Randi Dumont of Greene remains one of the premier defensive players on a Middlebury College women’s hockey team that contends for the NCAA Division III championship every year.

Don’t ignore her abilities with the puck, though.

Dumont, a 5-foot-2 junior mainstay on the blue line for the Panthers, has given the offense a pleasantly surprising punch through the first two months of the season. Her three goals – all on the power play – and six points have been a catalyst in Middlebury’s 5-1-1 start.

One of Dumont’s goals was a game-winner. The Leavitt Area High School and St. Mark’s (Mass.) Prep product scored the first goal in a 9-0 rout of Hamilton College.

She also assisted Erika Nakamura’s opening strike in a 2-1 triumph over Connecticut College.

Three goals, three assists and six points place Dumont third on the team in each category through seven games. Those numbers boost her career totals to 13 goals and 10 assists in 63 appearances.

Middlebury won the Division III title in Dumont’s freshman year. The Panthers reached the final again last winter before falling to host Plattsburgh.

New York groove

Several local athletes are enjoying a productive start to the winter sports season at Hamilton College.

Sarah Schrader of Rangeley is once again a starting guard for the women’s basketball team. The 5-foot-8 junior earned a spot on the University of Scranton Invitational all-tournament team last weekend.

Schrader scored a season-high 13 points in the consolation round, also chasing down five rebounds and three steals while dishing out three assists in a 63-51 loss to Baruch.

The Continentals are 3-3 after the Friday and Saturday defeats, but Schrader is averaging 6.8 points per game (fourth on the team), three rebounds and two assists. Her 13 thefts rank second on the squad.

Former St. Dominic Regional High School hockey standout Ryan Guerin of Lewiston recently notched his first collegiate assist. The 5-foot-10 freshman defenseman, who played junior hockey with the Boston Bulldogs, has appeared in each of Hamilton’s first seven games.

Freshman swimmer Andrew Brodsky of Auburn (Edward Little) also is adapting nicely to the college pool. He ranked 18th out of 55 competitors in the 100-meter freestyle at the LIberty League Championship meet on Dec. 8.

Brodsky swam the fastest leg of the 200 medley relay team, which placed fourth in the event. He swam the butterfly sprint events, as well.

Water power

One local diver and a swimmer are making a splash in the early season for the Wheaton College women’s aquatic team in Norton, Mass.

Laura Fleck, a senior from Auburn (Hebron Academy), recently placed in the top five for the Lyons in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events at the United States Coast Guard Academy meet.

In a triangular competition with MIT and Smith College, Fleck was fourth in the 1-meter and sixth in 3-meter.

Fleck moved to the diving team last winter after two years as an All-American synchronized swimmer.

Freshman Stephany Perkins of Monmouth finished second to teammate Emily Sweatt in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke at the Coast Guard meet.