18 Rutland Herald Winter Sports Guide 2019-2020
Hockey Preview continued from page 16
Rutland High School vs. Brattleboro boys hockey.
A new, yet familiar, addition to the
forward group is senior Caitie Pelkey,
who was away from the team for a few
seasons. Pelkey played for the Raiders
during her freshman year.
“The injury bug hit (Caitie) for a cou-
ple of years, so she stayed away,” Steupert
said. “She’s healthy this year and excited
to be back. She’s working on getting her
skating underneath her and she’ll make
a big difference.”
Rutland figures to be strong in goal
with a stable of goaltenders with experi-
ence. Senior Emily Hathaway and soph-
omore Kristen Pariseau lead the group
and freshman Lindsey Taylor figures to
compete for playing time.
“(Emily) has been here for three years
and Kristen has done well,” Steupert
said. “Lindsey has worked hard and is
a quality goaltender too. As long as they
stay healthy, we stand a chance.”
Defensively, the Raiders lost Mag-
gie Schillinger and Ella Beraldi to
graduation.
Beraldi missed part of last season with
an injury, causing Rutland to go with a
three-girl defensive rotation.
This gave younger defenders like Ella
Lowkes and Abigail Stoodley plenty of
ice time to develop.
Lowkes and Stoodley will lead the
defensive group this winter and could
ALBERT J. MARRO PHOTO
be joined by Lidstone, Wideawake and
Kennedy.
Katherine Pate returns as Steupert’s
assistant coach, while AnneMarie
Provencal will serve as a volunteer assis-
tant coach.
Rutland started its season on the
road against Hartford on Wednesday.
The Raiders have their home opener on
December 18 against Brattleboro.
BOYS
First-year head coach Mike Anderson
is clear on how his Rutland boys hockey
team will win — hard work.
The Raiders aren’t going to over-
whelm opponents solely with their
skill or size. They’ll have to outwork
whoever is lining up across the blue
line with them to come away on the
winning side.
“We’re not going to win on skill
alone,” Anderson said. “We have to be
the hardest working team every night if
we want to be successful.”
Rutland has a mix of experienced
players and youth that will suit up this
winter.
“About half the team is guys that
haven’t played high school hockey
before and about half the team is guys
that have been around,” Anderson said.
“There’s a little bit of a learning curve,
Rutland High School boys hockey practice.
but the older guys have done a great
job of taking the younger guys under
their wing.”
Seniors Ethan Coarse and Eric
Brewer, juniors Ryan Melen and Dillon
Moore and sophomore Micaiah Boyle
will be counted on to create some scor-
ing punch for the Raiders.
“They all played quite a bit last year
and I expect them to do a lot this year,”
Anderson said.
Sophomore Oliver Hamilton, who is
new to high school hockey, has been an
early standout and should be a critical
piece in the offensive attack.
Rutland returns a defense with plenty
of experience. Seniors Eren Cetin and
Mattingly Colvin and juniors Owen
Simpson and Brad Maniery will play a
crucial role on that end.
Freshman Michael Schillinger has
impressed and will find time in the
defensive rotation as well. Schillinger
could also see time at forward.
Schillinger is one of seven freshman
on the Rutland roster this winter.
The Raiders have a pair of goalten-
ders with varsity experience in juniors
Augie Louras and McGuire Baker.
They’re joined in the goalie rotation
by sophomore Camron Biathrow.
All three were solid in the net in Rut-
land’s scrimmage against Woodstock
JON OLENDER PHOTO
last Wednesday and Anderson likes the
competitiveness of the position group.
“They’re pushing each other and cre-
ating good competition, making each
other better,” Anderson said.
Anderson, who has was an assistant
on the Raiders’ staff for a handful of
years under former coach Chris Adams,
is joined on the coaching staff by Tim
McAuliffe, Tyler White and Glen Man-
del. Mandel graduated from Rutland
in 2018 and has been working with the
trio of goalies.
“Tim McAuliffe has great hockey
knowledge and is a good guy to have
around,” Anderson said. “Tyler White
has been the athletic trainer in the past,
but he’s getting a little more involved in
coaching. Glen has helped the goalies,
which is a huge hand for us. We have
a real good staff, so I’m hoping for a
good year.”
Rutland opened regular season play
with a pair of rivalry games, playing
Brattleboro on Wednesday at home
and Burr and Burton and the Raiders
are ready for the challenge ahead of
them.
“We had a good first couple weeks,”
Anderson said. “We’ve gotten on the
ice and guys are moving. Things are
coming along.”
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