The Shawsheen/Bedford girls’ varsity hockey team didn’t need much time to earn a victory on Saturday afternoon at LoConte Arena in Medford.
The first Shawsheen/Bedford score came just under two minutes into play. The Rams goaltender, Elise McEachern, deflected a Mustang shot to the side of the ice. In a battle of possession on the boards, Shawsheen/Bedford came out on top. Defender Kayah Maloney transferred the puck to Alexis Fox, who made a solid pass to a breaking Olivia Rourk. Rourk carried the puck up the ice. Rams Ella Haynes, jumping on the ice from a change on the fly, headed towards the goal. Rourk took a direct shot just past the blue line that was blocked by Medford’s goalie Nyla Pierre, but left the puck out in front of the goal for Haynes to quickly tip in a five-hole rebound for her first varsity goal.
Fifty-five seconds later, Bedford freshman Oliva O’Brien intercepted a pass in the defensive zone, accelerating past one defender, stiff-armed another in through the neutral zone, and with a little shake and bake move in front of the net, she gave the visitors a 2-0 lead.
And three minutes in, it was all that was needed.
Shawsheen/Bedford maintained for the rest of the game. With an absence on the roster, the Rams played with only three of their regular defenders – Olivia O’Brien, Corrine Foley, and Kayah Maloney with captain Anna McEachern stepping in to help out on a handful of shifts. The endurance was enough to keep the Mustangs’ offense at bay.
Medford captain Juliana Steriti didn’t make it a breeze though. Steriti, playing right defense for the Mustangs, showed her skill, strength, speed, and endurance offensively and defensively, covering nearly every inch of the ice outside of a crease.
Steriti kept Rams goaltender Elise McEachern from being credited a shutout with five minutes left in the second period.
After Rams and Mustangs tossed possession back and forth a few times in the neutral zone, Steriti came out with the puck and passed cross-ice to speedy Medford center Isabel Taddia. While Taddia stickhandled around two Shawsheen/Bedford defenders, the two Mustang wings drew the Rams’ defense towards the puck, leaving Steriti wide open with space on the far side of the net.
A pass from Taddia and quick wrist shot from Steriti over the glove of McEachern made the score 2-1.
Shawsheen/Bedford issued more attacks with some good scoring opportunities (including a few dicey moments when Pierre dropped her stick within the second and third periods), but even with four Shawsheen/Bedford penalties and two Medford penalties, neither team was able to earn another goal in the score column.
With five minutes left in the game, Bedford’s Violet Lorusso stickhandled around two Mustang defenders and delivered a missile over the glove of Pierre, but the goal was called back on a Rams’ high stick penalty.
The Rams are on a three-game win streak. The young team made of up Shawsheen Valley Technical High School and Bedford Public School students hosted Marblehead last week at the Edge and left with a 3-1 home victory. With Elianna Munroe in the net, Fox, Becca Sobel, and Lucy Scoville each scored with assists from Sobel, Anna McEachern, and Lorusso.
Shawsheen/Bedford heads to Merrimack College to take on Masconomet Regional High School at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Masco is 4-3 so far this season.
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