ADDISON COUNTY INDEPENDENT
B Section
THURSDAY, Â JANUARY Â 8, Â 2015
KARL LINDHOLM
SPORTS
The hockey Mandigos: Fathers  &  daughters She  professes,  “hockey  is  a  big  part  of  my  identity,â€?  so  when  she  was  looking  at  colleges,  the  quality  of  their  women’s  ice  hockey  programs  was  paramount. She  considered  Bowdoin,  Am- herst,  Hamilton  —  and  Middlebury,  all  excellent  programs  with  coaches  she  respected.  Not  the  least  of  her  considerations  was  the  coach.  She  chose  to  play  for  the  most  successful  Division  3  wom- en’s  ice  hockey  coach  in  the  coun- try: Her  dad.  Bill  Mandigo  has  won  more  games  in  his  27  years  at  Middlebury  than  any  other  coach  in  the  history  of  women’s  collegiate  ice  hockey.  He  has  seven  NESCAC  ti- tles  (in  14  years  of  conference  cham- SLRQVKLSV DQG ÂżYH QDWLRQDO FKDPSL- onships  (and  two  runners-Âup).  Three  times  he  has  been  national  coach  of  the  year  and  twice  NESCAC  coach  of  the  year.  There  is  a  good  chance  Bill  will  pass  the  500  career  win  mark  this  season.  Again,  this  year,  the  Panthers  are  nationally  ranked,  at  present  fourth  in  the  country  at  5-Â2-Â1  (3-Â1  in  confer- ence  play).  Last  Saturday,  the  Pan- thers  tied,  2-Â2,  second-Âranked  Elmira  (9-Â1-Â1)  in  Lake  Placid,  avenging  an  earlier  loss,  on  a  late  goal  by  junior  forward  Katie  Mandigo,  her  sixth  point  in  eight  games  this  season.  .DWLH GRZQSOD\V WKH VLJQLÂżFDQFH of  playing  for  her  father.  “I  started  skating  when  I  was  two,  so  I’ve  had  other  coaches  I  liked.  He  gave  me  a  lot  of  space;Íž  we  looked  at  those  other  schools,  but  Middlebury  is  the  best  place  to  play  hockey.  He  didn’t  have  to  ‘recruit’  me  —  I  wanted  to  come. “I  liked  his  style  of  hockey.  He’s  a  big  proponent  of  ‘small  games’  in  practice.  He  emphasizes  skills,  mov- ing  the  puck,  creativity.  He  likes  to  have  smart  players  and  I  have  a  pret- ty  good  sense  of  the  game.â€? We  all  are  familiar  with  the  com- plications  that  can  come  with  parents  coaching  their  own  kids  —  favorit- ism  on  the  one  hand  or  excessive  de- (See  Lindholm,  Page  4B)
TIGER  SENIOR  BRYCE  Burrell  pulls  in  a  rebound  during  Middlebury’s  69-Â51  win  over  Otter  Valley  Tuesday  night. Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell
OTTER  SOPHOMORE  KAI  Norwood  sails  to  the  basket  during  Tuesday’s  game  against  Middlebury.  The  Tigers  won  the  game,  69-Â51. Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell
MUHS  boys  topple  Otters  to  get  back  on  track Balance  key;Íž  OV’s  Winslow  nets  32 By  ANDY  KIRKALDY MIDDLEBURY  —  In  a  hard- fought  boys’  basketball  game  on  Tuesday,  host  Middlebury  won  the  battles  of  the  boards  and  turnovers  and  showed  more  offensive  balance  in  subduing  visiting  Otter  Valley,  69- 51. A  21-Â10  edge  in  the  second  quar- ter  also  proved  to  be  decisive.  In  that  period,  guard  Oakley  Gordon  and Â
forwards  Sam  Holmes  and  Bryce  Burrell  combined  for  19  points  as  the  Tigers  took  a  31-Â18  lead  into  the  locker  room  at  halftime. The  Otters  three  times  cut  the  lead  to  11,  the  last  time  on  a  drive  by  Kai  Norwood  early  in  the  fourth  that  made  it  52-Â41. But  the  Tigers  answered  that  hoop  with  an  11-Â2  run  that  pushed  the  lead  to  a  game-Âhigh  20,  63-Â43,  with  4:05  to  go. Gordon,  who  pumped  in  a  team- high  25  points  as  MUHS  overcame  John  Winslow’s  32-Âpoint  and  13  re-Â
