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Griffin hockey
adapts, grows
POMFRET — The Pomfret school girls’ varsity ice hockey team hit the ice Dec. 14 for its first home game against a very strong Williston Northampton team.
From the first puck drop, it was clear this would be a high-tempo game. The girls came out flying, executing plans to spread the ice and use quick passing. Williston found the net twice in the first period after some hard fought battles net front. In the second period, Williston scored early on making it 0-3 but that didn’t stop the Griffins, they kept on skating hard and making good decisions, particularly on the breakout and neutral zone regroup.
The Pomfret coaches were pleased with the tempo the girls played in the first and second periods but unfortunately, fatigue kicked in for the third period and Williston finished twice more leading to the final score of 0-5.
Tara Valas ’23 and Dava Dudek ’23 played a fearless defensive game, stepping up confidently against some highly skilled Williston forwards and anticipating plays nicely. Lily Brook ’23, Lexi Hendrickson ’23, Bridget Fallon ’23 and Emma Aldenberg ’20 played consistent, hard-working, two-way hockey. Rieley Jessie-Gerelli ’20 had 57 saves on the night. She played big for Pomfret in net against some quality scoring opportunities.
Dec. 11, the team took on a very skilled and speedy Dexter Southfield team.
Before the game even started, the team had to adjust to the Dexter’s ice which was configured differently.
Dexter Southfield started off with a very aggressive 2-1-2 forecheck which in conjunction with the rink size was overwhelming at first. Dexter Southfield sniped their first goal off of an unfortunate stumble then prior to the end of the first period, dropped a forward through the slot who finished, bringing the score to its ultimate 0-2.
In between periods, Pomfret identified spaces they needed to adjust to on the breakout and using the size of the ice to our advantage. The coaches said they were impressed with how well the girls adapted to the change as they began spreading the ice out more, finding the long-bomb seams, and creating space and speed. The defensemen did a great job with gap control and also worked hard to break the puck out of the zone efficiently and effectively. Some line-changes throughout the period led to some exciting new opportunities.
Rieley Jessie-Gerelli was solid in net with 61 saves.
By Samantha Slotnick
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