After a successful 2010-2011 season, the Walpole Rebels Girls Hockey Team was ready to come back for another season to defend their Herget Title. Losing eight vital varsity seniors, however, could prove a difficult obstacle to overcome. With only a small number of returning varsity players, the Rebels have to work hard to attain the Herget Title for the third consecutive year. The season opener against Braintree on December 14th showed the Rebels were ready to fight to defend their title during their biggest rebuilding year since the program began in 2005–for the first time, there are not enough players to form a junior varsity team.

The Rebels went into the match against Braintree thinking it would be one of the more difficult games of the season. The first period was a relatively even match between the two teams–neither team was dominating the ice completely. Junior captain Bethany Welch, as well as the defenders, did not need to work too hard to defend the goal, and junior Michaela Tosone had to work hard to get any shots on net. “It was a tough period for all of us. We don’t usually spend most of our time fighting for the puck at center ice. We’re either on the offensive or defensive during the game, not between the two,” said Tosone. The first period ended with no goals for either team. The second period was more exciting than the first–the Rebels scored twice (Tosone with the first, and senior captain Cori Donahue scoring the second), and Braintree scored once. The Rebels dominated the ice for the majority of the period, with a few slip-ups by the defense, giving Braintree the opportunity to score the goal. The third period, however, went back to being an even match between the two teams. The Rebels fought to defend their goal against Braintree, but failed to score any more goals. Near the end of the period, the score was still 2-1 in the Rebels favor, and the team, as well as the fans, was getting excited thinking the season opener would result in a win. During the last 45 seconds of the game, however, a Braintree forward broke through the Rebels defense, leaving Welch unsupported at the net. A slapshot in the last 30 seconds of the game tied the teams at 2-2, with no opportunities left for the Rebels to take back the win.

On December 17, the Rebels went up against Natick for their second season game. This game was a much easier game for the Rebels to dominate–the Natick defense was not as difficult to maneuver as Braintree’s. After the first period, the Rebels were already ahead 1-0 with a goal by sophomore Caitlin Barry. The second period was even more successful for the Rebels (even though Naticak scored on Welch once). Tosone cored a breakaway goal early on in the period, making the score 2-0. After a Natick forward scored mid-period, the Rebels fought harder and sophomore Brooke Matherson scored the Rebel’s second goal of the period, widening the gap to 3-1. Feeling confident in the 3rd period, the Rebels started playing their best game yet. Defenders fought hard to keep Natick away from the net–a check by sophomore Delaney Harrop at the beginning of the third period got her kicked out of the game, and left the Rebels missing one of their top defensemen. Despite missing Harrop for the remainder of the period, the Rebels were able to stave off the Natick forwards against taking many more shots. Welch let in no more goals, and Tosone scored her second goal of the game, making the final score against Natick 4-1, and giving the Rebels their first win of the season.

Starting the season off with a 1-0-1 record is a good omen for the rest of the Rebels season. Despite graduating some of their best players last year, Head Coach Joe Verderber feels confident that the Rebels will have a successful season. “We’re a sneakily good team this year. Teams are not expecting us to be that successful, which is actually a really good secret weapon for us to use against them,” says Verderber. The team is optimistic about their chances to defend their Herget Title and making it to the playoffs, and they will continue to improve their skills playing together as a team to remain successful throughout the season.