Berkshire Bruins Peewees Win Gib Kittredge Title

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Henry Easton recorded a hat trick and assisted on a goal Sunday afternoon to lead the Berkshire Bruins Peewees to a 6-0 win over Holy Name of Springfield in the championship game of the Gib Kittredge Tournament at the Boys and Girls Club.
 
The host Bruins went 1-1 in title games as their Squirts Division squad battled to a 5-3 loss to Salisbury, Conn.
 
The Peewees jumped on top early in the day’s first final.
 
Easton set up Gabe Locke for the eventual game-winner in the second minute of play.
 
Fourteen seconds later, the Bruins doubled their lead when Kydd Kearns set up Easton for his first goal of the game.
 
His second came just moments later on Berkshire’s first power play opportunity. Ronan MacDonald fired a shot toward the net from high on the left point, and Easton tipped it home to make it a 3-0 game.
 
Early in the second period, Easton scored again on the power play, this time picking up a loose puck in the slot, firing a shot on net and cashing in the rebound with a shot off a defenseman’s skate and into the goal.
 
Midway through the second period, Johnny Ireland intercepted a Holy Name pass in the neutral zone and raced in for a 1-on-none opportunity with the keeper. He cashed in the opportunity to put Berkshire on top, 5-0.
 
Paulie Tesaneiro rounded out the scoring with a power play goal late in the second.
 
Brooke Lange earned the win in goal for the Bruins, who went 4-0 in the three-day tournament, outscoring their opponents by a margin of 24-1.
 
The Salisbury Redhawks dominated the tournament’s Squirts Division, outscoring their opposition, 21-4, in their first three games – including a 7-1 win over the Bruins in Friday’s opener.
 
And the rematch looked headed toward a similar result when Salisbury took a 4-0 lead midway through the second period on Sunday.
 
But the Bruins outscored the Redhawks, 3-1, in the third period and made it a two-goal game with five minutes left before Salisbury was able to hold on for the title.
 
William Nicols scored the first two goals late in the first period for Salisbury, which doubled its lead with a power play goal and a well-placed rebound by Mia Russell (one goal, one assist) in the second.
 
The Bruins got on the board in the 35th minute, when William Nichols entered the offensive zone on the right wing, carried the puck to faceoff dot and sent a laser into the top corner to make it 4-1.
 
Salisbury got that goal back a minute and a half later, but the Bruins kept coming.
 
With 6:08 left to play, William Bayliss followed his own shot and put home a rebound to make it 5-2.
 
A minute later, William Antil skated through three Salisbury defenders before lighting the lamp for Berkshire.
 
The Bruins pulled keeper Angelo Carpenter with about 1:30 left to play, but Salisbury’s defense held up in the closing minutes to secure the win.
 
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Free Vaccinations Available Throughout Berkshire County

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Fall season is also the flu season, which means vaccine clinics are now available.

The Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative will provide public vaccination clinics in Berkshire communities this fall, including the influenza and COVID-19 vaccines. There are about 49 clinics. 

The collaborative began during COVID-19 to help vaccinate people across Berkshire County. Berkshire Health Systems started the Get Vaccinated Berkshires website and still manages it. The group works with the Pittsfield Public Health Department, Community Health Programs, and the Southern Berkshire Public Health Collaborative.

"The majority of people will always get the flu [vaccine] because, as I said, if you've ever gotten the flu, you will always get a flu vaccine because it's so bad. And just so you know, the flu is already in Berkshire County. It's an early season this year," said Leslie Drager, who is the senior public health nurse at Berkshire Regional Planning Commission.

Drager said last year they issued 2,705 vaccines, with more than 1,100 of them being for COVID-19 and more than 1,500 being flu. In total, they were able to vaccinate 1,669 people in Central and North County, in addition to Pittsfield.

Drager also said she will be carrying three types of COVID vaccines this year, which is in high demand.

"We have a high demand of COVID vaccine, which is awesome," she said. "So we're doing a lot of COVID vaccines. Also, I provide Pfizer, and this year I have Moderna and the Novavax, which I think is real important to get out there because the Novavax, a lot of people want, people with long COVID. So I'm carrying all three vaccines this year, which I normally only carry the Pfizer."

Public health departments also can help people access other vaccines such as for measles or meningitis when they cannot get them through a pediatrician, she added.

Using the website, people are able to get vaccines even if they are homebound by filling out a form.

All public Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative clinics are free of charge, but registrants are asked to provide insurance information, when available, in order to defray costs. The clinics are open to anyone 6 months of age or older, the age group recommended to receive an annual flu vaccine and the latest COVID-19 vaccine.

"I always encourage everybody to wear a short sleeve shirt because it makes it a heck of a lot easier to get at," Drager said. "And children, we do carry the nasal flu, the live virus of nasal flu for kids that are afraid to get needles."

Registration is highly recommended for the clinics. Walk-ins may be accepted depending on the number of vaccine doses available at each clinic, with preference given to those who are registered.

"It's really important. I'm really encouraging vaccinations for the schools, because not only you know if the kids are vaccinated and the teachers are vaccinated, the schools won't have the flu go wild right through it," Drager said. "And of course, the best way to prevent infections: washing your hands. So don't touch your face, and wash your hands."

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