Sports

By Don Lyons - December 30, 2004

A memorable memorial

The sixth annual Ryan Mone Memorial alumni hockey game Sunday was a delight to watch and it had to have been a pleasure to play.

Why? Let me count the ways.

1) It was a hockey game without rancor or temper tantrums. In fact, there was only one penalty called.

2) It was a well-played game between well-matched teams. At the end of "regulation time" the score was tied, 6-6.

3) The tie was broken by a shootout. Usually I disapprove of the practice of deciding a winner of a game by changing the game, but in this case it seemed appropriate - an after-dinner B&B.

4) It was well-attended by fans who rooted against no one but cheered for everyone on the ice.

5) It was fun to watch alums nine or ten years out of school try (and for the most part succeed!) to keep up with recent grads. The senior citizen of the group was Kevin Hatt of the class of '86.

6) It was for a good cause. Usually I use my press card to attend sporting events but Sunday I was pleased to pay my way.

7) Bob and Gayle Mone were gracious as host and hostess.

8) After the alumni game there was an alumnae contest. Only 15 ladies showed up but the standard of play was as able as it was good-natured.

9) Like the alumni game, the alumnae game ended in a tie, 4-4.

10) The occasional antics of alumnae game referee Andre Bonnell added just the right seasonal note of joie de vivre.

The Mone Memorial

In the first 15-minute period all of the scoring was done by purple clad players. Steve McCormack, '98, posted the first goal with 5:08 left in the period. Four minutes later, Steve scored again. Before the buzzer sounded '98 classmate Joe Merry made it 3-0, purple.

The rest of the game was played in 40 minutes of running time.

Dan Bettencourt '01 put the whites on the board assisted by Willie Levesque, '98. Willie also assisted on the next goal by Jon Mone '94, and it was 3-2. Zach Townes, '03, had help from Rob Searle of, '92, and the score was tied at three.

Kevin Hatt, '87, the oldest player on the ice, took a penalty shot after being tripped on his way to the net. Kevin decoyed goalie Chuck Sylvia, '95, and lifted the puck over his shoulder, reclaiming the lead for purple

But not for long! Zach Townes knotted the score again for the whites.

Next to find the back of the net was purple player Andrew Phillips, '00, Joe Merry, and Brandon Willett, '04, were credited with assists.

Less than three minutes later Jon Mone evened the count at five for the whites.

Shane Deary, '93, gave the whites their first lead of the game, 6-5.

With four minutes left to play, Brandon Willett scored the purple's sixth tally and it was tied again.

Jack McGroarty '00, with help from Steve Coito, '98, and Zach Townes, gave white the edge again. But, with 1:12 left on the clock. Derek Avakian, '03, tied the game for the last time, 7-7.

In the shootout tie-breaker, purple shooters Derek Avakian, Ben Gunn, '03, Andrew Phillips, and Joe Merry were stopped by white goalie Chuck Sylvia.

Purple goalie Dan VanLandingham, '03, blocked Jon Mone and Tim Bettencourt, '02, but Rob Searle '92, and Dan Townes, '95, found a way around him to claim for white.

Gene Townes coached the whites. Greg Coogan was coach for the purple.

Other players unmentioned above were Alex Baynes, '00, Jonas Cavallo '98, Packy Coogan '04, Erik VanLandingham '00, Dan Merry, '03, and Geoff Phillips, '01, for the purples. Other white skaters were Micah Deary, '98, Willie Coogan, '82, Alex Finkelstein, '93, Aaron Robinson, '99, Jeremie Rogers, '02, and Brion McGroarty '98.

The alumnae take the ice

In the alumnae game eight white clads faced off against seven dressed in jerseys of various colors - yellow, black, and several shades of red.

The first period saw the whites take a 2-0 lead on goals by Katie Coogan and Chrissy McCarthy.

Katie Coogan made it 3-0 early in the second frame before Jen Gauley put the rainbow coalition on the board, assisted by Ali Clark.

Liane Dixon made it 4-1, unassisted, with 4:04 to go. Then Jen Gauley, with help from Liza Reynolds, scored her second of the period. The score was 4-2 after two.

In the final shortened 10-minute period Tasha Snowden and Elizabeth Clark found the back of the net for the rainbows, tying the game at four.

Sherman's troops win their first

The MVRHS girls varsity hockey team won its first game of the season, topping Nauset at the Arena, 6-4. "We were pretty evenly matched," Coach Sam Sherman told The Times, and the game proved his point.

Isabelle Lew opened the scoring at 2:24, assisted by Kerry O'Donoghue. Two minutes later Nauset tied the score. With less than a half minute remaining in the period, Alaina Aristide put the purple up, 2-1, unassisted.

The score was tied again by Nauset six and a half minutes into the second period., but Alaina untied it on a power play at 9:44. There was no quit in Nauset and the game was tied again at 14:08. Jenny Murphy answered 20 seconds later with help from Adrian Aristide.

Nauset scored off the face-off in the third period, knotting the score at four. Melanie Dickson's unassisted goal at 1:42 gave MV the lead for the fifth and final time and Jenny Murphy, assisted by Adrian Aristide, put icing on the cake at 7:36.

