Girl’s Hockey Falls Short Against Nobles

Last weekend, Exeter girls’ hockey faced two division I powerhouses, playing St. Paul’s School on Friday and Nobles & Greenough on Saturday.

Among the top five teams in the NEPSAC, both St. Paul’s and Nobles regularly produce Division I recruits; their current rosters include Harvard and Cornell commits. Though intimidated, captain Bonnie LaBonté reported that the team looked forward to a glimpse of good, top tier hockey. Lower Michaela O’Brien agreed. In her mind, though Exeter certainly went into both games wary of the strong competition,  they hoped to “play a little harder and a little faster” than they had in the past.

All the same, Exeter fell short in the first period of their game against St. Paul’s. The aggressive St. Paul’s team capitalized on Big Red’s slow start, scoring three goals in the first period.LaBonté chalked up the team’s initial weakness to Exeter’s game a few days earlier against the Holderness School, a Division II team. In LaBonté’s opinion that game, though resulting in a decisive 6-3 win for Big Red, caused the team to slow down its pace of play.

“The team played at a very high intensity and everyone gave all they had.”

While Exeter remained optimistic, on Friday, St. Paul’s scored three additional goals in the second period. Lower Kathryn Kester credited goalie O’Brien with some stellar initial saves but noted that Exeter “had a hard time clearing out bodies in front of the net.” Even after Exeter switched their goalie to prep Cam McCrystal, St. Paul’s maintained control of the ice. The final score was 8-1.

Kester stated that though it was a difficult loss for Exeter, the St. Paul’s match helped prepare the team for the Nobles game, giving them an idea of the speed of play they would be facing on Saturday. In the first period, Exeter largely fended off Nobles & Greenough, the top ranked school in the NEPSAC. 

The teams went into the second period with the score at 1-0 for Nobles. Kester admired Exeter’s ability to “do a better job of breaking the puck out and making tape to tape passes” in the second and third periods. Captain Sydnée Goyer scored in the second with an assist from LaBonté. Additionally, O’Brien shut-out Nobles completely in the third period. Though Big Red ended the game down 4-1, it by no means felt like a loss to LaBonté. O’Brien called the Nobles game “one of the best games” of the season so far. “The team played at a very high intensity and everyone gave all they had,” she said.

In the twenty-four hours between the two contests, girls’ hockey managed dramatically to step up its game. Though the team’s record now stands at 6-7-1, Exeter is now far better prepared to handle tough opponents. Kester called the games developmental, stating that Big Red is better positioned now for Wednesday’s home game against Tilton. LaBonté agreed about the team’s rapid improvement. “I hope we carry this pace of play into the last month of our season,” she said.