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- Category: Past Issues
Pomfret School
Varsity Hockey
Pomfret 3 Millbrook 2 (OT)
Jan. 15: It has been said that great teams find a way to win, and team did that over Millbrook. An eerie quiet settled over Jahn Rink in the scoreless first period, even though the Griffins outshot Millbrook 14 – 10. Connor Quinn ’11 put Pomfret up 1 – 0 2:39 into the second frame when he banged home a rebound on the powerplay, but Millbrook responded with two goals of their own — the first on a powerplay, the second even-strength to take a 2 – 1 lead. Coach Wolanin and Coach Keough reminded the team during the second intermission of the importance of winning league games, and captain Danny Palumbo ’11 responded to the challenge by scoring 5:12 into the third period to tie the game at 2. Pomfret was unable to capitalize on a powerplay during overtime, but Quinn athletically deflected a shot by Brian Hickey ’11 with 50.6 seconds remaining to earn the victory. Nick Ellis ‘13 was strong in the pipes, turning away 25 of the 27 shots he faced. Several other players continue their “team-first” play, including Teddy Driscoll ’11, who saved a shot on net by blocking it with his hand.Team record: 8–6–1.
Basketball
Pomfret 45 Deerfield 50
Jan. 7: The boys played a hard and spirited game today versus a solid Deerfield team and came up short again. This one was especially disheartening as we worked hard and though we trailed at the half, we fought to a 10-point second half lead. That fight was led by the spirited play of Brandon Mayfield and Jack Nicholson. After the game Brandon said, “Watching Jack play tough defense, made me want to play tough defense.” It was clear that Jack’s play was contagious as other players worked tirelessly while he was on the court, and Pomfret went from down six, to up ten in an eight minute stretch. The crowd was like a sixth man during that stretch and the team greatly appreciated the cheering all game long.
The MVP for Pomfret was Jack Nicholson who earned the award with heart, hustle, and team play. Kahari Beaufort led in scoring and rebounding with 21 and 6 respectively, while Brandon Mayfield grabbed 4 of 16 steals, and Andrew Robinson dished out a team-high three assists.
Pomfret 41 Westminster 63
Jan. 8: Pomfret lost a tough game vs. Westminster 63 - 41. The 41 points was a season low and the lowest in a couple of years. Westminster executed very well. Westy was paced by Matt Wilson who finished with 31 points and over 20 rebounds, and 8 others chipped in in the scoring column. Pomfret was led in scoring by Kahari Beaufort with 14 points and six others scored at least one point. The Griffs finished with only 5 assists as a team and 18 turnovers versus a team that was playing primarily a zone. Danny Metzgar had a season-high five steals, Brandon Mayfield led in rebounding with 6 and Danny Gagnon had 4.
Pomfret 63 Berkshire 73
Jan. 9: Pomfret played a much better game versus an athletic and talented Berkshire team. For the second time all year Pomfret made a huge effort at playing unselfish team basketball. Until the final 5 minutes the Griffins played disciplined basketball, but played hard throughout the game. After getting down by 12 at the half 35 - 23, Pomfret went on a 28 - 17 run that cut the lead to 1. Unfortunately a few bad bounces, some poor decisions, and Berkshire’s pure athleticism allowed them to pull away in the end.
Kahari Beaufort and Brandon Mayfield were the team’s Co-MVPs as they played hard and led in rebounding. Beaufort scored a team-high 18 points on good shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds with 7 coming on the offensive end. Mayfield only scored 7 points, but grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds, played fearless defense, and never stopped working. Also in double-figures scoring today were Dan Gagnon, Nic Lane, and Andrew Robinson - each with 11 points.
Pomfret 80 Nobles 48
Jan. 14: Jeffrey Iyalekhue hits a buzzer beater for his first basket of the season as Pomfret wins big at home, 80 - 48.
This was an impressive victory not because of the score differential, but because Pomfret played like a team from beginning to end. During practice that week, team play and ball movement were emphasized. Pomfret finished with a season-high 25 assists - all but two members of the team recorded at least one assist with Nic Lane leading the way with 8 and Kahari Beaufort adding 6. Whenever a team has good passing, it has good shooting and Pomfret shot a ridiculous 25 - 30 from two-point range, and 8 - 14 from beyond the arc for a game shooting percentage of 75 percent. Pomfret had five different players score in double digits, and all but 2 players on the roster scored at least one basket. Kahari Beaufort got MVP.
Hyde
Basketball 3rds
Hyde 51 PSA 55
Jan. 13: The team traveled to our neighbors in Putnam to put our 2-0 record to the test. To our surprise, we found out we would be playing PSA’s JV team, since they do not have a 3rds team. It was a shootout from start to finish, and we came up a bit short, but it was not for a lack of effort.
Some poor officiating late in the game and Apache “The Dragon” He ‘12, who is our big energy and speed guy, fouling out with 4 minutes left ,caused us to relinquish the lead late and fall to 2-1 on the season.
The game began with PSA hitting 4 consecutive 3 pointers and Hyde trailing early 12-3. We had to switch out of our 2-3 zone defense into a man-to-man defense to stop their perimeter shooting. Hyde fought back and kept the game close throughout.
Hyde's new captain, Trevor Braxton “Down Low Barto” ‘12 played 31 out of 32 minutes, accumulating 14 points and 11 rebounds including 4-7 from the free throw line (which is twice as many free throws our TEAM made in total in Hyde's first game).
Brian “B.O.D.” O’Dea ‘13 found his shot in the 2nd half burying a couple 3’s and finishing with 13 points.
Hyde's newest teammate, Kevin “Ding Dong” Ding ‘13 ran the point scoring 8 points and also had a handful of assists. Zach “ Grandpa” Sude ‘11, was a key guy off the bench scoring a couple big points from the free throw line and playing tough D.
Hyde was up 50-42 with about 3 and half minutes left, but after losing The Dragon, the game got away from us and PSA fought tooth and nail and pulled out a hard fought victory. It was a disappointing to lose but it was fun to be a part of. We found some things we need to work on in practice, and the kids saw what it takes to come from behind and steal a victory, and we had to tip our hats to PSA on their perseverance and resiliency late in the game, and their “never say die” attitude.