone else is at 80%. Just keep in mind, MVU always has a shot at the start of any game because it always has the best player on the court. It will take inspired play for these guys to move beyond the second round (especially since a round two matchup will likely be against Rice), but it's not impossible.

Boys Basketball -- Division II

(#11)Milton (9-11) -- at (#6)Burr&Burton in first round:

Simply put, Milton underachieved this season. 9-11 is nowhere near what this team is capable of, even if it does play a tougher schedule than many D-II teams. Derryk O'Grady is one of the best pure shooters in the state. Jamie Holbrook, on his way to Southern Connecticut on a football scholarship, is a strong a post player as you'll find. The Yellowjackets' have more than enough suitable role players to be a Division II contender. Caleb Harris is a plenty capable point guard, Nik Couture is a tremendous athlete, the list goes on. 

Has a high school basketball team ever sandbagged 90% of a regular season? I'm thinking we may have the first case. I can see this Milton team beating anyone on a good day, even almighty Vergennes. After losing to MVU two weeks ago, Milton coach Jim O'Grady told me his team was going to shock somebody in the tournament. What he didn't tell me was that Milton wasn't even going to wait until the tournament. In its next game, Milton knocked off a BFA-St. Albans team I would have bet hundreds of dollars in favor of. 

O'Grady (the player) missed a few games with a bad ankle injury and I'm not sure if he's 100%. If he is at full strength, Milton is going to make a run fueled at some point by nine straight from the junior guard. But even if he's not 100%, O'Grady (the coach) was on to something when he said his squad would upset some higher seeds.

Boys Basketball -- Division III

(#1)Enosburg (18-2) -- hosts (#16)Stowe in first round:

I saw that Will Gleason went down with a broken wrist on January 14th. In the coming days I stated to multiple people that Enosburg's season was done. Most of the money I've made covering games since then has gone into gum and mints while I try desperately to get the taste of my foot out of my mouth. Since then, the Hornets' have gone 11-1 and outscored its opponents by 137 points. Enosburg lost once to D-I Missisquoi, it also beat MVU twice. Enosburg lost to Winooski in just its third game without Gleason, it wrapped up the season by beating the Spartans on the road. Nobody has beaten Enosburg on the road this season, good luck facing them in Barre. I'm not saying the Hornets are a lock to win the title, but I don't see anyone without a great big man beating them. These guys know how to blow opponents out (six wins of 20+points) and they know how to win close games (five wins by less than five points). Best of all, this group is fun to watch. They defend --see Wyatt Lockdown Larose on my all-county team-- and they transition into a beautiful fast break. It's going to be an interesting D-III tournament. Like Fairfax, Enosburg hasn't seen teams #2-5 so we can't be totally sure what to expect, but I do expect some entertaining basketball.

***Update 2-27-12*** Enosburg ended up with a bye in the first round with no 16th team eligible for the postseason. It might be a good thing for the Hornets to have more time to prepare for its quarterfinal game. Should (#8)Winooski beat (#9)Peoples, Enosburg will be facing a Spartan team which was the only outside of Division I to beat it all season. The Hornets' games with Winooski this year were decided by just three and seven points.

(#6)BFA-Fairfax (12-8) -- hosts (#11)Windsor in first round

(#13)Richford (4-16) -- at (#4)Randolph in first round

I'm lumping Fairfax and Richford together for the lazy reason of only having seen each a few times and neither in the last month. Also, I don't know of anyone from either school who reads my blog, so this could just be the section that gets in the way while people are scrolling to the bottom.

While I'm not as familiar with these two as the rest, I do know that neither should be taken lightly in the postseason tournament. Richford has improved greatly on years past and has enough good athletes to be competitive night in and night out. Its youth suggests the Rockets' will only be stronger next year and the Richford boys have made it clear that they no longer intend to be the bookend on the bottom of the standings.

Fairfax is always well coached and dangerous. Kris Wehner is always stuck in fifth gear and is often the best player on the floor. BFA loses some ground in the standings because of its tough schedule (which included a visit from D-I Missisquoi this season) but is built to thump D-III opponents. THE BULLETS ARE 10-0 THIS SEASON AGAINST DIVISION III TEAMS FROM PLACES THAT DON'T RHYME WITH SCHMENOSBURG! Sorry to go all caps on you, but that's a huge statistic. 10-2 against its own division is impressive (though it's worth noting that Enosburg is the only D-III team in the top 5 that BFA played). Equally impressive is the fact that Fairfax improved greatly on a 30 point loss to Enosburg early this season and fell by just two when they squared off again in February. Nobody in the Division III tournament is safe against BFA.

Kaufmann's Korner All County Boys Basketball Team:

A reminder from the fall, this is a little different than other all-star teams for a few reasons: First of all, nobody really cares. Secondly, these aren't the 10 best players I've covered this winter, they're the best teams I could send out to represent Franklin County in a state-wide tournament. It's close to an all-star team, but more fun to create. Finally, when I say Franklin County, I'm taking the geographical liberty of including Milton because this is my blog and I can do whatever I want.

