No one expected this year’s Rebels Girls Varsity Hockey Team to play like a championship team. At the end of last year’s season, eight girls graduated from the team and left with much of the team’s talent. Left to defend their titles of Herget Champions and Bay State League Champions were only a handful of varsity players as well as players who previously played on the junior varsity team–which was eliminated this season due to the small number of girls signed up for the sport.

For the entirety of their season, the Rebels Girls Hockey Team has exceeded all expectations in regards to their record. Losing a large fraction of their talent to graduation, the Rebels began the season with their smallest team–18 girls–since the program began in 2005, and because of this, they were not expected to succeed as well as they have. Since mid-December, though, the girls hockey team has proven to the entire Bay State League that they still have the talent and determination to defend their Herget and Bay State Championship titles. As the girls’ regular season nears an end and they start preparing for the playoffs in February and March, the Rebels are confident that their hard work and teamwork throughout the season will pay off and carry them to success.

So far in their season, the Rebels have been matched against competition they have found tough in the past.However, this year, the Rebels easily defeated their past rivals (for example: Norwood has always been their toughest competition, but the Rebels defeated them 6-1 in mid-January). Head Coach Joe Verderber attributes the girl’s overall success to the effort put into practices and the teamwork during games.  “[The team] has had a great season so far, and the girls have learned to work together despite the small number. [The girls] come into practice every day ready to work hard and [they] come onto the ice for each game prepared to win as a team,” he said. The incredible amount of effort and teamwork shown by the Rebels thus far in the season has led them to a successful 9-2-1 record. Their record, nearly flawless except for a tie and two losses in non-league conference league games, leaves them in first place in the entire Bay State Conference League, beating out long-time rival Norwood for the first time in the past couple of years. The Rebels have also become the eighth place team in the entire state–Norwood is eleventh–which is incredible for such a small team that expected nothing more than a rebuilding season. “Everyone expected us to struggle because we are so small, but based on the talent we have on our team, we are much more than a rebuilding team, and we are having much more than a typical rebuilding season,” said senior Captain Cori Donahue.

The Rebels scoring ability and talent on offense is not the only reason behind their successful record. The Rebels’ defensive talent has also largely contributed to the success during the regular season. “If the offensive and defensive players keep working as well together during the playoffs as they have so far in the season, [the team] will have no problems in the playoffs,” said Coach Verderber. Defensive players, such as sophomores Delaney Harrop and Brooke Matherson, do not only work to defend the goalies in net, but they also step up on offense to help bring the Rebels to success. “Without the defenders helping out on offense, our record may not be as good as it is,” said junior Michaela Tosone. “They provide extra help out front, while also working as hard as they can to keep the other team out of our zone.” The Rebels, successful throughout the entire season, hope to keep up their success, both on offense and defense, in order to defend their Herget Championship and Bay State Championship titles during the playoffs next month.

The Rebels are already satisfied with their accomplishments this season, even though playoffs have not yet started, because they were not expected to have a great season. The Rebels have given their best effort during the regular season, and plan on continuing their hard work into the post season. If they are able to continue their success into the playoffs, the Walpole Rebels Girls Hockey Team will have yet another historic season to remember.