WA Girls’ Hockey suffers defeat in last home game of the season

No.15+sophomore+Val+Crory+taking+possession+of+the+puck.+

Amelia Neal

No.15 sophomore Val Crory taking possession of the puck.

Penny Joyce, Staff Writer

On Thursday, February 6, WA Girls’ Hockey faced off against Haverhill in their last home game of the season. The bleachers were filled with fans including teachers cheering on the team. It was a hard-fought battle all the way down to the final minutes, but WA girls ended up losing 2-1.

Both WA and Haverhill came out strong in the first period as the game moved very fast-paced and the puck kept moving back and forth between the teams. Both teams had lots of shots in the first period making WA senior goalie and captain Allie Dean make lots of great saves. Though the girls came close many times, the first period ended with a score of 0-0.

After the first period, tensions were high since both teams were playing very aggressively. As the girls came back onto the ice for the second period, music started blaring through the rink which made everyone get excited for the next period. This music kept playing in between plays to keep tensions high.

The second period started with high intensity as there were a lot of pushing and shoving on both the WA and Haverhill side. Earlier in the second quarter, goalie Dean made a very big stop which made the WA team and crowd cheer loudly from excitement, but quickly after that Haverhill was able to quickly score on Dean making it 0-1. With 9 minutes left, a Haverhill player made a huge hit on WA senior Lexi Warner which resulted in a power-play for WA. Though they didn’t score during this time, the power-play allowed WA to keep the pressure of the Haverhill team. With 4 minutes left in the second period, WA sophomore Brittney Iverson made some quick moves and was able to score giving the WA girls a boost in morale. The period ended with a tied score of 1-1 WA girls playing continuously aggressive.

Head coach Bob Ware and assistant coach Scott Brown were very vocal on the bench during the second period. They instructed their players on the bench and cheered them on as they played.

Before the beginning of the third period, the WA girls huddle up next to the ice and started cheering in order to get pumped and energetic for the final period. The loud music kept the energy in the rink high as the third period started. Junior Meghan Mulhern played very strong defense all throughout the third period in order to keep the score tied at 1-1. In the last 3 minutes of the game, both the players on the bench and people in the crowd were on their feet cheering on the girls. However, with little time left, the WA girls found themselves in a 5 on the 3 when junior Val Crory and freshmen Anna Weaver caused penalties and were put in the penalty box, giving Haverhill 2 power-plays at the same time. Since the girls were down 2 players, it was very difficult to keep up with Haverhill’s fast passes and a shot slipped by the dean in the final 2 minutes of the game.

The girls played very tough all the way to the final buzzer, but they couldn’t regain the goal scored during Haverhill’s power play.

“We all played a really tough game, I wish it didn’t end like that, but it was a tough situation,” junior Allie Kingsley said.

Since this was the girls’ last home game of the season the rest of their games are away; the next one is on Saturday, February 8 against Tewksbury.