Sunday, July 21, 2013

The Ms. Conducts Take VT by Storm

A team of Ms. Conducts traveled north on July 19th-21st to Burlington, VT for the Hockey Fights MS tournament.  To put it bluntly: they rocked the house!  Or at least the locker room ("Blurred Lines," Carol???!!! Anyone??)!  The ladies went 2-1, winning 3-0 (with goals from Keri Capobianco, Katie Castagno, and Sandy O'Sullivan (from the blue line!!!!) on Friday night.  They began Saturday on a high note with a 7-0 victory (a second shutout for our stud goaltender, Michelle Donnelly) with goals from Amelie Gagnon, Capobianco, Julie Dalton, Kristi Morris, Michelle Bramante, Mary Lalley, and Dusty Beeley.  A lunch and tattoo later, the girls met their match with the ladies in bright orange.  A faster game ensued and although they had some great chances (and dare we say some sketchy ref'ing) the Ms. Conducts lost 2-1 (sweet goal by Gagnon).  All was not lost as a beautiful night out on Lake Champlain and the Vermont Brew Fest kept the girls' spirits high.  The girls thought they were in second place and playing for the championship on Sunday, however a tie-breaker didn't go in the Ms. Conducts' favor and they instead played for third place on Sunday in Waterbury.  At the end of regulation and despite goals by Dalton and Capobianco - and crazy goaltending by Donnelly - the game was tied 2-2.  With a long drive ahead and a long weekend behind, the girls opted out of the 5-minute 4v4 overtime and proudly kept their third place finish. 

Everyone contributed in true team fashion: the defense held the blue line and scored goals, the forwards chased down pucks, battled in front of the net, passed and scored (assists are as important as goals!!), the team's goalie is truly awesome (with perfect skin, too), the coach was enthusiastic, kept the girls' chins up, and stacked the pucks perfectly before each game (and Castagno did a great job of not sharing pucks with the stupid other teams that didn't bring their own!!!), and lastly, the mini-coaches (Maverick and Julia Gagnon) are irreplaceable on the bench and in the team's hearts.  They were true members of the Ms. Conducts, too. :)

Rockin' out in the locker room to Blurred Lines.

Sunset over Lake Champlain before the VT Brew Fest.

The Ms. Conducts clean up nicely! L to R: Amelie Gagnon, Kristi Morris, Julie Dalton,
Michelle Bramante, Katie Castagno, Dusty Beeley, and Trisch "Alabama" Grimes.


Sipping VT's finest at the Brew Fest.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Ms. Conducts are Dirty Girls!

Kate Wagner, Julie Dalton, Shereen Tyrell, Keri Capobianco, Mary Lalley, Lori Gress, Michelle Bramante, Dusty Beeley, Sandy O'Sullivan, Steph Vaccaro, and Dee Secor are all smiles post-race!
Eleven Ms. Conducts earned their Dirty Girl status after completing a women's-only 5k obstacle course held at the Amesbury Sports Park in mid-July. The girls walked, jogged, climbed, crawled, and slid through woods and mud...and laughed while doing it.  These events are held across the U.S. and the funds raised go to educating women about breast and ovarian health, and supporting cancer survivors.  What a delightfully dirty day!
Julie and Lori: persevering even with mud on their faces!

Michelle, Julie, Dusty, Kate, and Lori are squeaky clean pre-race!