The girls’ varsity hockey team continued their winning ways on Friday, December 7 as they defeated a strong and talented Rivers squad 6-1. Christina Cleroux ‘14 was a dominate force in the net, turning away 15 shots on the evening.
The Zebras cracked the scoreboard first when junior Sarah Tabeek found the back of the net off of a pass from Leah Olson ’15 and senior captain Isabel Kreitler. Two minutes later however, Rivers responded with a goal of their own to even the score at 1-1. Despite struggling to find their passing game, Middlesex was able to light up the lamp one more time before entering the locker room. With 3:38 left on the clock, senior captain Ashley Arnold found Maddie Winslow ’14 in the offensive zone who skillfully weaved her way through the Rivers’ defense to take the 2-1 lead.
Rivers took to the ice the second period and dominated the first few minutes of play. Christina Cleroux was continuously challenged by the Red Wings aggressive play in front of the net and protected the Zebras’ lead with her outstanding athleticism and poise. 7:49 into the period, Sarah Tabeek made a hard pass back to Jeanie Dwinell ’13 who found her defensive partner Ashley Arnold on the blue line. Arnold collected the puck and walked her way into the slot to increase the scoring gap by two. Although the Zebras had a comfortable lead ending the second period, they entered the locker room knowing the Red Wings would come out even stronger in the third.
Middlesex was a dominate force throughout the entire last period. They played text book hockey from start to finish which enabled them to score three goals all within two minutes of one another. 7:55 into play, Ashley Arnold struck again off of a feed from Cici Frattasio ’14 and Jeanie Dwinell to propel Middlesex to a 4-2 lead. Less than a minute later, Eleanor Knutzen ’13 tallied her fourth goal of the season unassisted. Finally, Isabel Kreitler earned her second point of the evening when Ashley Arnold found her in the high slot to cap off the scoring for Middlesex.
The hard-fought victory was an entire team effort with outstanding performances coming from all 18 members.
The Zebras will return to the ice when they travel to Brookline, MA to participate in the second annual Southfield Holiday tournament.
