The girls’ varsity ice hockey team continued their winning ways on Friday, December 9 as they defeated ISL rival Rivers 2-1. Middlesex knew that it was going to be a hard fought game, and they took the ice ready for the challenge.
Rivers dominated the first period, out-shooting Middlesex 7-1. Katie ’12 pounced on every loose puck in front of the net and the MX defense performed text book D zone coverage. By the end of the first period, the score remained 0-0. MX entered the locker room ready to make adjustments to their passing game and fire more shots on net.
The Zebras set the pace of the second period as soon as the puck dropped. They skated tirelessly up and down the ice and committed themselves to playing two-way hockey. One minute and thirty seconds into the period, Eleanor ’13 capitalized on a rebound from the pads of the River’s goaltender and tucked the puck into the lower left corner of the net to get MX on the score board first. With a one goal lead, the Zebras knew they could not become complacent. Five minutes later, Eleanor struck again when she picked up yet another rebound off of a shot from line-mate Cici ’14 to give MX the two goal lead. For the remainder of the period the two teams continued to battle, but neither were able to put the puck in the net.
The third period proved to be much like the second with both teams relentless in their attack. Katie ’12 continued to back stop the MX defense, making several key saves including shutting down a River’s break away with six minutes left on the clock. With 20 seconds remaining in the game, River was able to sneak a loose puck into the net to bridge the two goal gap. For the finals seconds of play however, the Zebras sacrificed their bodies to protect their goaltender and prevent any overtime play.
The 2-1 victory was an entire team effort and Middlesex left the ice excited about the future of their season. The Zebras will take the ice again on Friday, December 16 in the Southfield Holiday tournament when they take on Kimball Union Academy at 2:00pm.
