Girls’ hockey tops Medfield, falls to Sandwich

By Jay Turner

For the second time in as many weeks, the Canton High girls’ ice hockey team split the difference with a win and a loss, beating Medfield 4-1 at home last Wednesday and then losing to Sandwich 3-1 on Saturday at Gallo Ice Arena in Bourne.

Caitlyn Feeney (Mike Barucci photo)

With the loss to the Blue Knights, the Bulldogs once again fell below .500 at 3-4 overall; however, they actually made up ground in the SEMGHL West by beating Medfield, a division opponent, and they currently sit in third place with a 3-1 mark.

Head coach Kelly Rider termed the victory over the sixth-place Warriors as a nice “bounce back” win following Canton’s loss the week before to division-leading Franklin.

The Bulldogs had a solid game all-around, going up 2-1 in the second period and adding another two goals in the third. Senior forward Haley Gaughan led the way with a goal and an assist, giving her a team-high 18 points for the season. Fellow seniors Stephanie Rizzitano and Michelle McNeil also scored for Canton, as did freshman Jackie Martin, who tallied her first career varsity goal.

Several players also chipped in with assists, including Caitlyn Feeney, Casey Considine, Katie Kelleher, and Meg Lennon.

Lennon, who is currently second on the team in scoring, also netted the Bulldogs’ lone goal in Saturday’s loss to Sandwich, with the assist going to Considine. Lennon’s goal came on a power play in the second period and cut the deficit to 2-1. Goalie Emily Buckley then helped keep it that way with a big save on a penalty shot, and the Bulldogs went into the final period with plenty of momentum on their side.

The Canton girls went on to dominate most of the third frame and had several chances to tie the score; however, they were unable to find the back of the net while Sandwich put in a late goal to make it a 3-1 final.

Despite the loss, Rider was encouraged by her team’s performance. “I thought we played better tonight than we had in our past two games,” she said, “and I’m hopeful that we come out with even more energy on Monday when we take on (Bay State leader) Norwood.”

Besides playing Norwood, the Bulldogs will also travel to Bridgewater Friday night to take on Whitman-Hanson/Pembroke, and Saturday they will head to the New England Sports Center in Marlboro to play division foe Medway/Ashland at 8:20 p.m.

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