In womens' college hoops the University of Vermont Catamounts removed a thorn that's been in the team's side for quite some time, topping the Maine Black Bears 55-52 at Patrick Gym to break a seven-game stretch of futility against their America East rivals.
Senior Kylie Butler led the way for UVM, matching a season high with 12 points and Candice Wright added 11 to along with eight rebounds. Both teams were playing their America East opener and the Catamounts ended a five-game losing skid in winning their inter-conference game. The Cats hope to keep the winning going and improve on their 4-9 overall record when they visit Hartford on Saturday.
The women of St. Michael's were winners as well, with five different players scoring in double figures to beat Southern Connecticut State 71-53 at the Ross Sports Center. Samantha Delaney had a team-high 16 points for the Purple Knights, who have now won four of their last five games and have pushed their record over .500 to 7-6 on the season.
A back and forth contest between Castelton and Williams went the way of the Ephs in Massachusetts last night. The Spartans came back from a double digit deficit and led ion the fourth quarter before Williams went on a run to win 55-47. Makayla Farrara led the Spartans and all scorers on the night with 24 points but a 10-2 Williams run in the waning minutes put the game out of reach for the Spartans, who fall to 6-5 with the loss while Williams improves to 10-2.
On the mens' side, despite another great night from Matt Bonds, St. Michael's fell to Southern Connecticut State 86-79 last night. Bonds recorded a double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds, and Levi Holmes had a strong game with 19 points, but nobody could stop Southern Connecticut's Michael Mallory, who poured in a game-high 40 points to lead the Owls to the win.
And one half of UVM's dynamic soccer duo is taking his talents to the pros. Brian Wright signed a deal yesterday to enter the super draft for Major League Soccer, and come January 13th will find out which team selects him to play pro soccer after his standout career with the Catamounts.
As for the pros on the ice, the Montreal Canadiens went to overtime for a second straight night, and it was deja vu all over again as the same hero emerged to score the winner in the extra frame.
Max Pacioretty netted the game winning goal against the Dallas Stars last night in Montreal's 4-3 win, just one night after scoring the overtime winner against the Nashville Predators. This one came just 19 seconds into OT as the Montreal captain broke through for a breakaway after collecting a pass from defenseman Jeff Petry and beat Kari Lehtonen for his 8th career overtime goal, which is a Montreal franchise record. The Habs are making a habit of staying late for games. Their last five have gone to overtime and they are 3-0-2 in that stretch.
Nathan Beaulieu had a goal and two assists, Alexander Radunov also tallied and Shea Weber had two helpers for the Canadiens, who did have two players, Paul Byron and Brendan Gallagher, leave the ice with injuries not to return, so after back to back road games the Habs could use the rest between their next game. Al Montoya got the win in net, and he was busy, making 39 saves on the night.
The NY Rangers picked up a win last night, beating the Flyers in Philadelphia 5-2. Kevin Hayes and Michael Grabner accounted for the bulk of the scoring, each scoring twice, and Henrik Lundqvist made 30 saves to grab the win.
