Calais’ Allen recovering after breaking neck

BANGOR – Calais girls basketball guard Ashley Allen won’t be on the court again this year, but the good news is she’ll likely be able to travel to the Bangor Auditorium for the No. 2 Blue Devils’ Eastern Maine Class C quarterfinal game against No. 7 Limestone on Tuesday.

Allen broke her neck while tubing down a snowy hill in Princeton after a Feb. 11 game against Houlton, Calais coach Bob McShane said. She had surgery, during which doctors removed a vertebra and added bone from a cadaver.

“We’re hoping she’ll be able to sit on the bench with us,” McShane said. “It’s such a shame. She’s such a great kid.”

Several adults on the scene of the accident, he added, played a big role in keeping Allen immobile. If she hadn’t been attended to so quickly, the extent of her injuries could have been more serious.

McShane said he’s not sure who will play in Allen’s place and the 15-3 Devils have worked this week with different combinations of players in practice.

Allen, a sophomore, suffered a broken leg during the 2003 soccer season and was unable to play in the basketball tournament last year, too.

McShane said Allen won’t be able to participate in sports for the rest of the school year, but the Devils are hoping to have her back for the 2005 soccer season.

Poulin looks on as Raiders win

Jim Poulin was in the crowd for Friday afternoon’s tourney-opening girls game between No. 7 Hermon and No. 2 Winslow, the team he coached for 11 years before giving it up last season.

Poulin, who has multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair, coached the Black Raiders to their last tourney semifinal in 2002.

For Winslow senior Amanda Byrne, who has known Poulin all her basketball life, it meant a lot that Poulin made the trip.

“I was hurting when I knew he wasn’t going to be my coach because that’s who I learned basketball from,” she said. “He’s there for support and help. He knows us, so when we see him, it means a lot.”

Poulin took over the Winslow program in the 1993-94 season. His regular-season record with the Raiders was 143-55, including 18-0 in 2002.

He remains active as an assistant for the school’s football and boys basketball teams.

Familiarity breeds respect

One familiar foe down for the Maranacook of Readfield girls basketball team, but another one is on the immediate horizon.

The Black Bears’ 56-43 victory over Camden Hills of Rockport in Friday’s quarterfinal marked Maranacook’s third victory of the season over the Windjammers.

As a reward, the second-seeded Black Bears will face No. 3 Winslow for the fourth time this winter in Wednesday’s regional semifinals.

“It’s always had to play Camden and Winslow, especially playing Camden at Camden,” said Black Bears’ sophomore center Kristi Violette. “We just played Winslow in the KVAC game this week, and we played them two other times, and they’ve been close games every time.”

Maranacook (18-1) defeated Winslow 49-36 in Monday’s KVAC Class B championship game at the Augusta Civic Center, and also defeated the 16-3 Black Raiders twice during the regular season.

“The conference is real tough, and it’s a shame the three of us have to play each other off before the Eastern Maine final,” said Maranacook coach Mike Packard. “But they’re all great teams and it helps us when we get to Bangor.”

Legend makes quiet appearance

Former University of Maine men’s basketball coach Skip Chappelle brought a special guest with him to watch the Eastern Maine Class B boys quarterfinal action at the Auditorium Friday night.

Celtics legend K.C. Jones, who is scheduled to make an appearance in Brewer today, sat with Chappelle in the visitors’ bleachers during the Erskine-MDI quarterfinal.

Jones signed a few autographs and chatted with fans, but it was an otherwise quiet appearance.

Chappelle serves as a spokesman for Operation Community Support, which is hosting Jones, a former Celtics player and coach. He will be in Brewer around 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the city’s auditorium on Wilson Street to meet with Penobscot River Winterfest participants.