Jen Ward was goalie for two periods making 16 saves. Dawn MacMullin stopped seven of eight shots in goal in the final frame.

The girls (1-3) are host to Hingham today at 1 pm.

Auld Lang Syne

It is customary for journalists to be retrospective at the end of the year. Indeed, the news editor of The Times has instructed me to come up with some kind of a review of 2004, so here is this sports editor's choice of notable achievements in sports this year.

1) Edison Parsaneze's record-breaking cross-country year is our first choice. On September 14 he lowered his own 5K home course record by five seconds to 17:21 while leading the Islanders to a 15-50 sweep of Old Rochester. On October 26 at Borderland State Park in Easton, Edison set a new 14:42 record for the 2.8-mile course and led his teammates to the Vineyard boys fourth Mayflower League championship in as many years.

2) Liane Dixon of Vineyard Haven, in her fourth year at Northeastern University in Boston, was pictured in the October 4 issue of Sports Illustrated for scoring four goals in two games, leading the Husky field hockey team to a six-game win streak, and for being named the American East Player-of-the-week twice in succession. Liane finished the season with a team-leading 8 goals and 20 points. After graduation, Liane wants to have a career doing stunts on film - falling off horses, leaping from high buildings, and walking through flaming pyres.

3) Three MVRHS coaches reached milestone wins in '04. Tennis Coach Ned Fennessy's 150th career win came in his 14th year against Bourne. The boys and girls cross country wins versus Norfolk Aggie made it 150 for Coach Joe Shroeder. Baseball Coach Doug Hoehn notched his 100th win at Chatham on April 24.

4) At the conclusion of a disappointing football year, the story-book finish of the Nantucket game on the Whalers' turf applied a shine to the season that has lasted to the New Year. Long after the losses to Westwood, Somerset, Nauset, Bourne, Blue Hills, and Cape Tech have been forgotten, Islanders will still be talking about "The Kick."

5) Hans Buder, the quarterback of the '03 MVRHS super bowl champion football team, was honored at the 29th annual scholar-athlete dinner by the National Football Foundation on May 10. He received his award from Bob Holmes, high school sports editor of the Boston Globe. Hans was Valedictorian of the class of '04 and is continuing his education at Duke.

6) Martha's Vineyard Regional High School was one of eight Bay State schools to receive the Massachusetts interscholastic Athletic Association Sportsmanship Award for 2004. The school was also named to the MIAA Sportsmanship Honor Roll for the third consecutive year. In a letter to The Times, MVRHS Athletic Director Glen Field lauded the students, coaches, booster clubs, parents, and the business community for their support. Probably the person most deserving of credit for the honor was Glen Field.

7) The Lakers, perennial RCBL winners, stumbled to yet another league title by beating the Heat in the third and final game of the playoffs, March 25, 114-107. It may have been their last Hurrah. Some of the long-time Lakers are missing from this year's line-up. Others are noticeably slower and clearly not the threats they used to be. At present, the Lakers are third in a four-team league. But give them their due: they did add the '03-'04 season to their impressive collection championship years.

8) For the second year in a row the MVRHS boys varsity soccer team was undefeated at home and its top scorer, Lucas Brewer, set new seasonal and career school scoring records. His 28 goals in '04 and his 62 career goals broke records previously held by Brad Rothwell. The 13-5 season was Coach Bob Hammond's 18th.

9) Meredith Smith of the MVRHS class of '01 won the javelin throw at the summer Bay State Games with a heave of 121'10". The javelin was Meredith's specialty in high school and come spring, she says, she will definitely resume training for javelin competition. She will also compete in the pole vault.

10) A number of remarkable accomplishments on the links merit mention. Rusty Hitchings claimed the Mink Meadows championship for the sixth straight year, July 18. A week later, Gary BenDavid defeated two former club champs back-to-back, to claim the Farm Neck crown. Tony Grillo retained his Farm Neck junior club title; then, as a freshman, he was top seed on the MVRHS golf team and in late September won the PGA Titleist Tournament at Farm Neck and Mink Meadows. Pete Lally set a new course record at the Edgartown Golf Club, August 11, carding a 64 on the par 73 course. Pete's playing partners included Tom Grillo, whose course record of 65 he broke.

11) The Little League final games at Nunes Field, June 19, provided more than their share of drama. The majors game between Mets and Dodgers went to extra innings before the Mets pushed across a winning run, 4-3. The youngest Met, Andrew Williamson, had the kind of game dreams are made of. He singled, walked, was hit by a pitch and singled again driving in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh.

The minor league Rockies squeezed by the undefeated Reds, 6-5. The Reds almost pulled it out. They scored three runs in the bottom of the final inning and left two in scoring position.

12) In a most successful April Fools Day journalistic spoof, few readers apparently found reason to question the Chamber of Commerce plans for a Moped Rally and Race on Thanksgiving Day weekend. However, dozens voiced their objection to the Steamship Authority's reported decision to charge fees for transporting dogs on its gleaming white ships.

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