Boys' Varsity Hockey

The Vermont Academy Boys Hockey team continued their strong second half of the season as they topped a very talented Northfield Mount Hermon squad at Choukas Arena on Saturday afternoon. NMH, coming off of a week that saw them beat New England powerhouse Cushing Academy, came ready to play, but it was the Wildcats who found the scoresheet a mere twelve seconds into the contest. After gaining entry into the zone off of the opening faceoff, Sophomore Nate Antesberger was able to connect with classmate Cam Wright, who walked out of the corner and beat NMH goalie Connor O'Brien to give VA an early 1-0 lead. Both teams then traded blows for the remainder of the period, but Vermont was able to hold onto the slim lead heading into the first intermission. Both teams once again kept up a high pace of play in the second, but Vermont was once again able to capitalize as Junior Pat Bartolomucci buried a powerplay tally off of a nice passing play from seniors Connor McNary and Pat Lynch. NMH was able to cut the deficit to one goal with a tally with two minutes left in the period, but VA still hung onto the lead heading into the third period. Down by one, NMH increased their pressure in the third period. Both goalies made outstanding saves (Junior Simon Leiva would finish with 44 saves in the win) to keep their respective teams in the game as the period winded down. NMH's best opportunities came on a 5-on-3 powerplay with five minutes to play, but the Vermont penalty kill was able to hold strong. Northfield continued to pressure with the goalie pulled, but Vermont senior Drew Oxley was able to convert on the empty net to give the Wildcats a 3-1 victory, moving them to an impressive 5-2-1 over their last three weeks of play.

The Wildcats have Sunday off before returning for a three game week. Their contests start on Wednesday as they meet a strong Kent's Hill squad in Exeter, NH (The Rinks at Exeter) for a 1:20 game.

The Vermont Academy Boys Hockey team traveled down to Norwich, CT for an evening game against St. Thomas More on Saturday. The Wildcats were slow out of the gate as neither team was able to crack the scoresheet in the first period. Vermont came out slightly stronger in the second period and was able to take a 2-1 lead on a breakaway tally by Junior Oran Horn and a powerplay goal by Sophomore Nate Antesberger. In a test of adversity, the team was challenged to see how they would respond going into a one-goal hockey game in the third period. Despite hard play by St. Thomas More, the Wildcats unleashed their best effort in the third period, tallying six goals in the final frame. Junior Pat Bartolomucci, Sophomore Cam Wright, and Antesberger all finished the game with two goals and one assist. Sophomore Dom Senerchia, coming off of an injury that forced him to miss the first half of the season, tallied his first goal of the year as well. Backstopping the Wildcats to their victory was Sophomore Marcus Mitchell, who made 19 saves in a winning effort. 

The Wildcats have a long weekend before returning to the ice against a talented Northfield Mount Hermon squad for a 1 pm game at Choukas Arena on Saturday February 2.

Coming off of two straight Lakes Regions victories, the Vermont Academy Boys Hockey Team took the ice at home on Friday night looking to continue the streak and to avenge an early season 6-5 loss to rival Proctor Academy. Both teams came out ready to play, but it was the Wildcats who found the back of the net first. Junior Pat Bartolomucci capitalized on a Proctor turnover at the end of the period for his seventh goal of the year. After the first intermission, Proctor showed grit and determination as they were able to score two quick goals to take a 2-1 lead part way through the frame. Showing the never give up attitude that has marked their play all year, the Wildcats fought back as Junior Nate Antesberger was able to capitalize on a nice pass from Senior captain AJ Latulippe for his eighth goal of the season. With the game up for grabs going into the third, both teams battled hard for the valuable Lakes Region points. Both goalies - Senior Harvard commit Merrick Madsen for Proctor and Junior Simon Leiva for Vermont - played outstanding down the stretch, making game changing saves to keep their teams alive. Proctor was able to find the back of the net first, but less than four minutes later Seniors Drew Oxley and Kurt Rodrigues combined for a pretty goal that Oxley eventually deposited to tie the game at 3-3. Both teams would get their opportunities on powerplays at the end of the third and in overtime before the game ended in a tie.

