White River Junction
The Hurricanes, top-seeded in the six-team division, scored all seven goals of the first half against an overmatched foe with only three substitutes, one of whom’s cough sounded frighteningly tubercular. It really wasn’t a fair fight, but Hartford can only play those opponents with which it’s grouped. As was the case before the 2015-16 school year, Vermont boys lacrosse will have only two divisions next spring, with the Hurricanes in the lower classification.
“The purpose of Division III was to give programs like Hartford something to shoot for at the end of the season,” said Hurricanes coach Bill Elberty, whose squad has won five consecutive games, one by forfeit over Otter Valley on May 22. Five teams qualified for the division’s postseason, the Otters beating Mt. Abraham in the lone quarterfinal.
“We weren’t given an opportunity to play in a higher division, but we will next season.”
Hartford’s blossoming youth programs mean the Hurricanes will return to Division II a much better high school team. Saturday, they received five goals from Chris Dorain, two each from Andrew Daley and Reece Thompson and single tallies from Ben Rouillard, Adam Parker and Andrew Knight. Rouillard had three assists, Parker had two and Matt Lucke, Daley and Thompson each had one.
Hartford continues to play without starting midfielder Kyle Prior, who damaged nearly every component in his right knee while making a cut without the ball April 29 at Stratton Mountain. Taken to a nearby hospital, the junior later underwent a three-hour surgery at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and said he’s slated for another in roughly two months.
“He completely disconnected his knee, and it popped back into place after he tore everything,” Elberty said, shaking his head at the recollection. “What a freak injury, but he hasn’t had a down moment. He’s lifting weights in his wheelchair, and he’s going to rehab like a professional athlete.”
Prior, who also plays soccer and whom Elberty said is ranked in the top 200 Crossfit athletes in the world for his age group, said a return to sports could come 6 to 9 months after that second procedure.
“I’m playing lacrosse next season,” Prior said with finality before Saturday’s game. “The worst part is being patient. It’s not so bad now that I’m working at getting better, but just having to sit around and heal at first was really hard.”
Otter Valley finished the season 4-11, and Stratton Mountain is 9-4. Elberty said he’s hopeful Hartford can host Tuesday’s title game, but he wasn’t sure immediately after the semifinal match. He noted that the Bears have finished their school year and that their lacrosse team will remain on campus to practice for its remaining contest.
“They’re not as talented as last year,” said Elberty, whose squad lost to Stratton Mountain, 10-0, in the 2016 championship but beat the Bears, 7-6, this season. “They still have some wonderful athletes, but we match up with them there. We have a lot of guys who play football and soccer and hockey, and all of those (Hartford) teams have done well recently. So we’ve got a lot of big-game experience.”
Notes: Hartford played in new jerseys, some featuring nontraditional lacrosse numbers such as 0, 77, 88 and 99. … Hartford goaltender Chris Dorain wears a hockey netminder’s mask because the school was unable to find a lacrosse lid that properly fit him. Dorain said he played last year with a lacrosse helmet in which he’d cut out much of the padding so it would cover his noggin. … The Otters had no backup goaltender, so when Alec Stevens received a slashing penalty, there was a delay so he could shed his protective gear for a teammate to use. … Elberty said the Dorains will attend Maine’s Berwick Academy next school year and hope to play lacrosse there.
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com or 603-727-3227.