Winter sports feels the heat as swim team sends five to sectionals, boys basketball rolls to 13-1 and boys hockey win their 13th straight game.

It was the battle of the Islands on the ice last weekend as the Vineyard boys and girls hockey teams trekked to Nantucket to defeat the Whalers dramatically and defiantly.

The Vineyard boys and girls high school hockey teams began the winter sports season last weekend with a flurry of scrimmages against teams from all over New England.

Under the cover of night, dashing through dimly-lit barns and fields, junior Alexa Schroeder set a new Vineyard school record at the Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational at the Cape Cod Fairgrounds.

The girls soccer team has been building an identity since the two-a-day practices of summer. It’s an identity that new head coach Matt Malowski calls small soccer, putting the good of the team above all.

The boys in the trenches led the Vineyard high school football team to a shutout victory in their home opener against Monomoy Friday night as the Vineyarders defeated the Sharks 21-0.