The Vermont Academy Boys traveled to the Hoosac school on Wednesday night to take on a tough Owls hockey team. Hoosac set the tone early with a strong, physical style of play the led to a 2-0 first period lead. The Wildcats clawed back in the second frame, however, as Junior Oran Horn netted a shorthanded tally while Senior Drew Oxley scored an even strength goal to tie the game at 2-2. The third period was full of action as Hoosac gained an early 3-2 lead before Senior Captain AJ Latulippe tied the game at 3-3 three minutes later. Both teams had game winning opportunities in overtime, but it was Hoosac that capitalized on a faceoff win to gain the victory three minutes into the extra frame.

Vermont returns home for an important Lakes Region matchup against Proctor Academy Friday at 4 pm at Choukas Arena.

The Vermont Academy Boys made the trip down to Portsmouth, RI on Saturday to take on a Porstmouth team that came into the game on a three game winning streak. Despite the long bus ride, the Wildcats came out hard early as Sophomore Nate Antesberger scored his first of the night, a shorthanded tally, off of a nice pass from Junior Assistant Captain Connor McNary. Less than two minutes later, Vermont got their own power play opportunity and capitalized as Junior Pat Bartolomucci took a nifty pass from Senior Drew Oxley and deposited it on the goalie's low glove side. Vermont then finished the period by tallying another as Antesberger scored his second of the night off of a pass by Sophomore Cam Wright from below the goal line. Portsmouth tightened up in the second period and was able to tally a power play goal, but Senior goalie Eric Alexander held strong. In the third period, Senior defenseman Pat Lynch scored an insurance goal on a power play shot from the point. Portsmouth was able to score one more with 7 seconds left in the game to make the final 4-2.

Vermont looks to continue their strong play as they travel to Hoosac on Wednesday January 23 for a 4 pm game.

The Vermont Academy Boys Hockey team returned to the ice on Friday night, defeating league rival New Hampton for their second straight Lakes Region win. The Wildcats set the tone early as Senior Mathieu Loiselle notched his first goal of the year on a powerplay with assists from Connor McNary and Pat Lynch. Five minutes later, New Hampton was able to capitalize on an inauspicious broken stick from a VA defenseman to tie the game at 1-1. Vermont quickly responded as Sophomore Cam Wright scored his first of the night from Nate Antesberger and Brian Allen to retake the lead less than a minute later. Going into the second period, Vermont continued to keep the pace high. Wright added his second on the night as he pulled up short on a two-on-one before depositing it over the goalie's blocker to give the Wildcats a 3-1 lead. With a two goal cushion, New Hampton pressured hard in the third. Vermont's defensive corps, lead by Junior goalie Simon Leiva's 34 saves, proved tough and didn't give up any ground to hold on for a 3-1 victory.

Vermont looks to continue their strong play as they travel down to Rhode Island to take on Portsmouth Abbey at 3:30 pm on Saturday.

The VA Boys returned to the ice on Wednesday night for a back-and-forth battle against Williston Northampton. Vermont continued their string of hot starts as Sophomore Cam Wright scored on the first shift of the game from Senior Captain AJ Latulippe. Williston responded by netting two quick goals to give them the early lead. Not to be outdone going into the first intermission, VA tied the game at 2-2 on a nice goal by Senior Kurt Rodrigues, one of three that he would have on the night. In the second period the referees started to crack down. VA, averaging only three penalties per game heading into the contest, was put on their heels as Williston was awarded a five minute five-on-three powerplay. They capitalized, pushing the score to 6-3 as the two teams headed into the third. Faced with an uphill battle, VA responded in the third, getting two more goals from Rodrigues and outshooting their opponent 15-6 in the final frame. Despite some prime opportunities in the last few minutes, it was too little to late as Williston was able to hold on for the 6-5 win.

Vermont now has a day off before they return to the ice on Friday against Lakes Region rival New Hampton. The game is at 4:00 at Choukas Arena.

