By Avonlea Cummings
Hometown Weekly Sports Reporter
On February 7, the Medfield girls’ hockey team traveled to the Westwood Wolverines house at the Canton Ice House for their second TVL match-up of the season. In Wednesday evening’s competition, the Wolverines were ready to draw blood, scoring three out of their four goals in the first period. The Wolverines secured an early lead against the Warriors giving them a 4-2 win against Medfield.
Westwood’s Kate Sullivan faced off against Medfield’s Genna McDonald to kickstart the evening’s competition. Immediately, Westwood gained control of the puck and bolted down the ice in a blur, right wing Margaret Ash, center, Kate Sullivan, and Abigail Presley passed the puck down to their offensive zone with ease. Sullivan and Presley swooped the puck to Ash for a chance to score on the Warriors’ goalie, Katelyn Nicotera, Ash fired the puck with force and the puck flung into the back of the net marking Westwood’s first goal of the evening with 14:42 left to go in the first period.
However, Medfield’s Parker Kathan and others continued to take shots, but the puck would go just slightly wide. The puck continued to alternate sides of the ice for minutes as the teams battled away.
With just under four minutes left, Medfield was faced with another challenge a 5 v 3 penalty kill. Just 18 seconds into the double power-play for the Wolverines, Westwood’s Margaret Ash slammed the puck into the Warrior’s net once more, with assists from Sullivan and Justine Connelly. Medfield’s defense continued to press on, but the Wolverines were quick to read the Warriors’ stance on the ice. Less than a minute after Westwood’s second goal of the night, the girls carried on bringing the heat when Wolverines’ Erin Gannon attacked and snatched the third goal of the night closing the first period.
As the second period commenced, Westwood was on a roll. Continuing to make their strong presence known on the ice, Westwood’s Kate Sullivan orchestrated another goal to take the Wolverines to a 4-0 lead just 51 seconds into their 15-minute period. However, the Warriors were not letting down their guard. Medfield’s Maeve Kelly, Annie Flippo, Catherine Bannister, and others battled against Westwood’s power and looked to make shots on the net. Despite their best efforts, and strengthened defense in the second period, the Medfield girls would continue to go scoreless as the second period came to a close.
Westwood’s Sullivan was back at center ice for the start of the third period as she faced off against Medfield’s Genna McDonald. Medfield continued to battle, with 11:13 left to go in the period, Medfield’s Annie Flippo received a pass from Maeve Kelly and catapulted a shot toward Westwood’s goalie, Jennifer Lin, and the puck went straight back into the net; the first goal of the night.
Just over a minute after their first goal, Brooke Reilly put in the team’s second goal, receiving an assisted pass from Parker Kathan. Westwood hustled in the offensive zone taking multiple shots on Medfield’s goalie Kamryn Perachi, but Perachi denied any of their shots.
Both teams would settle on the final score of 4-2 with Westwood taking home the win for the evening’s matchup.
Head coach John Summers shared his thoughts on the evening’s matchup, “If we played like we did in the third then it’s a different game. They can’t get prepared like that at the start of the game, that’s what we are fighting. I’m proud of the way they came back, and they fought hard, but it was just a little bit too late.”
The girls play next on Saturday, February 17, against Milton High at the Ulin Rink in Milton at 5 PM.
