LAX Has Tough Week

May 17, 2010~The lax teams had a rugged week, as the early-season postponements, long road trips and some really tough opponents made for a busy slate. The guys fared well on Monday, as their long ride to Stratton paid off in a 6-4 win. Hans Halvorsen ’12 tallied another hat trick, while junior Sandy Vietze had a pair of his own. Drew Duffy ’13 grabbed a goal as well, as the visitors jumped out to a 4-1 lead and never looked back. Dan Bell ’11 turned away 12 shots, but is unfortunately out for the rest of the regular season with a thumb injury.

 The shorthanded squad headed north to Hyde Park to take on the always-tough Lancers of Lamoille Union. With Jon Gonin ’11 doing an admirable job standing in for Bell in the net, the team held things close until the waning minutes, dropping a 15-4 decision. This time the hat trick went to Mitch Grimmer ’12, while Tomek Dobrzanski ’11 got on the board as well. Gonin kept his poise in goal, stopping 18 shots.

 Saturday brought another long drive, this time for the ‘return’ game with Sharon Academy. Despite the travel and the long week, the boys put together an impressive 10-5 victory. Jon Gonin earned his first career win in net, turning back 13 shots. The scoring punch was provided by four players who each netted a pair of goals: Tomek Dobrzanski, Mitch Grimmer, Sandy Vietze and Hans Halvorsen. Cooper McNealus ’10 opened the scoring with the first quarter’s only tally, while Sam Worley ’13 collected the final goal of the first half, in which the visitors took a 6-1 lead. Kudos to the defensive front of Nick Post ’13, Danny Duffy ’12, and Tristan Palola ’13 who, with fellow ‘long stick’ Gonin pressed into duty between the pipes, had to play the entire game.

 The girls opened the week by heading into, quite literally, a Hornets’ nest: an away game at Division 1 powerhouse Essex HS. The hosts were not all that accommodating, and sent GMVS packing with a 21-5 defeat. The girls were unbowed and kept fighting throughout, and despite the score, they came away with a lot of positive results. Both Katherine Scalia ’10 and Haleigh Carbone ’12 scored twice, with newcomer Katie Fitzpatrick ’11 getting in the scoring column as well. Splitting 21 saves in net were Hannah Kadah ’11 and Ainsley Carbone ’10.

In Saturday’s home game with Montpelier, the team hoped to get back on the winning track, but a fast start by the visitors proved tough to overcome. Despite drawing even at 6-6 late in the game, GMVS ended up on the short end of an 8-6 score. Kelly Glander ’13 had a breakthrough game on offense, scoring a hat trick. Also getting in on the act were Haleigh Carbone with 2 goals and Emma LeBlanc with a single tally. Ainsley Carbone was on fire in goal, keeping things close with 28 saves.