First Team:

G- Matt St. Amour (MVU)

G- Wyatt Larose (Enosburg)

F- Will Gleason (Enosburg)

F- Nik Couture (Milton)

F- Ben Thieken (BFA-St. Albans)

Second Team:

G- Brett McCallister (Richford)

G- Branden Gleason (Enosburg)

G/F- Kris Wehner (BFA-Fairfax)

F- Darren Callan (BFA-St. Albans)

F- Jamie Holbrook (Milton)

*Of the four all-county teams I did this winter, I found boys basketball to be the hardest. I ended up leaning toward defense over offense. Good luck to anyone without a 6'5" center who wants to score on these lineups. In making these teams, I left off three of the best 3-point shooters in northern Vermont (Derryk O'Grady, Dylan Callan and Dallas Desroches...the larger than life triple D's!!!). 

Winners In My Blog

MVU's freshman point guard Meghan Leadbeater is already a terrific ball handler and will soon be one of the best point guards in the county. Though her team sits at 0-18, it sets the standard for sportsmanship and attitude.

I really didn't want to go to a basketball game tonight. Really. I spent 8 hours today working alone, removing flooring and hauling old carpet, trash and even a couch down two flights of stairs. I didn't get enough sleep last night and by the time I drove home through the start of a nasty blizzard I really wanted to call it a day.

I was hoping MVU's girls basketball game against Vergennes was going to be cancelled. Nothing against the Lady Thunderbirds, but I just wasn't feeling it tonight. And truthfully, the game should have been cancelled. The roads were as bad as I've seen in a long time -- my dad and I saw 3 cars off the road on the 10 mile stretch of highway from MVU to our house. But the game was played, and I showed up to do the play-by-play for public access TV and write up the newspaper article.

Another reason for my lack of desire to cover the game tonight was the pessimism associated with Missisquoi girls hoops lately. MVU went in 0-17 and though Vergennes is near the bottom of Division II, the odds were still against my alma mater. MVU hasn't had many close games this season and its first meeting with the Commodores was a 15-point loss last month.

The ray of hope was the quiet knowledge that tonight was realistically MVU's last chance to win a game this season. It closes with games against Middlebury and South Burlington and just isn't anywhere near the talent level of those two teams. If these girls were going to avoid the dreaded goose egg, tonight was the final opportunity.

Things got off to a good start with the JV game. MVU pulled out a close win and the final few minutes of that game was when I began to really believe the varsity squad was about to win its first. Rather than sit in the locker room stressing about a potential winless season, MVU stood in the gym and enthusiastically cheered on its JV team. Nobody was a bigger fan in that fourth quarter. The varsity girls seemed genuinely pumped up. When I actually saw the Vergennes varsity girls warming up across from the amped Missisquoi squad, I told my dad that MVU was going to win tonight.

The T-Birds' played fairly well by its standards early, but still showed the lack of basketball IQ which has largely caused its poor record. The Commodore's best player was clearly its 6'0" center, Hannah Curler. Despite not having a player taller than 5'5", Missisquoi tried to shoot over Curler and Chelsea Grant (5'9") unsuccessfully. MVU led 10-9 after the first but couldn't stop fouling late in the second and trailed 18-16 at the half after Vergennes sunk eight straight free throws.

The Thunderbirds couldn't quite get on a run in the second half despite playing well, but I couldn't have had more fun calling the game. I played the role of MVU defender and referee critic with bias that would make Tommy Heinsohn blush (the referees were bad, but nobody's sending the best in the business to do 0-18 vs. 4-13).

These Missisquoi girls played with heart that made every T-Bird supporter proud. They aren't very good at basketball, so what? They don't whine about calls. They don't get frustrated or play dirty. They never, ever stop playing hard. They support eachother. They're kind to opponents. They laugh. They have fun. They're winners in my book.

Nobody would have blamed Missisquoi for acting like, well, 17 year olds tonight. Their last shot at a win slipped away painfully (they lost by 10 points). I wish I could do a better job expressing how much I admire this group. It's not easy to learn to lose with class. I played on many losing teams and never got the hang of it. Not being able to deal with frustration has set my life back numerous times but when these girls are done with high school sports, they're going to still be admirable and successful women.

And the basketball dream isn't over for most of these girls. They have some talented underclassmen who could form a decent Division II squad in 2013. I really see potential in next year's possible starting lineup (C-Laura Flint, F-Megan Rowell, F- Kirstin Ward, G-Chelsea Boudreau, G-Meghan Leadbeater). Flint is as tough an athlete as you'll meet. Rowell is an exceptional all-around athlete who will be dangerous given more basketball experience. Ward is capable of taking over the game for periods at both ends of the floor. Boudreau can really shoot, she'll have a 20-point game next year. Leadbeater, just a freshman, is a terrific ball handler and will be a great point guard once she develops a 15-footer. It's a shame Kelli Patterson didn't return for her sophomore season, but nobody can blame her for wanting to focus on soccer.

