Girls’ Hockey Has Successful Season Despite Mixed Record

Exeter’s varsity girls’ hockey team ended their 2016-2017 season with a 10-12-3 record. The team will lose six seniors as they graduate this spring. However, they hope to gain 10 new players next season.

Upper Bonnie LaBonte said that although their record wasn't very strong, they still had a successful season. Upper Brittani Chapman agreed with LaBonte and added that the seniors and captains held the team together and led the girls both on and off the ice. “We may have lost a few games we shouldn't have and our record might not correctly represent us as a team, but in the end we all had a great time and our seniors will be sorely missed,” Chapman said.

Replacing Grant and Nergaard, LaBonte, Chapman and upper Sydnee Goyer will lead the team as captains next winter. Many of the younger students praised Grant and Nergaard for their work throughout the season. Prep Chiara Christie, along with the other eight new players, felt welcomed by this years' captains. “Before every game they did a great job of pumping up the team, and between periods they had great comments,” Christie said. “I will miss the seniors a lot, on and off the ice, because they were assets to the team, but also great friends.”

“You not only work hard for yourself but for the girls standing next to you, and that’s important.”

Prep Lydia Anderson agreed with Christie, describing her transition into the team during the first few weeks of the season. “I remember being super nervous to go to the first team dinner because I thought all the girls were really intimidating, but a week later we acted like we’d known each other forever,” Anderson said.

She explained that throughout the season, the girls ate dinner together every night and team movie nights every Friday night before games. She attributed their success on the ice to the close relationship the girls shared.

“We’re really close, and it makes coming to practice everyday a lot more fun,” Anderson said. “You not only work hard for yourself but for the girls standing next to you, and that’s important.”

The team also had a new assistant coach, Tim Quint, this year. “It was a big adjustment for the team—especially for us defensemen,” Chapman said. “But his charm and wit quickly won us over and he has become a huge component to our teams success.”

The team started out their season with three scrimmages in November. They lost their first regular season game at Milton Academy 2-5 in December. However, later that same week, the girls beat Cushing Academy 4-3. They then lost against Lawrence Academy. The girls arrived on campus a few days early from winter break ready to play in the annual two-day New Year’s tournament, facing Proctor, Milton, Standstead and Brooks. Big Red won the overtime game against Proctor. However, they lost against Milton Academy later that same day. The next day the girls suffered two more losses against Stanstead college and Brooks school.

Their season continued with several losses and wins, but one game that stood out  to them was their 3-0 win at Holderness. The girls not only remembered the opponent’s outdoor rink and the freezing temperatures, but also prevailing against the other team’s physicality. Desousa scored the first goal from an outside shot that slid into the bottom of the net. Nergaard then finished the game with two goals in the third period.

Another game that stood out to the girls was their overtime win at Berwick Academy. Senior Lexi Butler remembered that Big Red had beaten the teams to which Berwick had lost. “I think we got off to a bad start in the warm ups—we were shaking off the bus legs and what not, and unfortunately that sluggish attitude carried over into the first half of the game,” Butler said. “Fortunately, we picked it back up and played at our regular pace the second half of the game. In overtime we brought our A game and that was really when teamwork and dedication came into play.”

A few weeks later, the girls beat Andover 1-0 at home. Andover was undefeated and one of the top seeds in the league. “Beating Andover was definitely the highlight of the year,” Anderson said. “A lot of us didn’t know how the game was gonna go, but once we stepped on the ice, we knew what had to be done and we did it.” LaBonte agreed with Anderson that beating Andover was the most memorable moment of the season.

The season continued and the girls won two more games: 3-0 against Northfield Mount Hermon School and 3-2 against Winchendon School. They tied their final game of the season at Andover during the E/a winter games 1-1.

Although they will miss the graduating seniors, returning members of the team have high hopes for the next season. “Next year our biggest thing is just getting pucks in the net, especially in close games when we had a lot of opportunity and possession in the other team's end,” upper Caroline Colbert said. “Allegra really led the team in the net and carried us on her back quite a few times. We'll miss her a lot next year, but everyone is ready to put in work over the summer and get back on the ice ready to go next winter,” she said.