Best May Be Yet to Come for Tewksbury-Methuen Girls Hockey

The Tewksbury-Methuen girls hockey team surprised just about everyone on the high school scene with this year’s run to the Division 2 semifinal round – even themselves.

In the team’s first every varsity season, the locals came out of the gates with a 2-0-2 mark to beging the regular season. It was at that point that head coach Kim Bruff said her players realized just what could be to come.

“At the beginning of the season we didn’t know what we’d have. We wanted to be a competitive team, but being a first year program we had a lot to catch up on,” said Bruff. “I think initially the girls were like ‘Whoa. I thought we were going to get slaughtered.’ So when that happened, they gained a little confidence that they knew they could compete here.”

Though the team was compiling wins throughout the regular season, they still needed to win their final two tilts just to quality for the playoffs. They got those wins, and continued the momentum into the tournament.

Tewksbury-Methuen thumped Norwell, 10-3, beat Canton, 7-3, and snuck past Gardner, 3-1, before eventual state champion Duxbury eliminated the upstart team with an 8-0 decision.

“It was wild,” said Bruff. “We just peaked at the right time come playoffs. A lot of the girls, especially the seventh graders, towards the end of the season they started to realize what high school hockey was and what you needed to do to beat someone who’s stronger and faster than you to the puck.”

For opponents of the locals, the scary part is that the best may be yet to come.

Tewksbury-Metheun had zero seniors on this year’s team and has just three juniors. That means the entire team is eligible to return next season. 

“We surprised ourselves, along with some other people in the playoffs,” said Bruff. “We won’t be losing anyone next year, so I think the future is very bright.”

Are you a fan of Tewksbury sports? Be sure to check out these stories as well.

• Clock Strikes Midnight For Red Rangers In Loss to Duxbury
• Cinderella Dances On! Red Rangers Advance to State Semifinals