The Walpole Girls Hockey team battled Milton on Wednesday January 13, at Milton, ending the game with a shut out and six goals against the opposing team.  Senior Captain Cori Donahue ended the game with her first hat trick, scoring one goal in the first period and two in the second. Junior Captain Bethany Welch and sophomore Kaylin Hallet were able to oppose all shots on net. Despite a few close calls in the second period, the score remained at zero.

At the start, the teams appeared evenly matched, but after a brief couple of minutes in the defensive zone the girls were able to push past Milton’s offense, resulting with a goal four minutes in by Donahue. Twenty seconds later, junior Michaela Tosone scored a goal of her own. After gaining an early lead, the Walpole girls began to see a victory, and began to hustle and skate even harder. They dominated in the offensive of zone for the remainder of the first period, and the entire game was spent. While Milton’s skaters were skilled, all attempts to break out of their defensive zone were quickly crushed by Walpole’s strong defenders. With three minutes left in the period, the hopes for a win were perpetuated by a goal from sophomore Rachael Barry. The girls continued to hustle and ended the period with a 3-0 score.  “We started off a little slow,” said junior Allison Russo, “but once we got a couple goals we started to pick it up and start skating.” The effort was shown by the resulting shut out, maintained by junior goalie Bethany Welch.

Milton started the second period looking to even the score. With more failed attempts to break out, countless breakaways by Milton were again crushed by Walpole’s defenders. Another early goal was scored by Donahue, slowly decreasing the chance at a comeback for Milton. Milton rarely had an opportunity to shoot, and the game became very back and forth between the opposing sides of the ice. With 47 seconds left in the second period, sophomore defenseman Brooke Matherson scored another goal for the team. The offense in the game was already strong and was only getting stronger. Donahue said, “We’re good in the offensive zone; we just need to be more aggressive in the defensive zone. We’re starting to realize we need to be more disciplined and by the looks of this game its working.” Shortly after the fourth goal, junior Captain Brittany McGraw received a penalty for interference which carried out into the third period. Another period was ended with a shut out. Coach Joe Verderber said “the zero has to hold,” threatening sprints for the next practice if the shut out was not maintained.

In the third period there was a switch in net from Bethany Welch to Kaylin Hallet. The girls maintained their speed and aggression as Milton fought back fiercely for a goal. The attempts continued throughout the period, but were always strongly counteracted. The Walpole offense fought hard to maintain the shut out, as the defenders defeated any Milton girls who tried to score. Sophomore Caitlin Barry said “[The Milton offense] pull[s] you to the outside, but we’ve been working on this as a team at practice,” shown through their ability to battle Milton with great success. The puck didn’t stop moving as the two teams fought hard against each other, Walpole to maintain the shut out and Milton to score. Junior Annie Yonker said “I think that as long as we keep the puck moving no one can touch us,” and the girls definitely proved that, ending the period and the game with a 6-0 shut out and an impressive victory against Milton.

The win against Milton was good encouragement for the girls, who then played Dedham on Saturday, January 14. The game was expected to be very challenging but the girls are improving quickly.  Welch acknowledged the team’s progress, saying, “We’re really starting to become a team and I think we showed that through this game.”  Tosone received praise for her hustle during the game against Milton, and Donahue was applauded for her first hat trick of the season. The game was overall a success, and a huge confidence booster for the team as they prepared for Dedham only a few short days later.