The St. Paul's girls jv hockey squad got off to a strong start with a decisive win over the Wildcats of Kimball Union Academy. The Pelicans return a number of experienced seniors to the ice and everyone in the locker room was fired up for the season opener- a Saturday afternoon on the home ice of Gordon Rink. St. Paul's took control of the game from the opening faceoff and peppered the Wildcat goalie with multiple shots throughout all three periods. The Pelican defense held strong with 9 different players taking shifts at defense and holding off the wildcats who had trouble keeping the puck in our zone for more than a few seconds. Parker Neilson played an outstanding game in net recording her first shut out of the season turning away any shots the KUA squad could muster. Offensively, the JV team play was characterized by crisp passing and unselfish puck movement. Emerson Bentley got the Pelicans on the board early with two goals in the first period. Emerson's goals were followed up by Chandler Curtis and Gracen Arndt who each scored a goal to extend the Big Red lead to 4-0 towards the end of the first period. The Pelicans did not let up and in the final 2 minutes of the opening frame, Kitty Diamond would knock one home from in front and Ali Cabot would score from the point to give St. Paul's an commanding lead going into intermission. The team focused on possession and finding the right look in the second period as the Wildcat's goalie held tough on the St. Paul's shots until Callie Fortin was able to slide one past to make it 7-0 after the second. In the third period, the Pelicans continued to possess the puck and dominate the tempo of the game. Lily Chibnik was able to score to her first goal of her SPS late in the third. St. Paul's looks to next week with a big match up versus Andover at home on Wednesday.