The Walpole Girls Hockey team played Ursuline at Jim Roche Arena in West Roxbury on February 2, the game ending 3-0 with a win for the girls. The girls were mentally prepared for the difficult game ahead. Coach Joe Verderber said “every team [Ursuline has] played, they’ve played tough,” but gave the girls hope by saying “our strength starts in our legs.” The Girls Hockey team lost to Ursuline at home last year, and planned to get their revenge for the loss at this game. Before the game, sophomore Delaney Harrop said “It’s going to be a tough game, we never know how we’re going to do till we start playing.” The girls worked hard and pulled through with a win and a shutout.
Both teams started off strong, the game proving to be an even match. The Walpole girls appeared disorganized in the offensive zone, and the game was played back and forth from both sides of the ice. There were barely any shots for Ursuline, and those that managed to shoot past Walpole’s defensemen were unsuccessful. The Walpole girls were not moving their feet, but continued to fight off Ursuline’s strong offense. The Walpole girls had several failed attempts at breakaways, and were discouraged by an uncounted goal by senior Cori Donahue. The puck was barely on the line into the net, and the shot was not counted as a goal by the ref. Freshman Maddie Torgerson said “we would have a lot more goals if we didn’t shoot directly at the goalie.” The Rebels failed to score, and offensive players were encouraged to work harder in the defensive zone by back checking. The period ended 0-0. Senior Cori Donahue said “we weren’t playing our game.”
The second period continued with the same fight for the puck. It got stuck in Walpole’s defensive zone for some time, but the girls managed to break it out despite an apparent lack of focus. Junior Ally Russo said “we didn’t have absolutely control of the puck and we were making a lot of blind passes but our defense and good back checking are saving us.” The girls continued moving in slow motion, and the coaches responded by pulling goalie Bethany Welch and putting in Donahue as an extra offense. The move was smart, as Donahue scored after only a few seconds by tipping in a shot by Harrop. After the goal Walpole picked their game up and started playing a little more aggressively. There were many shots by Walpole, but they were not hard enough to get the goal the girls were working for. The majority of the end of the second period was spent at Ursuline’s net, and the Walpole girls were finally rewarded with a goal with three minutes left in the period. Donahue scored with an assist from Torgerson. The girls out shot Ursuline and the period was comprised of constant battling for the puck, Coach Joe Verderber said “when you guys move, the puck doesn’t leave the zone,” but the girls needed to work on maintaining their positions and skating harder for the puck. Junior Captain Brittany McGraw said “I think we needed to go out in the next period and skate harder and shoot.”
The girls continued in the same manner in the third period, spending most of the period in the offensive zone. A controversy began with the refs and Walpole after many of the girls and the three coaches disagreed with several of the calls. Starting center sophomore Rachael Barry was hit in the legs from behind was injured. She was out for the game and was replaced by junior Katie Sarnie. The girls maintained better control of the puck and played better positioning; however, they needed to work on shooting. The many attempts at a goal were made worth it when Freshman Olivia Knight scored from the faceoff – in midair after a trip- with six minutes left in the period. The period ended in a shut out for the Rebels, held by junior Captain Bethany Welch. McGraw said “overall it was a really good game, but I think we could have played a lot harder.” The Rebels needed to sharpen some of their skills during the game to get back to the way of playing they are known for, but they still ended the game successfully. Donahue said “we pulled through, at times we weren’t playing on our A-game, but we proved that we were the better team.” The girls were happy with the win, but sophomore Emily Byrnes said “we still have things we need to improve on, like positioning, passing, and rebounds,” which is what the team plans to do in their next game against Needham on Monday, February 6 at home.
