Girls’ Varsity Hockey Beats BB&N
On Saturday, the Girls Varsity Hockey team hosted league powerhouse Buckingham Browne and Nichols School, one of their most important games of the season. Winning against BB&N would increase Big Red’s chances of making the playoffs, but a loss would make it almost unattainable. Going into the game, BB&N had won the last 3 matchups between the two teams. Senior Captain Kathryn Kester described the team’s mentality, “Everyone knew how important the game was and really wanted to win,” she said. When the final buzzer sounded, Exeter had won, with a final score of 3-2. Big Red’s goals came from
“[The team] fought every shift to restrict their puck movement and offensive play,” Cloonan added, describing the mentality every player had on the ice.
Leading up to the game, all the players worked hard in practice to increase the communication between defense and offense. The team worked on their defensive zone coverage and also breaking the puck out of their defensive zone. Jill Cloonan thought that the drills that they worked on in practice, focusing mainly on their defense, played a huge role in their win over BB&N. The girls also ran harder passing and shooting drills to ensure everyone was also feeling good physically. In the locker room, the mentality from practice continued and everybody was focused on creating game plans to use on the ice and looking at the sheet of game plays Coach Komarek was showing the players. Unlike past games, the team held a chalk talk before the first period, to go over their plays, rotations, and important specifics. Cloonan thought that the talk was very helpful to keep the team organize and make sure everyone was feeling confident.
When it came to game time, everyone had lots of energy and drive to win the game. The locker room was filled with energy before the game and lots of enthusiasm between periods. Molly Longfield ‘22 described how the team was “really excited and hyped to play our hardest”.
In the second period during a power play, Alyssa Xu (21) subbed on and got the puck on the point and shot it right at the goalie. Jenna Brooks (20) tipped the puck a little to the right, sending it right into the net and increased the girls’ lead to 2-0. Kester praised Xu saying that she “had a really great shorthanded goal.” Brooks added the team’s other senior captain and goalie, Michaela O’Brien “had a tremendous game; she was on fire.” Exeter ended the game with a win after scoring three goals against BB&N’s two. “[The team] fought every shift to restrict their puck movement and offensive play,” Cloonan added, describing the mentality every player had on the ice.
The next couple of games will be a big test for the Girl’s Hockey Team with games against Kimball Union, New Hampton, St. Paul’s and Northfield Mount Hermon lined up for the next few weeks. To prepare for these opponents, the players are going continue to show up to practice with a focused mindset, ready to practice hard and work together as a team. “We have to focus each day in practice and get lots of rest and take care of our bodies,” Brooks explained.