On Saturday, December 13th, our annual alumni ice hockey game was played but under a new and exciting format.  Not only did we have enough alumni come back for an alumni versus alumni game, but we also had our female ice hockey alumni join us for the first time.  It was a rousing success—25 alumni were in attendance along with 20 guests.

Team Waidlich (expertly coached by TJ Waidlich ’05) squeaked out a last second 7-6 victory over Team Bowden (coached by the injured Bobby Bowden ’10) behind four goals from Alex Paolo ’12. For his efforts, Alex was awarded the game MVP.  Down 3-5 late in the game, Mr. Bowden’s team made a spirited comeback to tie the score at six goals apiece.  Freshman goalie Gabriella Decomitis ’18 played stellar throughout the first half, making a number of spectacular saves to hold Team Bowden to one goal.

Once the muscles were loosened up, the teams shifted into high gear scoring 10 of their 13 total goals after the first period.  Arch Bryant ’68, Bob Van Benschoten ’75, Molly Couch Ward ’82, Ed Sheehan ’91, and John Puc ’91 showed the youngsters they still had it as they wheeled around the ice.  In addition to Ms. Ward, the women were well-represented by Julie Haney Henry ’03, Christa Talbot Syfu ’98, Lilah Brown ’05, Kate Kellar ’09, Erin McCullough ’10, Sydney Belinskas ’14 and Bianca Schultz ’14.

In addition, we welcomed back several sets of past parents, including Kate Kellar’s parents, Erin McCullough’s mother and Julie Haney Henry’s parents.  Julie’s daughter Brooklyn was a star attraction as well, clearly wanting to get out of the warm lobby and into the cold of the rink!  We had just enough players to have two full lines.

Needless to say, some people were a tad tired by the end of the game, but refreshments at Amy’s Place afterwards helped soothe the achy muscles.  After the reception, many people headed back over to the rink to watch the girls varsity skate to a 1-1 tie against Pomfret followed by the boys squad versus The Gunnery.  All alumni received a special Williston Ice Hockey Pub Glass and an ice hockey puck with the school logo.