And now we turn to this week’s top story.

The cup has been awarded. That’s right, this year’s Hyde Cup and all the bragging rights pertaining thereto went to Team Graves, also known as the yellow-jersey team or simply, team No. 5 —stayin’ alive.

It was quickly decided after the first day of the tournament that Team Graves would be tough to beat. Though the team faced pressure on account of that expectation, it sailed through the tournament without faltering.

First-year Captain Joanna Graves led the skill- and speed-stacked team to victory after a dismal 1-3-1 record last year. The Yankee-like roster, which was the focus of many post-game chats, included a collection of Stowe’s finest players. Other teams found it hard to dodge the pressure from skaters such as Alec Genung, Andy Edwards, Billy Annacone, Chris Tagatac, John Tewhill, Mike Priestley and Peter Merrill, to name a few.

The round-robin tournament began last Tuesday, with seven teams from Stowe and beyond competing.

Each team, captained by a woman (an unwritten Hyde Cup rule is that each team have a female captain because, as Commissioner Dave Ingraham said, they can handle it better than the men. Less testosterone apparently makes for more diplomatic relations in town hockey tournaments), played five games.

Commissioner Ingraham said this year, as in years past, the goalies were the key to a successful tournament.

The Hyde Cup’s unique goalie-switching format, where the goalies are more like free agents that change sides at halftime, allow the keepers a competition of their own. This year, Melanie Fountain, Jay Caroli, Pete Graves, Ian Howe, Melissa Godin and Norm Graves all had outstanding games, with Fountain and Caroli tying for the goalie competition championship.

The Hyde Cup rookies this year brought added enthusiasm and skill to the annual event, Commissioner Ingraham said. Howard Reisdiam, Bill Boyce, Bill Reichelt, Graham Rogers, Chris Tagatac and Harper Gay were among the newcomers who contributed to their teams’ efforts. Chip Knight gets the title for this year’s flash-rookie, as he showed moments of greatness, but then disappeared after the first game to compete in the Nor-Am Final Ski Championships.

Over the course of the tournament, each team began to develop individual identities, which led to many interesting and memorable moments.

Team Wylde thrilled the crowd with its mathematics skills. Prunty’s team featured Vermont’s own version of the “Slap Shot” Hansen brothers. Teams Von Trapp and Bell engaged in a spirited contest, which had insurance agents cold-calling the Von Trapp bench, seeking players who wanted to increase their coverage for injuries due to flying debris.

Nifer Reichelt’s team was quickly dubbed the ski bum team, and its roster was so young that players faced the task of competing homework and being in bed by 10 p.m.

There also were many outstanding individual efforts, including Mary Wylde’s last-minute game-tying goal against Bell’s squad. Junkyard Dog Joe Allen continued his annual cleaning of the opponent’s crease. Tim Meehan, Ken Varall and Don Post also scored important bonus-point goals during the week.

Saturday afternoon at the championship match (which wasn’t really the championship match, as Team Graves’ score was already so high that it had annexed the Hyde Cup), Graves’ team entered Jackson Arena with a perfect 4-0 record. Captain Tasha Wallis attempted to stop the winners by pleading with the commissioner to allow her to use additional superstar players, and so calm the fears of her regular lineup. It being the Hyde Cup, the request was graciously granted and Team Wallis skated to a 10-6 lead in front of fans cheering to bring down Team Graves.

John Flint and the other former champions bid a tearful farewell to the trophy, as it will take up residence with Captain Graves for the next year.

The hearty crowd of players gathered at the Sunset Grille for post-tournament fun and cheer, and as the night went on, trade talks became increasingly intense in anticipation of next years’ Hyde Cup faceoff.

Dave Ingraham, the commissioner, contributed to this report.

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