It will hurt the T-Birds next year to be without Christina Walsh and Serena Reynolds, two girls whose heart and never-say-die attitude have kept this team away from an ugly meltdown. 

When I post my all-county basketball teams next week, there won't be an MVU girl on the list. Just know that if I were making an all-county character team, other schools would be battling for bench time.

And next February I won't be going to cover an 0-17 T-Bird team, I guarantee it.

MVU Boys Hit Stride

Missisquoi freshman Jack Raleigh celebrates after scoring a second goal less than five minutes into Wednesday's 3-1 win against (#2) U-32. Photo courtesy of Shawn Corrow -- www.coldhollowphoto.com)

I don't know if anything tops a great basketball game for me. No equipment and the close proximity to the athletes makes the players seem so much more human and connects fans better than any other sport. The swing in a basketball game takes time, so you watch one team slowly climb the ladder and the other helplessly fall apart. But there's a different experience, one almost as good, in a great soccer or hockey game. Sometimes the team being beaten down puts together one nice play and just like that, it's a whole new ballgame. In basketball, it takes a few minutes for things to change. But in hockey, a game or even a season can turn in eight seconds.

Things haven't gone terribly smoothly for MVU's boys hockey team this season. It lost senior captain Matt Conger  to a broken femur. It's had games marred by penalties and lost to teams it should have beaten. After the Thunderbirds were shutout by Burr & Burton last week, the #2 team in Division II, U-32, was in a position to tip MVU's season to a terrible place tonight.

The Raiders won tonight's opening face-off and set up in its own zone to try making an early statement against a team I'm sure it expected to trounce. Missisquoi freshman Jack Raleigh didn't feel like waiting for the puck to come to his team; he blasted in and swiped the puck. U-32 never saw it coming. Raleigh moved in unopposed and put the Raiders in a 1-0 hole just eight seconds in.

Those who have seen MVU play a lot this season know that despite entering tonight just 9-7, the T-Birds have the firepower to knock off anyone. Tonight, before the Raider coaches had picked out a spot to stand on the bench, U-32 was realizing the same thing.

Just to prove it was no fluke, Missisquoi made sure anyone who hadn't been paying attention got a second chance to see how dangerous it can be. Four minutes and ten seconds after Raleigh's goal, Caleb Lothian won the puck behind his own net and skated end-to-end, blowing past five Raiders as he's done many times this year. By the time he got in front of the U-32 goal, everyone in the rink assumed he was going to fire a shot. Lothian must have realized this too, because he dished the puck to his right, where Raleigh kicked it to his stick and beat the shocked goaltender for the second time in the first five minutes.

I've heard it said this season that Lothian keeps the puck on his stick too long and doesn't give up the puck when he should. Anyone who thought that should have been paying close attention tonight.

With U-32 gaining some momentum by the third, Lothian again carried the puck end-to-end. He kept the puck on his stick as though it had a velcro attachment and moved down the right side in front of the Raider goal. Again, U-32 assumed Lothian was going to fire a shot and totally ignored Dylan Lafountain skating to the front of the net with enough free room around him to make snow angels. Lothian didn't miss him. Lafountain had no trouble making it a 3-0 game given a few feet of free space.

Yes, Lothian makes a habit of bringing the puck from one goal line to the other himself. He doesn't lose the puck on these runs any more than if MVU tried to pass the puck ahead, and he always draws multiple defensemen. When he finishes these trips with a pass instead of a shot, Missisquoi is nearly unstoppable. I don't know if there are many better all-around hockey players in Vermont than Lothian right now

While Raleigh and Lothian were the stars of the show tonight, it was the best team hockey I've seen the Thunderbirds play this season. Brian Fortin had to make some tough stops in goal against a team averaging 5.5 goals a game and he made almost every one, barely losing the shutout late in the third. It had to frustrate U-32 to see that he was catching or covering up every single thing they threw at him. Ryan Lothian had a beautiful defensive game, often ruining Raider chances long before they could get near Fortin. 

The best thing I saw from MVU tonight was its composure. There have been times this season when contractors have been called to provide estimates for a second story on the T-Bird penalty box. There have been games when Missisquoi focused so much on the refs or other team that it lost the focus on winning. I didn't see a hint of attitude tonight. The few penalties MVU took came in the flow of play and nobody argued about calls or non-calls. As the game went on, U-32 became frustrated and took a few cheap shots; Missisquoi responded by skating away and letting the referees take care of things. When a few Raider players tried to start some post-game shoving, the Thunderbirds just backed away, content with the victory.

Regardless of where MVU ends up in the playoff bracket, I'm confident no opponent wants to face the Thunderbird team I just watched. If Missisquoi stays focused on goals and has the maturity to ignore dirty play, gets into position to fire wide open shots when Lothian draws 3 defensemen after a coast-to-coast trip, has a brick wall and rebound-prevention expert in goal and avoids any more unnecessary suspensions among its best players, my money is on the Thunderbirds to hoist a trophy at Gutterson Fieldhouse in a month.