Girls’ Hockey Suffers Tough Loss to NMH
On Saturday, Exeter girls’ hockey faced off against Northfield Mount Hermon School (NMH) away. Though Big Red fought hard, it proved no match for the dominant NMH team; the game ended with a 0-5 loss.
Exeter went into the game having lost to four of its past five opponents. Though those consistent losses were frustrating, they motivated the team. According to lower Kathryn Kester, the losses also made it very clear to members of the team what exactly they needed to work on. For the past few weeks, Exeter has been practicing a quicker start to their game, clearing opponents from around the net, and tightening up their neutral and defensive zones. However, despite that concentrated effort, Exeter fell short.
Northfield Mount Hermon is not a particularly strong team. Upper Layne Erickson noted that, as has seemingly become its habit, Exeter stooped down to its weaker opponent’s level of play. That tendency, said Erickson, is not uncommon, especially with a team as young as Exeter’s. That said, it is still a hindrance and one which Exeter cannot seem to avoid this season.
“We were never drowning. There were times when we competed well.”
Lower and goalie Michaela O’Brien lamented that despite its efforts to ensure the contrary, Exeter got off to quite a slow start. Northfield Mount Hermon scored twice early in the first period. That served as a wakeup call for Big Red. The team found its energy and girls held NMH off for the rest of the period.
The second period carried far more opportunities for Exeter to score. The team had far more shots on goal than it had in the first period, but missed crucial opportunities to score. “We were never drowning,” insisted senior and co-captain Bonnie LaBonté. “There were times when we competed well.” Those times, however, were too few and far between. The team ended the second period with NMH up 0-3.
If Exeter found its groove in the second period, it lost it in the beginning of the third. Despite Big Red’s long term efforts to improve, Northfield Mount Hermon took advantage of its weak neutral and defensive zones, scoring twice. After those two goals, however, NMH’s play grew sloppy. It got three penalties in the last half of the third period. Despite Exeter’s many opportunities for power plays, it failed to score.
It ended the game with a 0-5 loss, bumping its season record down to 8-13-1. Members of the team insisted that the score was not an accurate reflection of the team’s playing ability.
Exeter has two exciting games lined up for next week, the scores of which will hopefully reflect its ability. On Wednesday, Exeter will play Winchedon. The game promises to be close; though Winchedon consistently beats the teams Exeter loses to, they only do so by a few points. On Saturday, the girls will face Phillips Academy Andover. Earlier in the season, the smurfs defeated Big Red 0-6. That said, members of the team look to this week’s game for redemption. Andover can only earn a playoff spot if it beats Exeter. LaBonté thought that the perfect way to end her Exeter career would be to “knock Andover out of the playoffs.”