On Wed, Dec 3rd the VGIH team traveled to New Milford, Conn to face a strong Canterbury Girls Varsity team. The game ended in a 4-3 victory for Canterbury, but the level of play and the effort put in by the Portledge girls were both extremely high. This hard fought contest was followed by three straight wins in WIHLMA competition. These impressive results were turned in by the Lady Panther skaters against The Pingry School, The Hill School and Princeton High School, respectively. The team's overall record now stands at 4 wins and 2 losses as they head into a well deserved holiday break. When school resumes in January, the girls will take on the Varsity teams of Millbrook School and Lawrenceville, before heading back down to Hill for a weekend of WIHLMA play over the weekend of Jan 12th-14th.
What Happened Up @ Canterbury?
Well this was a really intense varsity girls ice hockey game. The Portledge girls jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Addie Reilly scored her first goal as a Portledge skater on a rebound of a Siena Falino shot, only to see Canterbury come back to even the score at the beginning of the 2nd period after some prolonged pressure in the Panther zone. The one on one battles in this game were incredible, as both teams struggled to clear their respective defensive zones while facing strong fore checks from their opponents. Portledge went up 2-1 mid way through the 2nd period when Emily Prey launched a rocket of a wrist shot into the top corner of the Canterbury net. Emily surprised the Saint's goalie with the pace of her shot as she also registered her first Portledge goal. Once again Canterbury unleashed some extensive pressure in the Portledge zone and eventually forced a loose puck in the top of the slot area. Eventually a Saint's winger got control of the loose biscuit and fired it by Portledge goalie Jess Sarrantonio to tie the score once again. This goal really enthused the Canterbury team and before long they had added another to take a 3-2 lead going into the second intermission. The Portledge girls have a lot of heart though, and they emerged from the locker room to carry the play in the early going of the third period. As the clock wound down to under 5 minutes left, captain Siena Falino took a perfect breakout pass from captain Kelly Alefeld in center ice and headed towards the Canterbury zone. Falino was being hacked at continuously as she weaved her way around the numerous Saint's defenders and bore down on the goal. At the last second "C", as she's called by the girls on the team, sent a beautiful cross crease pass to a wide open Ashley Wade who calmly knocked the puck into the back of the net to tie the score once again in this amazing game. Unfortunately for the Lady Panther skaters the Canterbury girls had the last say though, as one of their top players found an open teammate on the back post with a slick pass of her own, to give the Saint's the lead as time was running out. Coach Schwam pulled Sarrantonio with well over a minute remaining, but although they had some good chances, the Portledge girls couldn't find another miracle this time. The teams exchanged the traditional hand shakes, and this excellent example of girls prep school hockey was complete. While the loss was tough to swallow, the Portledge team can be very proud of the way they competed on this day. I know that their coaches are very happy with their consistent effort and dedication to the program.
What's Happened During This Run of WIHLMA Wins?
This latest stretch of three league games was viewed by the VGIH team as critical to the overall success of the season. It was a chance for the Lady Panther skaters to stake a claim as one of the top teams in the league, alongside Morristown Beard and Shaddy Side Academy. The first of these contests was against the Pingry School from New Jersey. Pingry's program is not as strong as some of the others in the league, so the game was a chance for all the Portledge girls to get a lot of ice time and really move the puck around. Senior Liz Lanza and Freshman Hope Mulry both scored their first Portledge goals, and Freshman forward Ashley Wade continued her fine play with two goals in the first period and one in the third. Wade is emerging as a solid player at both ends of the rink and has been equally effective as a first line wing and as a second line center. During this game the teams defensive corps, made up of Senior captain Kelly Alefeld, Sophomores Chelsea Caracciolo and Emily Prey, and Freshman Maria "Robbie" Robbins, continuously broke the puck out with ease and confidence. If the "D" can control the game this way , it will make a tough second half schedule a lot easier to deal with. The final score of 10-0 gave the whole team a big boost going into an away game v. The Hill.
Down at The Hill School the Portledge girls faced one of the best goalies the program has ever seen. The Hill netminder made save after save as the Lady Panthers peppered the Hill goal with shots. The game was still scoreless half way through the second when Addie Reilly sent a wrister towards the opposing net and captain Siena Falino darted in to deflect it by what seemed like a brick wall in the Hill goal. This relaxed the Portledge team and they went on to dominate the rest of the game with great puck possession and hard forechecking that pinned the Hill team in their own zone. Falino added a second goal in the third period to reach the final scoreline of 2-0. The Lady Panthers now had just one more hurdle (Princeton High@Home) to complete the sweep of these three pre-holiday break league games.
It was a cold night down at the Dam for this final game before break. Princeton High is a much improved team and they were a determined bunch on this night. After Portledge broke out to an early 2-0 lead on goals by captain Siena Falino and Senior Liz Lanza, PHS came roaring back at the start of the 2nd period with two goals of their own. Each game this year has seemed to have a defining moment and this was definately true on this evening. After the second PHS goal Siena Falino deflected the center face off to herself and took off towards the Princeton zone. After eluding two PHS defenders she threw a few fakes at the keeper before slipping the biscuit by her and into the net. The Portledge lead was restored and the girls went on to play a great 3rd period and extend their lead to three goals. The final score of 5-2 was not indicative of how hard these teams battled during this game. The Lady Panthers go into the break with three straight wins and great deal of confidence. We'll see all you girls hockey fans after the holidays as the story of this inaugural WIHLMA season continues.
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