The Middlesex Girls' Varsity Hockey team returned to action Saturday in a hard-fought matchup against a skilled, determined, and feisty Worcester Academy team.  Both teams played full throttle right from the first whistle to the final sound of the horn, but Middlesex ultimately earned an enormous 5-3 win, enduring relentless pressure throughout the third period, and recovering superbly despite some setbacks in that period which could have easily damaged the team's morale.

Middlesex jumped out to 1-0 lead midway through the first with a Kiley Briand power play goal off a beautiful feed from Izzy Allieri.  Middlesex was back on the scoresheet before the end of the second period as five minutes later Allieri found Ali Joseph in the slot and Joseph slammed the puck into the top corner to give Middlesex the 2-0 lead heading into the intermission. 

Worcester amped up the pressure in the second period, resulting in a number of Middlesex penalties, including two 5-on-3 situations, but the Middlesex penalty kill remained strong throughout, with Daisy Boynton making a number of superb saves and covering up any and all rebounds herself as the Middlesex defenders prevented Worcester's players from getting their sticks on the puck.  Allieri then extended Middlesex's lead to 3-0, turning her own courageous blocked shot into a breakaway and finishing with a slick move past the Worcester netminder. 

Worcester came out firing in the third period and found themselves quickly on the scoresheet after a clean breakaway, narrowing the score to 3-1.  Less than two minutes later, they found the back of the net again. After a tremendous initial save, the puck unfortunately rolled along the top of Boynton's pad and right into the path of the onrushing Worcester player.  Rather than allowing their heads to drop, however, the Middlesex girls willed themselves back into the game, withstanding some nervy moments before earning a power play opportunity with seven and a half minutes to play.  Just a quarter of a minute into that power play, Joseph found the puck following a scrum in front of the net and scooped it over the Worcester goalie's left pad to give Middlesex a 4-2 lead.  Just two minutes later, Briand won a loose puck at the Worcester blue line and found Alana Burm on the resulting two-on-one, with Burm arrowing her shot into the top corner, restoring Middlesex's three goal cushion.

To their immense credit, Worcester's resolve never weakened, and they pulled a goal back to make it 5-3 with just under three minutes to play.  Their pressure continued to the final whistle, pulling their goalie with two minutes to play, but the Middlesex defense remained resolute until the relief of the final horn.

Boynton was simply outstanding in net, demonstrating her athleticism and quick reactions both in her shot-stopping and in her ability to quickly get to those rebounds she was forced to give up.  Credit for that defensive effort also goes to the Middlesex defensemen, who had by far their best defensive game of the season, keeping the area outside of Boynton's crease clean and making it difficult for the Worcester forwards to deflect shots, find rebounds, or open themselves up for shots of their own in the slot.  The forwards deserve plenty of credit too for their defensive effort, as they gave up their bodies time and again to block shots from Worcester players.

This was a signature win for the Middlesex girls, one that showed that they can compete with any team in the league when they set their minds to the task as they did Saturday.  The goals scored were undoubtedly highlights, but the key to the victory was in how the team was able to do the little things needed to assure victory—fighting to win loose pucks, beating out icing calls, dragging toes to stay onside, closing gaps in the neutral zone, and maintaining discipline in the defensive zone.  The mental fortitude the team showed even after seeing their lead shrink was amazing and should serve as an example of what this team is capable of throughout the rest of the season.  It was a thorough team victory, and each and every Middlesex player deserves extraordinary praise for her part in this fantastic effort.