Here we go
Toolbox
Anna Grearson - Published: November 30, 2009
A few scrimmages are on tap for the beginning of the week, but by midweek it will be all business as the high school winter season kicks off Wednesday.
Among the area scrimmages today and tomorrow, the U-32 girls basketball team will host Stowe tonight while the U-32 boys play at Spaulding Tuesday – all in preparation for when teams play for keeps starting on Wednesday.
Chelsea plays at Cabot in boys basketball on Wednesday night while Harwood goes to Middlebury. On the girls' side, home games can be found at Twinfield, Hazen, Stowe, Randolph, Danville, Cabot and Montpelier.
The hockey rinks will also be busy places Wednesday night. The Central Vermont Memorial Civic Center will host boys hockey with the Karen Weiss Tournament, starting Wednesday and concluding on Saturday. Stowe will take on Harwood at 8 p.m. and the host U-32 Raiders are slated to play the opener (against a team yet-to-be-announced) at 6 p.m. The combined Northfield-Montpelier-Randolph squad (technically a Marauder team) will be at Missisquoi that same night.
The Spaulding boys and girls ice hockey teams start the season Wednesday night at home with the girls hosting Missisquoi at 6 p.m. and the boys welcoming Burlington at 8 p.m. The Stowe, Harwood, Northfield, U-32 and Montpelier girls all start the 2009-2010 season on the road.
Harwood wrestling – which graduated standout Josh Kernan, who now wrestles for Norwich – hosts Enosburg and Vergennes Wednesday night.
Boys basketball really gets going on Thursday with home games at Northfield and Danville. Meanwhile, Peoples Academy, Oxbow, St. Johnsbury, U-32 and Spaulding will all play on the road.
Hazen, with highly touted star and last season's Times Argus Player of the Year Billy Boyd returning for his senior season, travels to Lamoille on Friday night. That same night West Rutland plays at Cabot.
The Spaulding girls basketball team begins the defense of its Division I title on Friday night with a trip to Division III Randolph. The Crimson Tide graduated star Marissa Velez – now at Assumption – but return the likes of Linsey Barclay, Kristy Thygesen, Casey Koch, Devyn LaFrance and Olivia Badeau, to name a few.
Stowe, Peoples Academy, Harwood and Montpelier will also host girls basketball games Friday night while Oxbow, St. Johnsbury, Danville and U-32 are on the road.
One could spend a pretty good afternoon traveling around central Vermont watching boys high school basketball on Saturday. Starting with a 1 p.m. game, South Royalton will travel to play Northfield. Moving on to a 5:30 p.m. game, Richford visits Twinfield. After that, Vergennes visits Montpelier at 6:30 p.m. The Commodores and Solons have had good battles in recent seasons, both on the basketball court and the baseball diamond.
Williamstown returns guard Kristin Brown, who also enjoyed a good soccer season for the Blue Devils. Twinfield, Cabot, Thetford and Williamstown are also home Saturday night.
In addition to the Karen Weiss Tournament wrapping up Saturday night, the Northfield boys hockey team hosts Middlebury. The Stowe, Harwood and U-32 girls are all home while Montpelier and Spaulding are away.
The North/South Duals will be held at Spaulding all day on Saturday, giving a lot of the state's teams their first real look at competition. The Harwood wrestlers will compete at Bellows Falls that same morning for their second match of the season.
While the attention shifts a little to the high school athletes in this their opening week of competition, there is still plenty of action in the area's collegiate ranks.
The 2-1 Norwich men's basketball team hosts Rivier on Wednesday for its home opener at 7:30 p.m., following the women's game against in-state foe Lyndon State. The Cadet women, who also host Maine-Machias on Friday night, are 3-1 after beating another in-state rival, Middlebury, 65-62 this past Wednesday.
The University of Vermont women's basketball team – off to a fantastic start, to say the absolute least – will travel to the country's top-ranked program, Connecticut, on Thursday. Vermont has beaten North Carolina State and Boston College so far this season.
The Norwich men's ice hockey team, coming off a big weekend at home with the PrimeLink Great Northern ShootOut, hosts Amherst Friday night and Hamilton Saturday night. The women, off to a 7-0 start, will host Holy Cross Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. and Manhattanville Sunday afternoon to wrap up a six-game home stand.
Both UVM hockey teams are on the road Friday, but the men return home to host New Hampshire on Sunday afternoon. The Hockey Cats also host Yale tonight. In addition, the Vermont men's basketball team plays at NJIT on Saturday while the women welcome Manhattan that same day.
A busy week, but it's all just the beginning – our collective feet are on the gas until March.
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