SPRINGFIELD — “Looks like we are a little more consistent today,” Coach Zach Wells of the Nauset-Monomoy Warriors remarked to a bystander with a slight grin as he approached the visiting bench just before the third period of Sunday night’s game against Pope Francis Prep. Appearing confident and full of enthusiasm, he did not act anything like a coach whose team was down by a goal and had been held without a score for 5 consecutive periods. Apparently, he sensed something good was coming.
If so, he was right. Tri-captain Sophia Boucher found the back of the net less than 3 minutes into the third period off assists from Julia Kipperman and Maeve Kennally to tie the game at 1, triggering an eruption from the Warriors’ bench. That set the stage for Sophie Eldredge to drill a shot past Cardinal goalie Avery Savage only 30 seconds into the overtime for a much-needed comeback win.
“I got a great pass from Gaby [Bassett],” said the 8th-grade defenseman, “and I sniped it.” It was the only time the Warriors led in the game.
The Warriors could be forgiven if they had a sense of foreboding coming into Sunday’s contest. They were fresh off a potentially dispiriting 5-0 loss to Martha’s Vineyard — a team they had beaten by four goals earlier in the season — at the Charles Moore Arena in Orleans on Saturday to drop their record to 8-6-1. It was the first time they had been shut out in more than two years.
Also, although the Warriors had beaten the Cardinals four times in five meetings over the last three years, every game had been hard fought, with no margin greater than two goals. Add to that a three-hour bus trip that would make minor league baseball players wince, and you had the perfect ingredients for a slow start and a second straight flat performance.
Coach Wells was having none of that. The affable Wells, who puts the “up” in upbeat, spoke to a reporter next to the Smead Arena rink in Springfield just after stepping off the bus. Clearly disappointed by the loss to Martha’s Vineyard, he was eager for his team to get back on the ice.
“Two games in a weekend gives us the opportunity to bounce back and to reset immediately,” he said. He realized Pope Francis posed a major test, describing them as a “gritty team that doesn’t make many mistakes,” but he regarded that as a good thing.
Consistency has been a major theme for the coach recently, and it was the magic word again on Sunday.
“I would like to see our defense push the puck out of our zone consistently,” he said, “and get it moving north to our offense.” He was quick to point out that he had a veteran defense that was capable of that.
Wells did not have long to wait to see if the defensive unit was up to the challenge. Four minutes into the contest, the Warriors found themselves playing 3-on-5 for over three minutes due to two consecutive minor penalties. Pope Francis took immediate advantage by firing multiple shots in rapid succession, but most never found their way to netminder Ava O’Connell as her three defenders blocked or deflected them. Only one shot got through, and O’Connell handled it easily.
It was a gutsy penalty kill that gave the opposition more angst than tariffs. Carly Brand, Violet Yingling, Emily Decker, Kipperman, and Eldredge all had a hand in frustrating the Cardinals’ attack.
Offensively, the Warriors came to life in the second period. With the defense doing the job in their end, the offense, showcasing enough energy to power Provincetown for a month, combined for 9 shots on goal in the first 7 minutes. Unfortunately for Nauset-Monomoy, Savage was sensational in the Pope Francis goal, turning back every shot. While she was doing that, teammate Claire Desrosiers took advantage of a rare opportunity and scored off her own rebound at 2:55 of the second period to put Pope Francis in front, setting the stage for the visitors’ heroics in the third period and overtime.
Before the game could get to overtime, the Warriors needed one more stop from their goalie. O’Connell, saving her best for last, thwarted a Pope Francis wraparound by thrusting her left pad to the post with 20 seconds to go in regulation, leaving only a fraction of a second to spare.
“I didn’t really see it at first and then just saw it out of the corner of my eye,” said the sophomore netminder. Half a second slower and this would have been a completely different story.
O’Connell, one half of a strong goalie tandem with junior Norah Swanson, played the entire game as if she was protecting her inheritance. “Ava played unbelievable tonight,” said an elated Wells, outside the visitors’ locker room. “Our defense got the pucks out on rebounds, and we were consistent down low.” O’Connell joined her coach in praising the team effort. “I thought we all played really well tonight,” she said.
Wells noted that his squad played a solid three periods with good energy throughout. He attributed the contrast from the Martha’s Vineyard game to self-motivation.
“Whatever they found, I want them to keep,” said the fourth-year coach with a grin, subtly plugging the consistency theme. Then he left to collect his team for the long but happy bus ride home.
Warrior Notes
- The Warriors girls hockey team has four games remaining before the playoffs, including two at Charles Moore Arena: Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. against LaSalle Academy and the last game of the regular season at 7 p.m. on February 15 vs. Smithfield.
- Junior captain Gaby Bassett’s assist on the game-winning goal brings her to within 10 of 150 career points, a significant milestone.
