Members of the Spaulding High Crimson Tide boarded a bus Wednesday at 6 a.m. in Barre, Vt., and headed to Waterville for the annual Holiday Tournament at Alfond Rink.

Just how long did it take the team to reach the Colby campus?
"It took us five hours to get here," Spaulding coach Clay Bell said. “We boarded the bus at our rink at 6 a.m. and got here at 11 a.m.”
Two hours later, the Crimson Tide played Brunswick in the second game of the tournament. Waterville defeated Orono 4-1 in the opener.
Despite a 5-3 loss to Brunswick, Bell said he wouldn’t use the long trip as an excuse.
Besides, he kept them loose during the journey.
“We stopped in Gorham at McDonald’s,” Bell said. “I made them do a few laps of McDonald’s to keep their legs fresh. It’s by far our longest trip of the season.”
Spaulding hosts Waterville in its annual Gregg Thygesen Memorial Tournament, held usually at the end of every November.
The Crimson Tide, which had a pretty good fan base at Alfond Rink on Wednesday, will play Orono on Thursday at 11 a.m. in the consolation game. Waterville and Brunswick will face off in the championship game at 1 p.m.