BA Hockey Brings Home Championship:

While they ultimately won the tournament, the team did not make it easy on themselves.  The tournament started out with a loss to Rice AAA, a talented Junior program from Vermont, who Bridgton faced multiple times in the regular season. Rice made the path even harder for BA as they beat the Wolverines 3-2. Ryan Kulik (Pembroke, MA) and Brad McGovern (Haverhill, MA) netted the pair of goals for BA in game one.  In Brad Cray's (Raleigh, NC) first start of the tournament he played very well in net stopping 22 of the 25 shots he saw.

Starting off with a loss put Bridgton into a unique position. They would need St. Foye, as the underdog, to beat Rice in the morning.Much to Bridgton's surprise, St. Foye was able to overtake Rice in a big upset win.That put Bridgton in an even more unique situation as they would need to beat St. Foye and score more than four goals, while not giving up more than two, in order to advance to the championship game. The Wolverines emerged with a 6-2 win to put them in a place to play for the Championship. The offensive attack was lead by Kulik who tallied three goals and one assist. In his second game in net, Cray played a solid game stopping 31 of 33 shots he faced.

In the Championship game Bridgton faced off against The Cape Cod Cubs.While the Cubs were the winner of the IJHL Championship Bridgton came out on top with a 3-2 win.  Kulik tallied his fifth goal of the tournament to lead off Bridgton's scoring.  Ryan Dooley (Topsfield, MA) and Dan Concannon (Everett, MA) also netted goals in the final game of the season.  Cray played his final game in net for the Wolverines as solid as ever stopping 22 of 24 shots and securing the NAHA national championship.

 Congratulations Wolverines!! 

Bridgton Hockey Wins NAHA National Tournament - 

Troy Guidone Awarded The Klingenstein Summer Institute Fellowship- Bridgton Academy is proud to announce that faculty member Troy Guidone has been selected to participate in the prestigious Klingenstein Summer Institute Fellowship set to take place this summer.

Guidone is in his second year at Bridgton Academy, where he serves as the dorm parent for Mass Hall, is a member of the English teaching faculty, and is an assistant baseball coach.

"I am really excited and grateful for this opportunity. I am hoping to absorb as much as I can, and to explore the best ways to channel my energy as a young teacher," Guidone said after the announcement.

The Klingenstein Summer Institute Fellowship is a program out of the Klingenstein Center for Independent School Leadership out of Teachers College at Columbia University. The Klingenstein Center is the preeminent independent school learning and leadership organization in the country. Troy was selected as one of seventy-five Fellows from an extremely competitive international applicant pool. Below is a description of the program from the Summer Institute's web page:

"Dedicated to affirming beginning teachers and encouraging their continued growth, the Klingenstein Summer Institute gathers 75 teachers from around the world for an exploration of teaching styles, educational philosophies, educational issues and personal development. Meeting for two weeks in late June, the Institute challenges these participants to embrace the complexities of the classroom and to explore the art of teaching and the delicate balance of subject mastery, judgment, intuition and creativity.

This intensive program offered in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, is especially designed to make teachers more effective leaders in the classroom and throughout the school. Participants come together in a variety of workshops, seminars, and collaborative exercises, and are guided by prominent education experts, talented Teachers College professors, and master teachers."

Dean of Faculty, Fletcher Carr said of the announcement, "I am thrilled with Troy's selection. Not only does it speak to Troy's wonderful development as a teacher, but it speaks to the Teachers College's recognition of the academic work we are doing here. Troy is the second young Bridgton Academy faculty member in as many years to earn a spot in this transformative program, and I am looking forward to him sharing what he has learned with the rest of the teaching faculty."  

Congratulations Mr. Guidone!! 

First Annual "Ice Out" Competition- For years, different organizations around Bridgton have had a competition to see who can guess the exact time and date that the last major ice flow will officially melt out of Long Lake.  This year, Bridgton Academy is opening up the competition to all of you! 

Once the ice is out, the contestant with the closest Ice Out guess will receive a free Bridgton Academy hoodie!  To submit your vote, please send an email with your name, date of ice out, and exact time to alumni@bridgtonacademy.org by April 7th. 

(Example entry: John Doe, April 1st, 7:20 P.M.) 

