By Adam Aucoin
THE RUTLAND HERALD
Southern Vermont has been graced with some elite hockey teams in recent memory.
Both Hartford teams were in the state championship game last winter and the Woodstock girls won it all.
Brattleboro just won a boys championship two years ago and teams at Burr and Burton Academy and Rutland aren’t too far removed from that kind of contention.
While the sport doesn’t have the foothold as much in the southern part of the state as it does in the northern half, there is lots of pride in maintaining a winning standard.
Let’s take a look at some games to watch for schools in the southern half of Vermont, going from Addison County in Middlebury all the way down to Windham County in Brattleboro.
Bratt boys at BBA, 12/10
Both of these teams have history of making noise come playoff time. The Colonels won the Division II title in the shortened 2021 season and the Bulldogs have been to the state semifinals two of the last three seasons.
Two rivals that have athletes well-acquainted with each other, the intensity should be high for this game that is the season opener for both sides.
BBA and Brattleboro had very similar up and down 2021-2022 seasons, but are well-coached so they’ll surely be looking to take a step back to their recent contention this winter.
RHS boys at Stowe, 12/14
Their record didn’t show it, but Rutland was a competitive boys hockey team last year. RHS just struggled with closing down a win as the season progressed.
One day where Rutland didn’t struggle to finish the job was in its second game of the season against Stowe, where it earned a 7-6 overtime win on the back of five goals from Patrick Cooley.
They’ll meet once again in an early-season contest with this matchup.
Rutland got off to a fast start last season, but couldn’t sustain it. RHS would love to change the narrative this winter.
BBA girls at RHS, 12/21
Rutland outscored rival Burr and Burton Academy 14-3 across their two contests last winter, but RHS lost a bunch of talent from last year’s senior class, along with some girls moving to prep school.
A new group of girls will be looking fill those massive goal-scoring shoes for Rutland.
Historically, last year’s blowouts are a bit of an outlier in this rivalry. Games between these two schools have often been competitive and I’d expect something closer to that this winter.
Hartford girls at Woodstock, 12/28
It doesn’t matter if it’s on grass or ice, these Upper Valley rivals always seem to find each other in big games.
Woodstock claimed last year’s Division II girls hockey title by beating Hartford and repeated that during the fall knocking off the Hurricanes the field hockey finals.
This will be the first of two games between the clubs that are looking to maintain the standard of winning they set last year.
Brookline boys at Midd, 12/28
Middlebury hosts the Buster Brush holiday tournament in late December and kicks it off playing Brookline High School, from Massachusetts.
The tournament honors Fletcher “Buster” Brush who was a former coach at the high school and a key cog in the development of the VT-NH All-Star Hockey Classic.
This will be a nice change of pace game for the Tigers, playing an out-of-state opponent in a tournament setting.
Rutland at Woodstock, 1/14
Woodstock earned a one-goal win against Rutland last winter in a season where the Wasps won 11 games. Woodstock boasts one of the better hockey cultures in Division II, with winning records in seven of its last nine seasons.
Rutland at Spaulding, 1/21
These non-league opponents have developed a bit of a rivalry in recent seasons, playing a handful of close games.
Spaulding has been one of the best teams in the state for years now and it will be interesting to see if Rutland can keep up with them given its losses from last year’s squad.
This is the first of two matchups between RHS and the Tide this winter.
Bratt girls at Midd, 2/4
Brattleboro had a down season last year, going 4-16, but the Colonels always seemed to bring their A-game against Middlebury.
The teams met twice in the regular season, splitting those contests in one-goal games.
This will be the only time the two squads meet in the regular season.
Hartford boys at Milton, 2/11
Hartford couldn’t gotten any closer to a perfect season than it did last year. The Hurricanes entered the Division II finals with a 20-0 mark, but came up just short, losing 4-3 in overtime against Milton.
The Hurricanes have a chance at revenge when they meet the Yellowjackets in this late season contest.
adam.aucoin @rutlandherald.com
Follow on Twitter: @AAucoin_RH
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