Girls’ hockey team rises to first after 3 straight wins

After clawing its way back into the division title picture with five wins in six games, the CHS girls’ ice hockey team kept things rolling last week with a dominant five-day stretch, catapulting its way to the top of the standings with three consecutive league victories — all on the road — including a 5-2 win over former division leader Franklin on Wednesday.

Sophomore Emily Buckley (Mike Barucci photo)

The victory served as sweet revenge for the Bulldogs, who lost their first meeting with the Panthers back on January 7 by a 7-5 final. More importantly, the win gave Canton a leg up in the race for the division crown while also securing the team’s spot in the upcoming Division 2 postseason tournament.

“We had talked earlier in the week about the importance of the concentrated league play, but we also knew that the Franklin game had the potential for the biggest significance,” said head coach Kelly Rider, whose team is now scorching hot with eight wins in its past nine contests.

The night before facing the Panthers, the Bulldogs had been in Franklin to take on Medway/Ashland, who they ended up beating 4-1 behind linemates Meghan Lennon (2 goals, 2 assists) and Meaghan McKenna (2 goals, 2 assists).

Despite the quick turnaround, Rider said her team was “energized and ready for the challenge” on Wednesday against Franklin. And it showed early on as the Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead on a Katie Kelleher goal less than a minute into the opening frame.

The two teams then traded goals in the second period before Canton took control of the game with three unanswered goals in the third. Kelleher scored one of them to finish with two goals and an assist, and senior captain Stephanie Rizzitano contributed two goals of her own. The team’s other two captains also figured in the scoring, with Michelle McNeil adding a shorthanded goal and Haley Gaughan tallying three assists.

Goalkeeper Emily Buckley, who played well in the win over Medway/Ashland, had an even better game against the Panthers, finishing with 24 saves in a winning effort.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs made it a perfect 3 for 3 on the week with a hard-fought, 1-0 victory over Medfield on Saturday. Canton dominated much of the game but struggled to find the net against Medfield’s talented goalie. Eventually McNeil would put home a rebound from Lennon to make it 1-0, and it stayed that way as the Bulldogs managed to kill off several penalties while Buckley earned her first career shutout in net.

The assist by Lennon also put her in a tie with Gaughan for the team scoring lead as both players now have 32 points through 16 games — Gaughan with 19 goals and 13 assists and Lennon with 13 goals and 19 assists.

As a team, the Bulldogs improved to 9-1 in the league and 11-5 overall with four games remaining in the regular season. Two of those games are against division opponents, including last night’s scheduled showdown with Westwood, which began the week just three points behind in the standings at 7-2-1.  The team will next host Medway/Ashland on senior night this Saturday at 6 p.m., followed by games next Monday and Thursday against Wellesley and Walpole.

“I like where we are right now and how much heart every player is giving on a daily and shift-by-shift basis,” said Rider last week. “We still have some things to work on or need to tweak, but everyone is playing with a lot of individual and team pride … I’m very excited to see what we can accomplish here during these last two weeks of the regular season before we head into the playoffs.”

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=11660

Posted by Jay Turner on Feb 15 2012. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.