The Vermont Academy Boys started the prestigious William J. Barber tournament with a bang, defeating the host-team and defending champion St. Mark's in front of a packed crowd. St. Mark's came out flying the first two periods, peperring Junior goalie Simon Leiva, who was able to hold the Lions to only one goal. Entering the third period down 1-0, Vermont overcame the challenge as Senior Drew Oxley notched his first goal of the year off of a pass from sophomore Cam Wright. The game then went into a fast-paced, back and forth overtime that saw both teams get great scoring chances. With under a minute to play the Wildcats capitalized on a turnover to end the game on a scrum in front of the net. Wright was credited with the game winner from Junior Oran Horn and Senior Kurt Rogrigues. The next morning Vermont faced a tough Potledge team from Long Island. After coming out to an early 2-0 lead on goals from Sophomore John Scoby and Junior Pat Bartolomucci, Portledge crawled back to tie the game at 2. Although the official game result is a tie, VA lost a shootout to determine which team would advance to the championship game. A few hours later, VA faced a very strong Kents Hill team in the consolation matchup. After getting out to another early lead, VA tired down the stretch, ultimately losing 9-1. 

Vermont is back on the ice after break on January 5th as they will face league opponent Holderness.

Coming off of a 3-0 loss to defending league champion Holderness, the Wildcats travelled down to Hartford, CT on Saturday to take on Kingwood Oxford. Despite the back-to-back games, Vermont came out with a strong effort in the first and dominated the pace of play. Kingswood's Senior goalie Anthony Giordano was outstanding, however, as he kept the score 0-0 heading into the first intermission. Vermont came out firing in the second period and fought through numerous stick checks to get pucks to the net. They were ultimately able to capitalize when senior Drew Oxley fed fellow senior Kurt Rodrigues for his second goal of the week. A few minutes later, senior defenseman Pat Lynch found the back of the net with a blast from the point. That would be all of the scoring as Giordano - who finished with an incredible 62 saves in the loss - held strong during the third period. Senior Eric Alexander was also outstanding in net for Vermont as he earned his first shutout of the year in the win.



The Wildcats have the week off before heading down to St. Mark's for the Barber Tournament. Vermont opens up against the host team at 5 pm on Friday night.

 The Vermont Academy Boys Hockey team made another trip down to Marlboro, MA to take on a tough Worcester team on Wednesday night. The Wildcats came out firing, scoring in the first few minutes on a beautiful passing play between Drew Oxley and Kurt Rodrigues that led to a tally by junior Oran Horn. Worcester came back strong, however, scoring three goals over the first two periods to enter the third period with a two goal lead. The Wildcats showed their tenacity as they dominated the pace of play in the third period. Senior Kurt Rodrigues showed his touch and speed by converting a pretty backhand move on a breakaway. A few shifts later, senior Pat Lynch scored, thanks to help from a Jordan Roberts screen, on a nice shot from the point. Worcester took advantage of a late turnover to score the game winner with just under two minutes remaining.
            The Wildcats return to the ice on Friday for a big weekend: Friday vs. Holderness at 3:30 and Saturday at Kingswood Oxford for a 3:00 game.

BV Hockey: Vermont Academy 5, Proctor Academy 6

The Vermont Academy Boys' Hockey team opened up their 2012-2013 season with an away game at Proctor Academy on Wednesday night. Proctor came out flying and quickly gained a 2-0 lead in the first few minutes of the opening frame. The Wildcats thus faced their first test of adversity this year, and they quickly responded. Sophomore Nate Antesberger scored two goals, both assisted by senior Drew Oxley, in the span of four minutes to tie the game heading into the second period. The remainder of the game was hard fought, high paced, back and forth hockey. Proctor continually went up by one goal, only to have the Wildcats come back to tie it. Senior captain AJ Latulippe, Sophomore Cam Wright, and Junior Pat Bartolomucci all contributed with their first goals of the season. Junior goalie Simon Leiva was outstanding in net, making 46 saves, many of which were game-changers. In the end, however, a strong Proctor team prevailed as the Wildcats narrowly missed tying the game with the goalie pulled in the last minute.

Vermont Academy now has a week off before heading down to Marlboro, MA to take on Worcester Academy next Wednesday, December 5.