By Tyler Maheu, Staff Sportswriter
“I feel like momentum is on our side.” It took nine full games and an overtime, but Ian Coates’ girls hockey squad finally has its first win of the season, as the Wasps took down the visiting Harwood Highlanders 1-0 Saturday at Union Arena.
The table was set for the win in their previous game against Spaulding, when, after seven scoreless outings, the Wasps finally scored their first goal of the season off the stick of sophomore Alaythia Lockhart. “I think for our team we thrive when we feel accomplished,” said junior goalie Pippa Shaw. “Our last game got us rolling because we had our first goal.” According to Coates, the team needed that first goal to be able to move forward with their season. “Now, we’ve got our first win. I feel their confidence level will be super high,” he said.
Woodstock’s early-season struggles have been taxing on staff and players alike, but throughout their 0-8 start, all pointed towards the importance of keeping their heads up and in the game. “It’s definitely harder being on a team that loses more often than they win,” said sophomore defender Josephina Palazzo, who scored the game’s only goal. “But the thing is knowing that it will come eventually, and we just have to keep working.” She continued, “Me specifically, just knowing that every game we were getting better, and every game we were getting closer to the win, was how I kept going.”
Shaw felt similarly. “It’s tough, obviously it sucks to lose every game,” she said. “No matter how many shots I get, or what my save percentage is, it gets me down.” The goalie said that while the season has been tough to get to this point, she realizes the team is in a rebuilding year and is “improving every practice, every game, every period.”
Early in the match, the Wasps controlled the puck well, spending a majority of their team in Harwood’s defensive end of the ice, leading to more shots on goal. “We were outshooting them, which is something you haven’t seen from us before,” said Coates. “We were doing all the things I expected us to do, but couldn’t put the puck in the net.” He emphasized the team’s focus on their forecheck for their improved offensive control.
By the time the game reached the third period, attendees could have been forgiven for thinking they were watching a rerun. Back on January 10, Harwood came to Woodstock with both teams looking for their first win. That game, like this past Saturday’s, went into the third period tied at zero. In that first contest, the Highlanders scored less than two minutes into the third, and would hold on for the 1-0 win. Coming out of the second intermission, an air of “Here we go again” filled the crowd. But the Wasps felt differently.
“I think they were ready to go into the third period,” said Coates. “Just getting as far as the third period without them scoring was a big thing for us,” said Palazzo. “We knew we were in that game and could win it. We’d been in that position before, but we knew this time that we’d learned from before and could do better.”
Despite a barrage of shot attempts by Harwood, Shaw stood her ground in the net, and the game went into overtime deadlocked. “It was awesome to get a shutout,” she said, her first of the year. Down two players, Coates could see the fatigue on the faces of his players going into the short three-minute break. “A lot of people had to do a lot of double shifting,” he recalled. “We were tired towards the end.”
With fatigue setting in, Palazzo knew she needed to act fast. Approximately 40 seconds into the overtime period, Palazzo and fellow defender junior Ryan Hughes were skating up ice. Palazzo received the puck at mid-ice, with two defenders between her and the net. “I got the puck and knew I needed to take it now, because it could be the only opportunity I had,” she said. “I skated past that first defender, and then there was one left, and I knew it was all I had between me and the goal. So I pushed myself.”
Now past the defenders, the only person between Palazzo and her team’s first win was Harwood’s stellar junior goalie, Camille Edgcomb. Prior to this moment, Edgcomb had faced 31 shots on goal and denied them all. “The goalie was really good, so I knew a straightforward shot was not going to work,” said the young Wasp. “So I tried to deke, and it went in quickly.”
Palazzo fooled the goalie and sent the puck sailing into the back of the net. For a moment, the arena fell silent, almost in a state of shock. Then, Union Arena erupted with joy as Palazzo’s teammates stormed the ice to greet her with elation. “It was pure excitement,” she said. “My first goal of the season, doing it in overtime, doing it to win for my team. It was very exciting and very uplifting.”
For her efforts, Palazzo received the team’s Most Combative award and the game-winning puck. “You look at how hard we played for the first half of the season, and the opponents we played with no quit,” said Coates. “We felt we were ready for this game. It feels really good to prepare for this, and to reach the goal that we wanted, which was our first win.”
Now 1-8, Woodstock finally has confidence on their side. “I think they’re gaining more confidence every day,” said assistant coach Leanne Tapley. “They’re learning together, and learning to trust their teammates. Confidence is a huge factor, and having our first win is only going to help with that.”
