By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
The Westwood and Dover-Sherborn/Hopkinton High School varsity girls hockey teams met on Wednesday evening at Canton Ice House, with the Wolverines prevailing 5-0 to improve to 11-3-1 on the season.
The Raiders (1-10-1) earned their first win of the season over Scituate on January 15 in the Nan Rheault Tournament, and have continued to make significant progress as the season has worn on as the program continues to build.
The Wolverines got off to a strong start against the Raiders with two goals in the first eight minutes of Wednesday’s game from junior forward Ashley Nolte and freshman forward Lily Hunter.
The Raiders hung tough in period two, but a late goal by sophomore forward and Westwood’s leading scorer, Kat Keith (12 goals, 19 assists), extended the Wolverine lead to three at the end of two.
The Wolverines were able to pot two goals in the third period via sophomore forward Colleen Dalton and senior captain and forward Caroline Fitzgerald, extending the lead to five and putting the game on ice despite DS senior goaltender Caroline Whitaker standing on her head and tallying 24 saves on the night.
Following their win over DS, the Westwood girls clinched a spot in the state tournament with a 6-0 victory over Fontbonne on Thursday, followed by a 3-1 win over King Phillip Regional on Saturday.
At the time of print, Westwood will look to stay on a winning note when they travel to Billerica/Chelmsford on February 1, while DS/Hopkinton will look to rebound against Franklin.
