[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
The two-time reigning Division II state champion Wellesley High School girls hockey team appears poised to make a run at a three-peat this March.
After earning a 3-1 revenge win against Austin Prep on January 22, the Raiders (13-1-0, 11-0-0) certainly look to have found their A-game now, having won 12 straight games. Following a 3-0 win against Milton on January 25 and a 7-0 win against rival Framingham on January 29, the Wellesley girls put up another touchdown on Brookline on Saturday night, blanking the Warriors (5-9-2, 2-7-1) by a 7-0 final to push their winning streak to 12 and their shutout streak to three.
A pair of goals by senior defenseman Erin Fleming, the first coming just 1:45 in on a shot from the point and the second with 7:14 to play in the period, gave the Raiders a quick 2-0 lead. Senior forward Mackenzie O’Neil pushed the lead to 3-0 with a power play strike with 2:59 remaining as the Raiders took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission.
At 4:17 of the second period, senior Emily Rourke pushed the lead to 4-0 by finishing a feed from Dani Cimino. O’Neil notched her second point of the night a little over three minutes later, snapping home a one-time feed from junior forward Bliss Vernon to extend the lead to 5-0 with 7:12 to play in the period. With 4:47 to play in the second frame, O’Neil tallied her second goal of the period to make it 6-0 after two.
Junior forward Elizabeth Jackowitz fired home a goal off a feed from junior defenseman Lauren Burke, putting Wellesley ahead by a touchdown. The Raiders chewed out the remainder of the clock and prevailed by the 7-0 final.
The Lady-Raiders will look to continue the winning and shutout streaks at Newton co-op on February 8.
For funny and insightful sports analysis as well as video highlights of games, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter and Instagram @flano0.
