Posted by Audrey Nelson
Skidmore first-year Vlad Gavrik will represent his home country of Ukraine in the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) U20 World Championship in Belarus from Dec. 13-19.
Ukraine is competing in the IIHF U20 Division I – Group A with Belarus, Japan, Great Britain, Italy and Latvia.
"It's an honor to represent and play for your country," Gavrik said. "I can't wait to start playing."
"It's great to have that international presence both on campus and in the locker room," Skidmore ice hockey coach Neil Sinclair said. "I think it meshes really well with the educational theme here at Skidmore."
Gavrik has played in all seven games for the Thoroughbreds this season. He ended his semester play with two game-winning goals.
On Dec. 3, senior Alex Mykolenko scored the winning goal at 2:31 in overtime to give the Skidmore College hockey team a 7-6 win over Bowdoin College.
The Thoroughbreds advanced 3-3 overall and 2-1 in ECAC East play, while the Polar Bears lost for the first time this season, dropping to 3-1 overall and 2-1 in NESCAC league play.
Skidmore led 3-0 after the first period with goals from sophomore Zach Menard, junior Nick Dupuis and senior Joe Melnyk. In the second period, Bowdoin scored its first point at 5:11 with a goal by sophomore Daniel Weiniger.
First-year Thoroughbred Dave Dupuis scored his first goal of the season at 15:20 to set the score at 4-1. The Polar Bears answered back with a goal from Harry Matheson ‘14 at 16:20 to cut the lead to 4-2.
The Thoroughbreds scored two more times in the final 1:41 with goals by junior Tyler Doremus and Menard to make it 6-2.
Bowdoin picked up speed in the third period, scoring four unanswered goals by first-year Kyle Lockwood, senior Kyle Shearer-Hardy, Matheson and senior Jeff Fanning, to tie the game at 6-6.
At the 2:31 mark, Mykolenko sent the puck to the net for the winning goal, putting Skidmore up 7-6.
The next day on Dec. 4, Skidmore played Colby College where the final score rested at a 3-3 tie. The Thoroughbreds are 3-3-1 overall and 2-1-1 in league play. The Mules are 3-3-1 and 1-2-1 NESCAC.
Colby held a 2-0 lead in the first period. Junior Nick Dupuis scored at 13:56 of the second period to put Skidmore on the board at 2-1.
Sophmore Brendan Cottam tied up the score with assist from first-year Brad Schuler and Dupuis at 1:20. Colby took the lead at 4:17 but the Thoroughbreds tied it again on sophomore Julian Malakorn's goal from Phil Buonocore '14 at 15:48.
Skidmore outshot Colby 4-1 in the overtime, but couldn't get past Colby's goalie for the winning goal.
The Thoroughbreds lost 4-1 to Plattsburgh State in a non-league match-up on Dec. 7 at the Saratoga Springs City Rink.
The loss breaks a three-game winning streak for the Thoroughbreds who are now 3-4-1. The 7-4 Cardinals have won five straight.
After two goals in the first period first-year Vlad Gavrick scored Skidmore's only goal of the game and his fourth of the season, at the 13:56 mark.
But the Thoroughbreds couldn't keep up the momentum and the Cardinals picked up two more goals.Skidmore goalie Colin Bessey ‘12 had 33 saves.
Skidmore's defenseman Nick Dupuis was named Eastern College Athletic Conference East Player of the Week.
In the team's game against #4 Bowdoin, Dupuis scored a goal and had two assists. He also scored a goal and made an assist in the 3-3 tied game against Colby.
He leads the Thoroughbreds in scoring with five goals and five assists for 10 points, and he ranks first among ECAC East defensemen in scoring.
Skidmore will finish the semester at 7 p.m. on Dec. 10 at Castleton State.
Women's Basketball
The women's basketball team lost 60-55 to Trinity College on Dec. 3 in the Williams College Invitational.
Trinity held a consistent lead despite junior Megan Gaugler's 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Senior Ismatu Alison-Konteh added 10 points, eight rebounds and three steals, while first-year teammate Michela Ottati hit six out of six free throws to finish with 8 points.
The women played host team Williams College on Dec. 4, but lost 68-50. The Thoroughbreds drop to 2-4, while the Ephs remain undefeated at 7-0.
Williams ended the first half with a 38-23 lead and maintained the lead throughout the second half.
Skidmore made a come back in its game against Potsdam with a 75-43 win. The Thoroughbreds improved to 3-4, while the Bears fell to 1-7.
Skidmore never trailed and led as much as 17 points in the first half, where the score settled at 34-21 at the half.
The second half continued the lead for Skidmore. Gaugler had 12 points, six rebounds and four assists, while teammate junior Christine Gargiso scored 10 points off the bench. Ottati scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.
The win closes out the semester for the Thoroughbreds. They will return to action on Jan. 4 against Nichols College.