Exciting Overtime Win Shines Light on Season

Big Red’s girls’ hockey went into this week’s Holderness game focused, determined and ready to work, allowing them to come away with an exciting overtime victory. Goals by lowers Lexi Butler and Kirsten Nergaard, as well as upper Clara Gilbert helped the girls skate away with a 3-2 win. The team fought hard, and having that final result made their victory that much sweeter.“The game was a really big morale booster because we haven’t won in overtime yet this season,” upper Marley Jenkins said.Gilbert was the hero that afternoon to seal the deal in overtime. “Clara had a breakaway and scored on a great shot to win the game,” Jenkins said.However exciting the end of the game was, the beginning wasn’t one of the greatest starts for the girls this season. The team started off the first period flat, not playing to their full potential. “The first period was the worst we’ve played in our whole season,” Butler said.“We started out really slow and did not have a good first period at all,” Jenkins said. Despite their slow pace, the girls rallied during intermission and came onto the ice with a new mindset on how to win.“We came back to play with more speed in the second and third,” prep Bonnie Labonte said. Using this sudden burst of energy, the girls mounted their rally to make the game a lot more exciting for them.“The first goal was all because of Bonnie’s hard work. She made it happen and I just tipped in the rebound. That really picked up our spirits then we kept up the high tempo and scored another,” Butler said.The ending of the game was nerve wracking, neither team wanting to concede the go ahead goal. When the final buzzer sounded, the score was 2-2. A word of wisdom from their coach really pushed them to find their final goal of the game. “Coach Bremiller’s informative statistics said that overtime periods are won in the first 1:30 [of overtime play], [and] Clara sniped one on the breakaway,” Labonte said.The triumphant Big Red squad stormed the ice after Gilbert’s game winning goal. The girls then boarded the bus and spent the long trip back celebrating and reliving the exciting event that had just unfolded. The girls knew how vital it was to keep up the momentum and intensity throughout all three periods. Because they stuck with this mindset, going into overtime was treated like any other period. The girls wanted this win, and knowing it was a close game fueled the fire.The girls will play Hebron Academy this Saturday at home, hoping to carry on their current momentum. Hebron is 3-9-1 and desperate for a win to improve their record.