Losses have started to pile up for the 2-6 Girls Hockey.
Girls Hockey lost to Dedham 4-2 at Iorio Arena on January 15 in a fairly even game that saw the best player on the ice — Dedham’s Samantha Girard — register a hat trick to lead her team to victory.
After an early Dedham goal, sophomore Olivia MacMillan got the puck around the midline and took it through two Dedham defenders on her way to the equalizing goal. However, Dedham did not take long to strike back, as Girard capitalized on a power play — MacMillan’s second of the first period — to put the Marauders back on top.
Dedham then rattled off two more unanswered goals — Girard picked up her third on a shorthanded wrist shot that went post in — before freshman Erin Donahue registered her second of the season off of a shot that was not handled well by the Dedham keeper. The last minute saw Walpole sustain a little bit of pressure on the man advantage, but the clock finally struck double zeroes on the Rebels, cementing their record at 2-6.
After losses to Herget foes Milton and Wellesley — as well as Dedham — Walpole Girls Hockey finds themselves in unfamiliar waters: at the bottom of the Bay State, looking up at almost every other team — other than Natick and Brookline, the only two wins for this year’s team.
With a shorthanded rotation — injuries to senior Captains Caitlin Barry and Kaylin Hallet have led to a lot of positional shuffling — Coach Joe Verderber has resorted to playing two lines, with a couple mid-game adjustments to the second line. Junior Olivia Knight has moved from her accustomed left wing position to left defense, moving junior Lauren Hirshom to left wing, sophomore Kate Hamilton to starting right wing, and senior Captain Jenna Donahue to right defense. MacMillan has been the only mainstays at her position — center — but with the changes around her, the position has been everything but stable.
“Moving to defense is certainly a challenge. I’ve been playing forward my whole life and now I have to think about preventing goals instead of scoring them. It’s tough,” said Knight.
“It’s been hard,” said Hirshom. “My teammates and I have had a lot of trouble with the constant changes to the lineup. Even as this year started, we knew that our roles were going to be changed and increased, and the injuries have not helped with this process.”
Freshman Frankie Bonanno has started the last two games after a concussion sidelined starting goalie Hallet, and despite a 4.5 GAA (goals against average), the freshman has held her own, just being a victim of some untimely poor defense.
“[Bonanno] has been great,” said Carde. “We have not helped her out as much as we should be. She’s a freshman and filling in as the starting goalie is a big responsibility, and so far, she seems up to the challenge.”
Knight — prior to her move defense — was the team’s leading scorer, but has been asked by her coach to fill in the important role of defense (with an emphasis on trying to get forward if able to) while Barry has been out. Freshman Cam Johnson and sophomore Brooke Carde have also been asked to step up and enter the four-man defensive rotation — and even limit the rotation to three girls when Knight goes back to the first line offense with Hirshom and MacMillan. Barry should be back against Norwood on Saturday but it might be too late for a team that can not afford another loss if it wants to qualify for the state tournament for the 4th straight time.
