By Avonlea Cummings
Hometown Weekly Sports Reporter
On February 7, the Westwood girls’ hockey team hosted the Medfield Warriors at the Canton Ice House for their second TVL match-up of the season. 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, securing the TVL championship title of the 2023-2024 season.
Westwood’s Kate Sullivan faced off against Medfield’s Genna McDonald to kickstart the evening’s competition. 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 wasn’t giving up on the Wolverines’ daunting presence on the ice, Medfield’s Parker Kathan continued to take shots hoping to make one connect with the net, but the puck would go just slightly wide.
With just under four minutes left, however, 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. 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.
As the second period commenced, Westwood’s Kate Sullivan orchestrated another perfect goal to take the Wolverines to a 4-0 lead just 51 seconds into their 15-minute period. 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. Although, Medfield continued to battle, with 11:13 left to go in the period, Medfield’s Annie Flippo catapulted a shot towards Westwood’s goalie, Jennifer Lin and the puck went straight back into the net.
Medfield began to get more into the grove of things on the ice and just over a minute after their first goal, Brooke Reilly put in the team’s second goal of the evening after receiving an assisted pass from Parker Kathan. The intensity of the match kept rising as the teams worked hard to stay in the final ten minutes. Westwood’s Ava Krouson, Deirdre McGough, Julia Marino, Erin Gannon, and Moira Kenneally hustled in the offensive zone taking multiple shots on Medfield’s goalie Kamryn Perachi. As the time clock dwindled away, both teams would settle on the final score of 4-2 with Westwood taking home the win for the evening’s matchup.
Westwood’s head coach Lauren Hillberg reflected on the team’s great win and the girls’ momentum of the night. She also shared what it meant for the Wolverines to win the TVL 2023-2024 Championship. “All the teams in the TVL are great programs and always a competitive battle. We didn’t start the season off as strong as we wanted to, so I feel that the girls have worked really hard to achieve this goal, and their hard work paid off,” said Hillberg.
