Girls' Hockey Hammers NMH
The puck speeds across the ice towards the goal, but a Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH) goalie deflects it. It bounces over to the other side of the net. Unable to recover fast enough to save the next shot, the NMH goalie watches as senior Robin Potter grabs the rebound and rushes past the goalie to bury it into the net.
Big Red Girls’ Hockey faced off against NMH on home ice last Saturday. They had everyone on the edge of their seat, stealing the win with three unanswered goals in the third period. This last period run gave Big Red a 4-2 win over their opponents.
Leading up to Saturday night, the team was focusing on specific goals. “During our practices leading up to NMH, our team mainly focused on getting more shots to the net, as well as chipping the puck off the glass/boards and out, which both contributed to our win,” lower Victoria Quinn said. The team executed these goals well; two of their three third-period goals were scored off of rebounds.
Prep Sami Smith noted that the team approached the game with determination and eagerness. “We had a lot of energy and the mentality that it was our game and that we were going to want it more than them,” she said.
However, the start of the thrilling match proved a bit challenging for Big Red. Heading into the third period, the team was down 2-1. Despite the other team’s lead, the girls kept their heads up.
Quinn commended the team’s comeback. “Going down isn't always easy... but we were very resilient and bounced right back, getting three unanswered goals to pull out the win.”
Smith went on to shout-out some of her senior teammates for an exceptional game. “All the seniors had amazing games, but [senior and co-captains] Jenna Brooks and Abby Smith had outstanding games, as well as linemates [prep] Eden Welch, Potter and Quinn.”
Welch seconded Smith’s statement. “Some players that really stood out to me were Abby Smith, who worked hard the whole game and scored two awesome goals, and also Victoria Quinn and Robin Potter, who also scored two gritty rebound goals, which all helped us win the game!”
The game against NMH was on the team’s senior day. With that in mind, “everyone on the team wanted to go out and have fun,” Smith said. “It was so great to win this game, especially since it was senior day.” Saturday was the team’s last Saturday home game for the season, so they wanted to finish strong with a win for both the seniors and the fans.
With the upcoming E/A game, the girls are more focused than ever. “We are going to continue shooting more and getting to the net for rebounds,” Welch said. “This is a huge week for us, and we are all so excited to get out on the ice and win these next few games.”
Quinn agreed, stressing the team’s high spirits. “For our next game, we definitely want to keep getting shots to the net and also playing gritty and hearty hockey.”
Looking forward, Big Red hopes to come out strong against Andover this Saturday.