Tewksbury RedCats Girls U10 Hockey Team Splits Recent Action

Tewksbury RedCats Girls U10 Hockey Team splits recent action, beating Winchester and losing to Walpole.

On Sunday November 4th the RedCats dominated Winchester and skated away with an impressive 8-0 win.  The RedCats were playing with a short bench as Maci Chapman, Kaylen Taddia, and Jade Owirka were missing due to a Squirt game.  Although the RedCats were down a few players, they controlled play from the opening faceoff to the final whistle in the win and proved that girls hockey in Tewksbury has a bright future.  The RedCats scored early as Caitlin Marchant took a nice pass from Alexis Raymond and beat the Winchester goalie with a hard wrist shot over the glove for the 1-0 RedCats lead.  Winchester battled back but RedCats goalie Megan Cunningham made 2 nice saves to keep the lead for the RedCats.  With just over 5 minutes to play in the 1st period Abby O'Keefe stole the puck from a Winchester forward, deked around the defenseman, and fired a nice pass to Nikole Gosse at the left face-off dot.  Nikole wasted no time and fired a low wrist shot into the back of the net for the 2-0 lead.  The RedCats kept pressure in the Winchester zone and with just over 1 minute to play in the 1st period Erin Taber scored on a great individual effort to increase the lead to 3-0 for the RedCats.  The RedCats dominated the 2nd period, keeping pressure in the Winchester zone for the majority of the period.  Lydia Pendleton made a great play on the backcheck, stealing the puck from a Winchester forward and carrying the puck into the Winchester zone getting off a hard wrist shot that was saved but Erin Taber was there to bury the rebound.  On the very next shift Ryan Quinn used her speed to beat 2 Winchester defenders to a loose puck.  Ryan was able to get off a nice backhander that hit the post but once again Erin Taber was in the perfect spot to knock in the rebound to give the RedCats a 6-0 lead after 2 periods.  The 3rd period started and Winchester was able to put pressure on the RedCats but goalie Megan Cunningham was there to shut the door and keep the Winchester team off the scoreboard.  The final 3 minutes of the game turned into the Lydia Pendleton show as she scored 2 goals in less than 2 minutes.  Lydia beat the Winchester goalie with a hard wrist shot for the first of her 2 goals, assist going to Alice Sharpe.  Lydia then used her speed to blow past the Winchester defense and beat the goalie through the 5-hole for the 8-0 win for the RedCats.

On Saturday November 10th the RedCats took to the road for a game in Walpole against the Walpole Express.  The RedCats once again had a short bench as Kaylen Taddia and Tess Barrett were out of the lineup but they fought hard against a talented Walpole team.  The RedCats came out strong and got immediate pressure in the Walpole zone as the line of Caitlin Marchant, Maci Chapman, and Julia Stanizzi got 2 quick shots that the Walpole goalie was able to save.  Walpole used their speed to create pressure in the RedCats zone but great defensive efforts from Lydia Pendleton and Alexis Raymond kept Walpole off the board.  With just under 2 minutes to play in the 1st period Walpole took a 1-0 lead as big #17 from Walpole scored on a high-wrist shot that Tim Thomas would of had trouble saving.  The RedCats opened the 2nd period determined to tie the game.  Abby O'Keefe, Ryan Quinn, and Nikole Gosse worked the puck down low and Ryan sent a great pass to Abby in the slot but the Walpole goalie made a great save on Abby's wrist shot.  Walpole fought back and had chances to increase their lead but the "D-Crew" of Jade Owirka, Lydia Pendleton, Alexis Raymond, and Maci Chapman kept the puck away from the RedCats net.  The 3rd period started with Caitlin Marchant and Alice Sharpe combining on a nice give-and-go play but Caitlin's shot hit the post.  Walpole turned the pressure on and had 3 straight breakaways but RedCats goalie Megan Cunningham saved all 3, including 1 that hit her square in the head, she kept her composure and saved the rebound as well, prompting the RedCats bench and fans to start the "MEGAN MEGAN MEGAN" chant.  Walpole kept pressure on the RedCats and scored 2 late goals to secure the 3-0 win.