Busy weekend on tap

I'm planning to do a double-dip this evening starting in Swanton where the MVU girls basketball team hosts North Country. Then I'm sliding down I-89 (hopefully not literally) to catch the Essex girls at BFA-St. Albans.

These photos will appear on my other site coldhollowphoto.com later this weekend.

Tomorrow, I'm back in Swanton to shoot the first quarter of the Enosburg-MVU boys basketball game and then over to the Collins-Perley rink to cover the final game of the BFA-St. Albans girls hockey tournament.

These photos, some of which will be in Monday's Messenger, might not be uploaded until early next week. Check the winter sports list on my website to find out when they are uploaded.

Speaking of the Collins-Perley rink, the recent renovations there are impressive to be sure.

Still, I can't help but wonder why they couldn't have included a little more money for a better sound system. Granted, I'm listening to the PA system from the wrong side of the rink - near the benches. Maybe the sound is better on the spectator's side.

But from where I sit, the player introductions and goal and penalty announcements sound like they are being done by Charlie Brown's teacher. 'Mwwwhrrhaa, mwwwhrrhaa, rraahhra, rraahhra."

And the national anthem sounds like it's being played by F-16s ... poorly.

But those are minor annoyances, to be sure.

Overall, the place has never looked better.

Now we just need to give the gussied-up old girl a new name.

Might I suggest Henry 'Doc' Tulip rink at the Collins-Perley Sports and Fitness Center.

What better nickname could a rink have than 'The Doc'?

Just my two cents.

A little this and that, high school sports style

Just got back from the Enosburg-MVU girls basketball game in the 'Burg tonight (won by the Hornets, 50-40) and thought it was time to share some thoughts on the young season.

Starting with the game I saw tonight, it was mighty strange to see an Enosburg girls basketball game without Maria Gleason and Lindsey Larivee on the court. I had the pleasure of being an assistant coach their freshmen and sophomore years and covered a bunch of their games in their last two seasons.

I'm pleased to say both are off to good starts at their respective schools - Gleason at Johnson State and Larivee at Plattsburgh State. There has been no better two-some from the same class in the 'Burg and I doubt there ever will be.

I was pleased to see new Enosburg coach Gary Geddes pick up his first win - asuper nice guy and seems to really know his stuff.

I was also impressed with the MVU girls. They aren't going to wow teams with their finesse, but they sure do play hard and gave the Hornets a battle from start to finish.

Milton girls for real

Did you know the Milton girls basketball has nine seniors on it. Nine! They also have no juniors. None! I know it's early, but my guess is the Yellowjackets win it all. They have a ton of size, quickness and talent and coach Mike Lefebvre is good coach and an even better person.

I saw the 'Jackets open up against Harwood and it was 16-0 less than four minutes into the game. Ouch! Lefebvre then called off his press.

Everyone knows Brittaney Rice is a player, but the one I was most impressed with in that game was Kaitlin Geary. If she continues to light it up inside and out for Milton, then a trip to Barre is a given.

MVU boys hockey appears primed for great season

Of course, three games does not a season make, but I've gotten a couple of close-up looks at the MVU bosy hockey team this season and they seem like Division II contenders.

They have plenty of size, speed and skill and I love the approach coach Jason Brace brings to the table. Brace is brash, fun-loving and passionate about the sport and his team and his boys are reflecting that in their play on the ice.

They'll face a tough test Wednesday night at BFA, but regardless of that outcome they should ride the momentum of a stellar soccer campaign into a deep run in the D-II playoffs.

Speaking of campaigns, Brace will leave on a National Guard deployment next month in a stark reminder that for all the blessings we have in this wonderful country there is a price to be paid. Thank God for people like Brace and our other brave troops.

MVU boys hoops on the rise

Another great developing story out of MVU-land is the boys basketball team, which posted one it is most impressive wins in many a moon on Monday when it defeated Division I power Mount Mansfield in overtime.

I'll be shooting the start of the T-Birds' game with Enosburg on Saturday and I'm excited to see them in action. Same too, for the boys from the 'Burg. I'm sure new coach Steve Jette will have his Hornets ready to run with the high-flying T-Birds.

Same old BFA

I watched the first period of the BFA-St. Albans' girls hockey win over the Burlington Seahorses on Saturday and not surprisingly the Comets look very good. I had the pleasure of covering the first few seasons of BFA girls hockey and back then they had lots of depth, tons of talent and had incredibly dedicated and skilled coaching. Nearly 10 years later, nothing has changed.

Change is good

The BFA boys basketball team opened its season a week ago with a win over Colchester and I must say I didn't recognize the Bobwhites. Sure, ageless Kenny Fairchild still roams the sidelines, but who were those whirling dervishes running amok? Fairchild assured me these indeed were his Bobwhites, but given his team's make-up - lots of speed, little height - they are going to be running-and-gunning in the sweatbox otherwise known as the Academy gym this winter. He joked after the game that it's driving him nuts not being able to call plays and that sometimes the pace is too quick for his 'old' eyes to follow. Nice try Kenny. Any coach willing and able to adapt after all of these years is still at the top of his game.

One more thing ... watching Nick Swim run the point is worth the price of admission.

Geddes, Jette take over at EFHS

Enosburg athletic director Chris Brigham confirmed today that Gary Geddes will supplant Jay Nichols as Enosburg varsity girls basketball coach and Steve Jette will take the reigns of the varsity boys basketball team from Robert Gervais.

Geddes has been a long-time coach in the successful Enosburg youth basketball program and is a former JV boys coach.

Nichols stepped down after leading the Hornets to one state title and a Final Four berth in two seasons. He's going to be a superintendent next school year and therefore unable to coach.

Jette, who was a star athlete at EFHS in the late 90s (I think - I know I covered his games back then, but the precise dates elude me). At any rate, he was one of Nichols' assistants the last two seasons and also helps coach other sports in the school. He takes over for Gervais, who ended his second stint as boys coach to concentrate on his new duties rebuilding the Johnson State College softball team, where his daughter Julie is a pitcher.

Both Jette and Geddes have large shoes to fill, but my personal experience with their successors leave me optimistic the future of the Hornet basketball program is in good hands.

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SHAWN CORROW, when he's not perhaps a little too pleased with himself for breaking his first bit of 'news' on his blog, is a freelance photojournalist based in Franklin, Vermont and the owner of Cold Hollow Photography.