WA Girls’ Hockey was defeated by the Woburn Tanners 4-1 today in their 6:00 PM divisional playoff game, ending their season with a tearful farewell.

With ten minutes until the start of the game, bleachers filled with fans ranging from supportive siblings and parents of players, to WA students and faculty who made an evening voyage to Woburn’s O’Brien rink simply to cheer on their colleagues and students. Even Principal James Antonelli could be seen seated in the bleachers waiting eagerly to watch the student athletes. Having previously spoken to Head Coach Bob Ware, Antonelli was confident and excited.

Alongside Antonelli was WA athletic Director Dan Twomey, who also had faith that the girls would take victory, but also highlighted the strength of freshman Goalkeeper Allie Dean, as well as senior Captain Colleen Ellis.

The first period of the game started off in a stalemate between the Grey Ghosts and the Tanners. WA played successful defense within the first five minutes of the match. Energized “ooh”s and “ahh”s along with frustrated jeering blared from both halves of the rink as the puck traveled back and forth between sides to no avail. Shots were taken by Woburn, but blocked continuously by Dean.

In the last five minutes of period one, however, the Tanners scored with a close center shot towards the WA net. In the next three minutes, the Grey Ghosts fought for redemption only for Woburn to score again, leaving the score at 2-0 at the ringing of the buzzer.

Fans began to leave their seats for refreshments and fresh air during a brief game break, but were not deterred by the score. Many expected a quick comeback similar to that of the Frozen Fenway game, in which the Grey Ghosts took a last-minute lead on Acton-Boxborough, winning somewhat unexpectedly. Students began predicting the end score.

“Four-to-three us,” declared one passionate Grey Ghost fan in line at the snack bar.

By the time fans were seated and the match had resumed, WA did indeed make a comeback, when Ellis scored a close side shot; however, it was short-lived. Approximately ten seconds after the supposed comeback, the Tanners had already gained possession of the puck and scored a successful fast shot at the WA net. Unable to come back, the Grey Ghosts played defensively for the remainder of the second period, keeping the score at 3-1 by halftime.

The defensive style of the Grey Ghosts did not seize in the third period, while WA held the score for the majority of the final period, aggressively fighting to catch up. Dean slid, caught, knocked and hit a number of pucks flying her way, but still, within the last two minutes of the match, the Tanners shot and scored, to end the game at four-to-one.

Although discouraged, Ware credited both the Tanners as well as the Grey Ghosts for their impressive performances throughout the season.

“The team that won was the better team. They were well-coached, they had depth, they had the edge on us tonight and they deserved to win. Following that I could not be more proud of the girls in that locker room on my team. They have achieved some great accolades this year. They’re elite champions, no one can take that away from them, and I am proud to be their coach,” Ware said.

Colleen Ellis also spoke about her pride to play alongside her teammates despite their loss.

“An outcome is an outcome. I can’t really go back on it now, but for now I am just glad that I got to finish my last season with those girls on the ice. I wouldn’t want to go out with any other team,” Ellis said.