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The Express is available at dozens of stores in Hanson and Whitman.

Good start for girls hockey
Written by Dave Palana   
Wednesday, 16 December 2009 16:15

If their first game is any indication, the Whitman-Hanson/Pembroke girls hockey team will not be short on offense this season despite losing their two best scorers.

Alex Davis found the back of the net twice, while Kristi Kennedy and Katie Ebert each added a goal for WHP as they made their trip to Martha’s Vineyard on Saturday worthwhile with a 4-1 win over the Vineyarders.

“It’s always a long day for the kids when we go down there,” head coach Chris Googins said. “So it’s good to come away with two points.”

The offense was the biggest question mark for WHP heading into the season. With Gianna DeSisto graduating Whitman-Hanson last year and Samantha Fallon opting for private school, the team lost the two top scorers from each of the last two seasons. Googins is hoping to offset those losses by spreading out the scoring and easing in some talented freshmen that joined the team this year.

“I don’t think we are as gifted as we have been [up front], but I think the potential is there,” he said. “Just like any other team, we’re trying to put the right kids in the right places, and we’re going to have to utilize each other more.”

On the back end of the ice, last year’s captain, Adelia DeSisto, is also gone. But with Davis and Tricia Stacey both back as juniors, and freshmen Paige Caswell and Ali McLoud showing promise, Googins likes the team’s talent on defense.

“Alex and Tricia are going to be the cornerstones back there,” he said. “And we’ve got some freshmen who did a nice job for us Saturday.”

League all-star Kelly Travers is also back for WHP in goal this year. Travers is entering her second full season in net for WHP after being a stopgap goalie in her freshman year, and Googins said she continues to improve every game.

“Kelly is a tenacious worker, and she gets better every time she steps on the ice,” he said. “Off the ice, she is also a great leader for these kids. We’ve got a freshman goalie, Melissa Hatch, coming in this year, and she’s got a very good person in front of her to learn from.”

The road back to the TD Garden will be a tougher one this year for the girls, who moved up to Division I this season and have their toughest schedule in their three-year history. In addition to their usual tough league games against Hingham, Canton and Franklin, the girls will play reigning Division I state champions St. Mary’s and Division II champions Fontbonne Academy as well as Braintree and Walpole in non-league play.

“We have a tough, tough non-league schedule,” Googins said. “This is the toughest schedule we’ve had, and the kids will be put to the test.”

 

 

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