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POMFRET — The Pomfret School girls’ varsity ice hockey won 5-3 against Canterbury Dec. 8. The Griffins dominated in possession and time in the offensive zone for the majority of the first period. Unfortunately, Canterbury capitalized on a screen in front of the net and scored with 2:32 remaining. Down 0-1 the discussion in the locker room included keeping the tempo, clearing the front of the net, and chipping pucks up and out of the defensive zone for quick offensive opportunities.
The Griffins came out and continued to get shots to the net. 3 minutes and 10 seconds into the period, Breanna Studley ’22, off of a pass from Grace Arsenault ’20, circled Canterbury’s defensive zone and roofed the puck over the Canterbury goalie, tying the game 1-1. With 6:00 left in the second period, Grace Long ’23 and Sarah Rumley ‘22 found Riley Millard ’23 at the point who buried the puck home off a beautiful slapshot.
With the excitement of being up 2-1, the girls sat back and little bit and Canterbury took advantage with 30 seconds remaining in the period to tie it 2-2.
The third period was intense. Arsenault found Rumley who rushed the puck down the left side of the ice. Rumley made a low, hard pass towards the front of the net which was beautifully redirected by Long putting the Griffins up 3-2.
Canterbury did not give up after this goal and found their way to our net for some good opportunities that Cate Gallagher ’22 shut down. Canterbury netted a goal off a rebound, tying it back up 3-3.
With 5:37 left in the period, Arsenault found Long cutting through the neutral zone and chipped it ahead. Long confidently went in on a breakaway, deking the goalie putting Pomfret up 4-3.
At 3:45 remaining in the game, Emma McLean ‘22 and Rumley battled hard in the offensive zone and found Long below the dots who dangled the defenseman and the goalie for a goal to finish the game at 5-3. Goalie Gallagher got 28 saves.
BB&N 5
Pomfret 0
Dec. 7 the girls played a skilled and seasoned BB&N team but could not get the shots and the score ended at 5-0 BB&N.
Right from the get-go, BB&N came at the Griffins hard and fast. Their breakouts were efficient; cycling skills mastered and consistently dropped a player in and out of the high slot. After the first couple of minutes, the Griffins figured out the speed and settled into their positions, focusing on doing their job on the breakout and neutral zone regroups. Anticipating BB&N’s plays and blocking shots lead to quite a few scoring opportunities from Lexi Hendrickson ’23, Melissa Montesi ’21, Breanna Studley ’22, and Grace Long ’23. After the first period, tied at 0-0, locker room discussions centered on how to focus the high wing on the high slot in the defensive zone, as well as shutting down their “quick up/one touch” breakout.
BB&N took advantage on one of the Griffins’ penalty kills and netted its first goal of the game. Exhausted from the “long” change, BB&N and scored again with just 30 seconds left in the period, 2-0. In the third period the Griffins continued to work hard to cover BB&N’s speed and efficient passing. There were many glimpses on our end of smooth breakouts, beautiful neutral zone swinging, crisp passing, and hard shots, but unfortunately, we could not finish. BB&N ended up netting 3 more goals in the last 9 minutes of the game for a final score of 5-0. Rieley Jessie-Gerelli ’20 had 54 saves.
Pomfret: 1
St. George’s: 1
Dec. 4 Pomfret took on the Dragons and came away from the game a stronger, more cohesive team than when they went in.
With a young bench full of lots of new faces, on top of first-game jitters, the first period was a bit frantic. Between periods the teammates recognized they needed to stop panicking and believe in themselves and their skills.
In a calmer second period, Emma McLean ’22, Grace Long ’23, and Sarah Rumley ’22 worked well together, possessing the puck and controlling the game. Melissa Montesi ’21, Breanna Studley ’22, and Bridget Fallon ’23 kept their feet moving, spread the ice, and created meaningful scoring opportunities. Lily Brook ’23, Lexi Hendrickson ’23, and Liz Phalen ’20 came together as a line, finding their way to the net on multiple occasions. Bridget Horst ’22, Emma Aldenberg ’20, and Shoshana Lebo ’21 worked hard to keep St. George’s inside out and played strong defense. On the defensive side of the game, Grace Arsenault ’20 and MK Marshall ’22 made it look like they had been practicing their neutral zone regroup since last year—it was smooth and controlled. Arsenault found confidence on the blue with hard, low shots from the point. Hannah Twombly ’21 and Riley Millard ’23 stepped up and rushed the puck when given the opportunity to find a lane, and also held the blue line with patience and strength. Tara Vala ’23 and Dava Dudek ’23 worked well together, supporting each other. Tara ’23 confidently created offensive opportunities with her vision of the ice, and Dava ’23 was feisty along the boards and in the corners.
In the third period St. George’s put one in Pomfret’s net with 13:18 remaining in the period. Just under 2 minutes later, Phalen chipped the puck ahead over the offensive blue line, dangled their defenseman, and roofed the puck to tie the game 1-1. After a 5-minute overtime, the game ended in a 1-1 tie. Rieley Jessie-Gerelli ’20 tallied 37 saves.
By Samantha Slotnick
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