The girls JV hockey program continued their strong run with a commanding 10-0 victory over the Penguins of Cushing Academy on a Saturday afternoon game at the Big Red's home ice-Gordon rink. The game was highlighted by "senior night" as SPS athletics recognized eight seniors for their ongoing commitment to the Pelican hockey program. The eight seniors honored were Ali Cabot,
Parker Neilson,
Emerson Bentley,
Marina Kane,
Meg Bohan, Nel Peters, Kitty Diamond, and
Caroline Frost. The game against Cushing was a full team win as the Big Red's defense notched another scoreless 3 periods of play and the offense saw 10 different players play a role in the scoring.
Parker Neilson was excellent in net turning away all shots on the day. The scoring got started early with
Emerson Bentley and
Chandler Curtis each scoring unassisted in the opening minute to take the lead 2-0. A few minutes later Nel Peters would send the puck back to the point where Callie Fortin would send it home.
Gracen Arndt scored next on a nice pass from
Marina Kane and then Marina would score one of her own to bring the lead to 5-0. Alison Min scored one late in the first period to make it 6-0 going into the intermission. Defensively, the Big Red played some excellent hockey. Centers
Caroline Frost and Finlay Goring were smart and strong protecting the slot. Kitty Diamond was impressive stepping into defenseman's role due to injuries and help shut down Cushing's top attackers. Strong backchecking by
Charlotte Ward and
Scarlet Tien was another highlight for the Pelicans.
The scoring slowed some in the final two periods as the SPS squad worked to develop their puck control and remained patient waiting for the absolute best opportunity to shoot. The only goal in the second frame came from Kitty Diamond who scored midway through the second on a nice pass from Nel Peters to make it 7-0. Ellie Evans scored back-to-back goals in the third and
Louisa Gosk scored one more in the final frame to bring the game to 10-0 at the final buzzer. The girls welcome Phillips Exeter to their home ice on Wednesday of next week as they look to extend their streak of excellent play.
