COMETS, TIDE SET TO REKINDLE RIVALRY
By Ben Kaufmann
The top two teams in Vermont girls hockey, undefeated Spaulding and BFA-St. Albans, will meet tonight for a 7 p.m. contest in St. Albans. For longtime fans of the sport, the previous sentence will stir memories of a stretch 15 years ago when the Comets and Crimson Tide dominated the sport.
BFA (6-0) and Spaulding (7-0) were on top of the hockey world for a time beginning in 2007-2008 when the two met in four straight postseasons. Spaulding’s 1-0 2009 semifinal win over the Comets caused BFA to miss the championship game for the first time ever and was just BFA’s second postseason loss in program history. The Comets got retribution, shutting out the Crimson Tide in the championship game the following two seasons.
Those championship games in 2010 and 2011 remain some of the greatest ever played in Vermont. In both seasons, Spaulding swept BFA in the regular season en route to earning the No. 1 seed. Squaring off each time against the No. 3 Comets for a championship at Norwich’s Kreitzberg Arena, Spaulding did all it could in outshooting BFA 23-8 in 2010 and 21-15 in 2011. BFA’s all-time saves leader, Shanley Howrigan, cemented her status as Vermont’s top goalie with shutouts in both games. BFA won 1-0 in 2010 on an Emily Vallee power-play goal and 2-0 in 2011 on goals from Taylor Girard and Tori Hubbard.
Spaulding remains in search of a first-ever Division I championship. The Crimson Tide’s three straight trips from 2009-2011 were its only appearances and Essex took that 2009 championship on a game-winning goal with 2.4 seconds left in the third period. Spaulding won its second Division II title in 2020 (they also won in 2002) before returning to Division I last year. Spaulding was ranked No. 2 last year and BFA No. 3, but both were eliminated in the quarterfinals before a possible semifinal showdown could take place. As it stands, BFA and Spaulding haven’t met in the postseason since a 5-0 BFA win in the 2014 semifinals and the pair haven’t met in the regular season since 2018.
BFA has the better of Spaulding with a 6-1 playoff record (including a 3-1 record when Spaulding was the better seed) and a 22-9-2 regular season advantage. Still, against a BFA team which has dominated Vermont hockey with 11 program titles in 21 seasons, Spaulding has done better than most. Spaulding’s 10 lifetime wins against BFA is good for second amongst Vermont teams, trailing Essex’s 20 and Hanover’s (NH) 11. South Burlington and Hartford with five wins each are next best in Vermont when it comes to beating BFA and the entire state of New York only has 18 wins in 42 tries.
Spaulding’s form since returning to Division I last season signals that the Tide and Comets could be returning to their spots on top of the hockey world. Both had excellent seasons in 2021 before being derailed in the quarterfinals following a COVID-shortened campaign. This season, each comes into Wednesday in dominant form. Spaulding is 7-0 with a 48-3 scoring advantage and five shutouts. In just six games, BFA has scored double-digit goals three times and has scored 25 goals in its last two games alone. The Comets have scored the same 48 goals as Spaulding (in one fewer game) but have yielded 12 goals. Wednesday’s showdown will be the first game between dominant Spaulding and BFA teams in quite awhile. If we’re lucky, it won’t be the last.