bounds,  said  it  was  a  big  win  for  the  Tigers  (4-Â3)  after  they  had  suffered  a  20-Âpoint  home  loss  to  Rutland  three  days  earlier.  “It  wasn’t  a  must-Âwin,  but  it  was  a  good  thing  to  get  back  on  track  and  kind  of  start  fresh  in  a  way,â€?  Gordon  said. MUHS  Coach  Chris  Altemose  said  his  team  had  not  played  with  poise  vs.  the  Raiders,  a  Division  I  contend- er.  He  called  Tuesday’s  effort  vs.  a  6-Â2  OV  team  a  step  forward.  “Against  Rutland  I  thought  we  SOD\HG WLPLG :H ODFNHG FRQÂżGHQFH
and  lacked  aggressiveness,â€?  Alte- PRVH VDLG Âł:H GHÂżQLWHO\ QHHGHG D bounce-Âback  tonight,  and  the  guys  came  out  ready  to  do  that.â€? OV  coach  Greg  Hughes  saw  his  team’s  six-Âgame  winning  streak  snapped,  but  was  not  unhappy  with  the  Otters’  effort  against  the  D-ÂI  Ti- gers  after  playing  a  schedule  includ- ing  four  D-ÂIII  and  D-ÂIV  foes.  “Our  guys  came  ready  to  play.  They  were  excited  for  this  game.  A  couple  things  didn’t  go  our  way  in  a  couple  different  places,  but  overall  I  think  we  played  pretty  well,â€?  Hughes Â
Sports BRIEFS
ScoreBOARD
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS Boys’ Basketball 1/5  Randolph  vs.  Mt.  Abe  ....................73-Â26 1/6  MUHS  vs.  OV  ................................69-Â50 1/6  VUHS  vs.  Fair  Haven  ....................52-Â42 Girls’ Basketball 1/5  Missisquoi  vs.  MUHS  .....................31-Â26 1/5  Milton  vs.  VUHS  ............................45-Â27 1/5  Mt.  Abe  vs.  Colchester  ...................37-Â32 1/6  Rutland  vs.  OV  ..............................34-Â23 COLLEGE SPORTS Women’s Basketball 1/6  Plattsburgh  vs.  Midd.  .....................79-Â58  Men’s Basketball 1/6  Midd.  vs.  Plattsburgh  .....................63-Â53
Girls’  hockey  tips  Stowe,  hits  6-Â2 STOWE  —  The  Middlebury  Union  High  School  girls’  hockey  team  blanked  host  Stowe  on  Mon- day,  9-Â0,  to  improve  to  6-Â2  heading  into  a  pair  of  road  games  later  in  the  week. The  Tigers  were  set  to  play  Rut- land  on  Wednesday  afternoon,  and  will  visit  Essex  on  Friday  at  7:45  p.m.  in  a  key  Division  I  clash. Against  Stowe,  Emma  Best  (three  goals)  and  Helen  Anderson  (two  goals)  led  the  attack;Íž  Alli  White,  Andi  Boe,  Tulley  Hescock  and  Ju- lia  Carone  added  a  goal  apiece;Íž  and  Monroe  Cromis  chipped  in  three  as- sists.  Goalie  Baily  Ryan  worked  the  nine-Âsave  shutout,  while  Rowan  Cly- ner  stopped  29  shots  for  Stowe  (0-Â6).
Schedule
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS Girls’ Hockey 1/9  MUHS  at  Essex  .......................7:45  p.m. 1/17  Rice  at  MUHS  .............................5  p.m. Boys’ Hockey 1/10  Stowe  at  MUHS  ..........................7  p.m. 1/17  Brattleboro  at  MUHS  ..................7  p.m. Boys’ Basketball 1/9  Fair  Haven  at  MUHS  ....................7  p.m. 1/9  OV  at  Mill  River  .............................7  p.m. 1/10  VUHS  at  Fairfax  .....................3:30  p.m. 1/13  MUHS  at  Fair  Haven  .............7:30  p.m. 1/16  Mt.  Abe  at  OV  ........................7:30  p.m. 1/17  MUHS  at  Burr  &  Burton  .........2:30  p.m. Girls’ Basketball 1/8  Fair  Haven  at  OV  ..........................7  p.m. 1/10  Mt.  Abe  at  CVU  ....................12:30  p.m. 1/10  Colchester  at  MUHS  ............12:30  p.m. 1/10  VUHS  at  Harwood  ...............12:30  p.m. 1/12  MUHS  at  Milton  ..........................7  p.m. 0W 0DQV¿HOG DW 98+6  ...............7  p.m.
