KINGSTON — As followers eagerly gathered outdoors the doorways to the Bog, members of Duxbury women hockey crew proudly strolled previous, trying to get again to the ice. Despite the frigid temperatures, most couldn’t wait to cheer on reigning Div. 2 champions as they ready to tackle one other juggernaut.
So far, the Dragons have lived as much as their lofty expectations. Reese Porter, Maddie Greenwood and Maeve Gallagher every potted objectives, whereas Anna McGinty registered 25 saves Saturday to propel Duxbury to a 3-1 victory over archrival Hingham.
“I think especially with this being our first home game, we just really wanted to get out there and go from the gun right away in the first five minutes,” Greenwood mentioned. “Give it everything we had, because we’ve been practicing for two to three weeks now. I think our chemistry has started to develop, so I think it’s just (about) working hard, playing gritty, and focusing on the small details …that was kind of all we could ask for going into the first game.”
Entering the battle, Duxbury (2-0) was ranked as the highest crew to observe in Massachusetts, with Hingham third. For a lot of the opening interval, the Dragons discovered themselves chasing the puck. However, they had been opportunistic. Porter sniped her first objective of the season with a wrist shot in transition, giving her group a 1-0 lead with 4:53 left within the first. Meanwhile, McGinty continued to supply stable play in internet.
“We didn’t have a ton of opportunities, but I thought we were actually solid defensively, especially on the penalty kill,” mentioned Duxbury coach Dan Najarian. “I thought we blocked a lot of shots on the PK. They may have had more shots than us, but not a ton of them were quality shots. I thought we did a good job clearing lanes, so Anna could see the puck. If Anna can see it, she’s going to stop it.”
The development carried on into the following interval. Hingham continued to fireplace pucks on the internet, however to no avail. As the Harborwomen tried to develop a rush, the puck skipped free for a break up second and settled on the ft of Greenwood. Amid site visitors, the senior kicked it to herself as she sprung herself free for a one-on-one shot. The senior deposited a backhander, as Duxbury prolonged its benefit to 2-0 with 10:17 remaining within the second.
“In a game like this where it could go either way, bounce here or there, (breakaways) are huge,” Najarian mentioned. “You don’t get a lot of scoring opportunities, so when you get them, you have to finish them.”
Hingham was lastly in a position to get on the board 39 seconds into the third interval off a snipe by Shea Richardson, which made it 2-1.
However, because the Harborwomen looked for an equalizer with simply over three minutes to go, they had been thwarted by Gallagher. The junior stole the puck for a breakaway bid herself, then netted a shorthanded objective to place the Dragons forward 3-1.
Greenwood additionally added an help within the victory for Duxbury. Senior captain Reese Pompeo had an help for Hingham.
“I think we’re going to stick to our game,” mentioned Greenwood. “Ignore all the necessary praise from last season, because this is a completely new team. New skills, new strengths and weaknesses …just working as hard as we can. That’s our attitude going forward.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com