The 2011 version of Bridgton Academy's Black Knights Rugby Club ventured to Portland, Maine for its first match of the spring Saturday afternoon with two vans full of enthusiastic 'ruggers'.  After a quick full contact tackling and rucking session with 5 University of New England substitutes and BA Alumnus Matt Berry '04, Drew Kinlay (Brookline, MA) kicked off to the Portland Men's RFC in a blustery Memorial Stadium at Deering HS.

Quickly, it became evident that the PRFC was using this match as an opportunity to warm up a mixture of their first and second sides for their competitive spring season.  The BA ruggers displayed strong defensive skills versus the much more experienced and talented Men's Club, however, it didn't take long for Portland to cross the try-line and convert the point after.  The forward pack anchored by 2^nd rows, Will Fleckenstein (Woburn, MA) and Eric Mulligan (Plymouth, NH), settled in and moved the ball a bit for BA, however, inexperience caused numerous turnovers and more Portland scoring.

After a brief intermission to reorganize and substitute, BA pushed Portland's back to the wall and soccer guru, Alan Ashenfelter notched his first ever rugby 'try' on the far sideline.  The windblown kick did not convert.  Energized by the score, Black Knights James Krebs (Carver, MA), Caleb Statser (Barrington, RI), Adan Ali (North Brunswick, NJ) and Brett Smith (Bloomfield Hills, MI) displayed some stout defense that slowed but did not stop PRFC as they continued to distribute the ball efficiently and score numerous times for a 30-5 lead at the half.

The second half witnessed some fatigued Black Knights, but loose forward play from Joe Zoeller (Arlington, MA), Dylan Powers (Rutland, VT) and Ty Williams (South Burlington, VT) kept the pack working.  Hard work and hard play in the back line by Owen Ianotti (North Bennington, VT) and Jacob Bricklin (Bainbridge Island, WA) was evident early in the match but led to their injuries keeping them out of the second half.  The addition of PRFC President to the BA back line added some welcome experience and judgment which lead to a score by one of the fine substitutes from UNE.  Despite an inflated score by PRFC, the BA boys continued to play strong defense and never gave up. 

As Coach Lebel stated at the end of the match, "That was a great first effort vs one of New England's toughest Division 2 men's clubs, we're proud of you!"

Donnie Hale Honored By NEPSAC- Donnie Hale of New Albany, IN was chosen as a New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Class AAA honorable mention All-Star.  After a solid season for BA, Hale was nominated by Coach Lesure and then voted upon by all the Class AAA coaches.  Hale was the only basketball player from BA chosen along with top players from very competitive surrounding schools.  It is an honor for both Hale and Bridgton Academy to be chosen.  For more information visit the NEPSAC website here. 

Additionally, the BOT has appointed new officers for the upcoming year:

Robert Bogan '83 - President

Kevin Jones '81 - Vice President

Bruce Chalmers - Secretary

Norm Nicholson - Treasurer

Q&A With Grant Kaliekau '08 - The Baltimore Sun recently ran an interview with Grant Kaliekau who attended BA in the hopes of playing college lacrosse.  Now, a few years later, he is a Junior attacker on the Delaware lacrosse team and is making quite a name for himself ranking among the top scorers of the Blue Hens lacrosse team.  Follow this link to see the full interview on the Baltimore Sun's website.  

Hall of Fame Nominations Now Open - The 2011 Hall of Fame nomination period is now open. Hall of Fame nominations may be submitted to the Office of Alumni & Development beginning on February 3rd, and closing on March 21st. To submit your Hall of Fame nomination, please download and complete our Nomination Form and submit to: alumni@bridgtonacademy.org. Faxed nomination forms are also accepted at (207) 647-8513, or you may mail your nomination to: Bridgton Academy Hall of Fame - PO Box 292, North Bridgton, ME 04057. For more information on BA's Hall of Fame criteria, or to view a list of current Hall members, please click here.

April 14th Event Scheduled for New Hampshire Area Alumni & Parents - If you live or work in the Portsmouth, NH area, we cordially invite you to attend a BA gathering at the Portsmouth Gas Light Company on Thursday, April 14th.

BA faculty will be at the Gas Light between 6:00-9:00 PM. Located in the heart of Portsmouth, High-Hanover Parking is just a few minutes walk from the restaurant. Join us for some pizza, good company, and a few hours of fun.

Please RSVP to Michelle Cross in the Alumni Office by email, or call (207) 647-3322, ext. 229. Or, RSVP on BA's Facebook page by clicking here.