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Spartans News

VB Hockey capture Rider Cup in Albany

By Matt Thompson
For the third year in a row, the Spartans are travelling back up Interstate 91 with hardware in hand.

The last two years, the Spartans captured the William W. Barber Tournament hosted by St. Mark’s and Middlesex School, both located in Massachusetts. This year, a little change of scenery brought the team to Albany, New York, to play in the Rider Cup at Albany Academy.

The 8-team bracketed tournament saw the Spartans play against three solid opponents, two of which are well known.

In the quarter-final game we defeated Wyoming Seminary by a score of 4-1, which set up the third meeting in three weeks against Highway 143 rivals, Bishop’s College School Bears. The Bears jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but over time the Spartans composed themselves and turned the events in their favour with a 4-2 victory.

The final game was a face off against Ridley College. Likely the hardest working team we have played this year, Ridley came out with the same game plan that resulted in them beating us last weekend in St. Catharines. We were down 1-0 early but once again did not fold. Halfway through the game we scored to make it 1-1, and by the final whistle we had a 4-1 win, and the Rider Cup to skate off the ice with.

Winning is difficult. Any weekend where you have to play three games and win them all is difficult. For the third straight year we have secured a New England holiday tournament win, a feat probably unmatched by any other team.

As I write this, shortly after our bus viewing of the movie Elf, it is obvious that the Christmas season is upon us. On Monday, we will have our Skate With The Spartans event from 6 to 6:50 pm at the Pat Burns Arena. It would be great to see as many members of the Stanstead community join the Spartan hockey players for a skate and some treats.

The varsity boys will finish off the 2018 portion of their schedule this coming Friday and Saturday against Seacoast Prep, and for the first time in history, Thayer Academy, coached by former NHLer Tony Amonte, will come north of the border to take on the Spartans. Game times are:

Friday 5:00 pm
Stanstead vs Seacoast

Friday 7:00 pm
Thayer vs Bishop’s College

Saturday 2:30 pm
Stanstead vs Thayer

Let’s fill up the Pat Burns Arena this weekend.
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