(See  Schedule,  Page  2B) CORRECTION:  In  a  story  in  Monday’s  sports  section  recount- ing  the  Hubie  Wagner  Invitational  wrestling  tournament  we  regrettably  LGHQWLÂżHG 0LGGOHEXU\ 8QLRQ +LJK School  junior  and  113-Âpound  cham- pion  Nathan  Gebo  as  Seth  Gebo.  Apologies  to  Nate  and  best  wishes  for  continuing  success  this  season.
said.   Hughes  agreed  the  Tigers’  edge  on  the  boards  (41-Â34,  including  team  and  dead-Âball  rebounds)  and  turn- overs  (OV  committed  17  to  the  Ti- gers’  11)  were  pivotal. “Their  pressure  forced  us  into  a  lot  more  turnovers  than  we  would  like.  2IIHQVLYH UHERXQGV ZHUH GHÂżQLWHO\ a  killer.  They  got  a  lot  of  loose  balls  and  second  shots,â€?  Hughes  said.  “It  would  have  been  a  different  game  if  we  did  some  of  those  small,  little  things.â€? (See  Baskerball,  Page  3B)
Gymnastics  falls  to  CVU;Íž  St.  J  next TIGER  SENIOR  KRISANDRA  Provencher  avoids  a  Missisquoi  defend- er  during  Monday  night’s  game  in  Middlebury.  The  Tigers  lost  the  game,  31-Â26. Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell
Tiger  girls  can’t  quite  seal  deal  vs.  T’Birds By  ANDY  KIRKALDY MIDDLEBURY  —  The  Middle- bury  Union  High  School  basketball  WHDP FDPH XS MXVW VKRUW RI LWV ÂżUVW win  on  Monday,  when  visiting  Mis- sisquoi  held  the  Tigers  to  11  second- half  points  and  hung  on  for  a  31-Â26  victory. The  Tigers,  playing  without  in- jured  leading  scorer  Keagan  Dunbar, Â
a  freshman  guard,  took  a  15-Â11  lead  with  1:01  to  go  in  the  second  quarter,  but  struggled  to  score  the  rest  of  the  way  after  MVU  called  off  its  full- court  press.  The  Tigers  had  turned  the  ball  over  against  the  press,  but  also  had  beaten  it  several  times  to  score  in  transition.  Once  they  were  forced  into  a  half- court  game  they  found  the  going Â
MIDDLEBURY  UNION  HIGH  School  sophomore  Payton  Buxton  puts  up  a  jumper  and  scores  two  of  her  team-Âhigh  10  points  against  Missis- quoi  Monday. Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell
PRUH GLIÂżFXOW As  well  as  turning  the  ball  over  31  times,  the  Tigers  also  ran  into  foul  trouble.  Sophomore  guard  Payton  Buxton,  who  had  a  hot  hand  and Â
scored  eight  of  her  game-Âhigh  10  SRLQWV LQ WKH ÂżUVW KDOI SLFNHG XS KHU second  foul  late  in  the  second  quar- ter  and  then  her  third  and  fourth  fouls  (See  Tigers,  Page  2B)
MIDDLEBURY  —  Visiting  Di- vision  I  power  Champlain  Valley  defeated  the  Middlebury  Union  High  School  gymnastics  team  on  Dec.  23,  122.8-Â106.75. St.  Johnsbury  will  visit  the  Ti- gers  this  Saturday  at  1  p.m.  in  the  Middlebury  Union  Middle  School  gym. On  the  23rd,  Redhawk  gymnast  Emma  Lieberman  won  all  four  disciplines  and  the  all-Âaround,  al- though  Tiger  Ida  Mae  Danforth  made  it  close  in  the  vault,  where  Lieberman  scored  8.35  and  Dan- forth  was  awarded  an  8.3. $OVR UHFRUGLQJ WRS WKUHH ÂżQLVKHV for  the  Tigers  were  Chloe  Kane  and  Emma  Snyder-ÂWhite.  Kane  took  VHFRQG LQ WKH Ă€RRU H[HUFLVH DW and  Snyder-ÂWhite  tied  for  third  in  that  discipline  with  two  Redhawk  gymnasts  with  a  score  of  7.15.