The girls’ varsity ice hockey (7-1) team traveled to Plymouth, NH to take on the Blue Bulls of Holderness. After a two hour drive, the Zebras were faced with the challenge of shaking off their bus legs and starting the game strong.

Sarah ’14 took to the ice for the first time this season after recovering from an injury and the excitement in the air was palpable. A minute and thirty seconds into the first period, senior captain Jordan got Middlesex on the score board when she followed a rebound off of her own shot and tucked it between the legs of the Holderness goaltender. Although the Zebras were excited about the early lead, they knew there was still a lot of hockey left to play. Middlesex had several scoring opportunities in the remaining minutes of the period but were unable to find the back of the net. The Holderness defense continued to hold their ground and the score remained 1-0 as MX entered the locker room.

Although the Zebras played a strong period of hockey, they knew there was another level they could reach. Both teams came out ready to battle in the second period. Ashley ’13 and Brooke ‘ 14 shut down several potential goals by the Blue Bulls forward line and played with confidence and  poise. With 13:36 left on the clock, Jordan ’12 scored her second goal of the game (assisted by Maddie ’14 and Isabel ’13) when she riffled her shot over the blocker of the Holderness goaltender.

Holderness battled back in the third period and got on the score board eight minutes into the play.   Ten seconds later however, Jordan ’12 responded with her third goal of the game (assisted by Cici ’14 and Maddie ’14)   to once again give MX the two goal cushion. The Blue Bulls would get on the score board one more time with two minutes remaining in the period but the Zebra defense held tough. Cici ’14 scored two more times within a 30 second span to give MX the definitive 5-2 victory.

Middlesex will travel to Dedham, MA on Wednesday, January 11 when they take on fellow ISL rival Nobles at 4:30pm.