Girls’ Hockey Defeats Big Blue 1-0

Last Wednesday, the Smurfs walked onto Exeter ice and watched hopelessly as Big Red shattered their perfect record and extended their own winning streak to four games. In this 1-0 nail biter, girls’ varsity hockey increased their record to 8-9-1, just one win away from breaking even.

The team came into this game hungry for a win, but they also knew that they would have to fight harder than ever to achieve that goal. Upper Caroline Colbert described the team’s thought going into the game, as well as how the success tasted.“Andover was definitely the best game of the season, and it really proved to us that our energy and willpower meant everything,” she said. “Beating our undefeated rivals was definitely a highlight of the season, and maybe even our Exeter hockey careers. Andover thought it would be an easy win, but we came to the rink wanting it more.”

This win heightened team morale because the girls left knowing that if they could beat Andover, they could beat anyone. Upper Bonnie LaBonté said, “I think it showed our team that we could play at the same level as a top D1 team.”

While the girls won this game because they were able to work together equally, there were particularly valuable players that contributed to the win. A feed to prep Chiara Christie from senior Dez Desousa put the team on the board. Captain and senior Kirsten Nergaard was excited for Christie. “It was great to see Chiara Christie get on the board. She’s been working hard and really deserved a goal,” she said.

“Beating our undefeated rivals was definitely a highlight of the season, and maybe even our Exeter hockey careers. Andover thought it would be an easy win, but we came to the rink wanting it more.”

Co-captain and senior Allegra Grant commented on the strong defense during the game, attributing this strength to their victory. “I think that we played really well in the defensive zone,” she said. “The forwards back checked the puck really nicely and blocked a lot of shots, which really helped us out, and the defense played very solidly. I think that we took care of our end of the ice first, which made the win happen.”

Moving into this next week, the team is looking to get some wins on the road, as they face two away games in a row. Their key to success will be working hard in practice this week and taking advantage of every minute they can get on the ice. “We are focusing on our breakout and getting the puck into our offensive zone as well as our power play and penalty kill,” Grant said.

The girls need to work hard, maintain this momentum and keep up their confidence in the coming weeks. Now that they know that they can beat any team out there, everyone should go support Big Red at their next home game on Feb. 13. Bring a date to this Valentine’s Day matinee, and in the words of Grant, come support “the best team on campus.”