Sports
By Don Lyons - December 22, 2005
Tad Gold sends the puck netward in the Bridgewater-Raynham game. Photos by Ralph Stewart
High school hockey teams suit up
Boys hockey
MV goalie Alex Minnehan blocked 29 of 30 shots on goal at Franklin, Wednesday. But the Island skaters managed only 17 shots on Franklin goalie Justin Ayvazian and he stopped all of them. Final: Franklin 1, MV 0.
Saturday the Bridgewater-Raynham Trojans came to town and outshot the Islanders 31-13, outscoring them 3-1. Scott Maciel scored the MV goal late in the middle period, assisted by Alex Avakian. Busy net tender Minnehan stopped 28 shots on goal.
Monday, the Islanders lost to Needham, there, 5-0.
The J.V. team is 0-2 with losses to Coyle & Cassidy, 1-5, and to Needham, 0-5.
Jen Ward sweeps away a potential Lady Knight goal.
Chris Edwards has the only MV JV goal. He had help from Kenny MacDonald and Tristan Lodge. Goalie Chris Hathaway made 31 saves, some spectacular, for the Vineyard.
Girls hockey
Christina Wiley scored both of the MVRHS girls varsity hockey goals at Falmouth, Thursday, in the girls season opener loss to the Clippers, 7-2. Alaina Aristide assisted Wiley's first goal
Jen Ward tended goal and made a peck of saves.
Saturday, at home, Sandwich proved indigestible, shutting out the Islanders 5-0. Goalie Ward was credited with 27 saves.
Sherman's troops were host to Barnstable yesterday.
Bill Belcher
Popular, successful coach takes a break
Sixty-two-year-old Bill Belcher, the popular special education driving teacher and for 14 years assistant coach of football at MVRHS, has decided to take a step back from coaching football and spend more time fishing the derby, he told The Times.
Bill also coached girls softball from 1994 to 2003.
During the summer he might be found behind the plate calling balls and strikes for the summer slo-pitch softball league at Veterans Park, Tisbury.
Bill was born and raised in Greenwich, Conn. After high school he went to work driving for North American Van Lines.
He married twice and fathered four children, now all grown: Tina, Bill Jr., Greg, and Kristy.
Among his fondest memories, he said, was coaching the '91 - '92 super bowl defensive lines which included his youngest son, Greg.
"This year's team was fun, too," he said. "They were together. They looked out for each other - a family,"
Working with teenagers "keeps me young," he said with an audible smile.
"We'll miss him," remarked head football coach Donald Herman. "Each kid he coached is a better player and a better person because of Bill."
True, Bill has stepped away from the coaching box, but we expect to see him somewhere close to the action for years to come.
