By David Miles, Sports Correspondent
When facing a team that appears to be over matched, a fast start can be critical. The longer that the team that appears weaker on paper stays in the game, the harder it can sometimes be to put it away.
Three goals in less than four minutes certainly did the trick. That was all the WUHS girls’ hockey team needed to defeat win less North Country at the Union Arena Saturday evening. The Wasps ultimately scored the game’s first six goals before easing to a 6-2 triumph.
“It was exciting to come out as hard as we did tonight,” said senior Hannah Milstone. “I’m happy with the amount of intensity we brought right at the start.”
Only 27 seconds elapsed before Woodstock struck for the opening goal. Lauren Forgione put the home team on top very early, assisted by Anna Hepler and Sadie Kuhn, on the game’s opening shift.
It became 2-0 just 50 seconds later when Lizzy Peck scored an unassisted goal. And Milstone knocked home the third goal 3:50 into the game, with assists from Sidney Pilot and Annabelle Lessard.
“That good start gave us lots of confidence,” said senior forward Miranda Johnson. “We know we can’t be thinking we’ll beat them easily. We have to be prepared to come out hard at first and we did that.”
Holly Weglarz also scored a goal late in the period, giving the Wasps a 4-0 lead at the first intermission. Kuhn had a pair of unassisted goals, one early and one late, in the second period and the game was all but over at that point.
The visiting Falcons did manage a pair of goals in the final period. Both came on breakaways, one just as North Country was concluding a successful penalty kill.
“I challenged the girls tonight and they responded,” said Coach Ian Coates. “Each period I moved one forward to defense and one defensive player to forward. It put them in slightly different situations than they were used to. I think it helped open their eyes to other scenarios they might face some time. A game like this allowed us to do that.”
It was just a couple of years ago that the skates were on the other feet. North Country was the state champion in 2015 and Woodstock went winless that campaign. It is testimony to how quickly things can change in high school sports, but even more to how willing the Wasps were to pay their dues during the lean years.
“We worked hard to become the team we are now,” said Johnson. “They will too. They’re the team that’s in a rebuilding year.”
Fellow senior Heather Blanchard remembers those first two seasons well. “It feels really good to beat them,” said the team captain. “But it’s also weird to have a team that was that good be on the other end where we used to be.”
Woodstock went over three years without winning a game, including the first two seasons for this year’s five seniors. But despite success on the scoreboard, steady progress was being made.
“The energy of the older players set the tone during those years,” said Milstone. “It wasn’t always about winning. Even last year when we did have success, it was more important that we found the team that we could be. I’m so happy to see our progression. And I’m proud of the girls that stuck with it.”
That progress will be put to the test with a road game at Stowe next Tuesday, Feb. 14. And tough matchups with Rice and at Missisquoi loom at the end of the regular season the following week too. But the 10-3-1 Wasps have already been through a lot, not only this season, but previously, and are ready for more challenges.
Slap Shots: Early in the third period Woodstock has a commanding 15-4 advantage in shots on goal. It ended with a more respectable 19-12 margin. … Only one penalty was called on Woodstock and just two on the Falcons. … The Wasps had an amazing win three days earlier at U-32. Trailing 2-0 midway through the final period, Sadie Kuhn went end-to-end and scored to cut the margin in half. She stayed on the ice for the following face-off and did the same exact thing 10 seconds later. The Raiders’ coach called timeout to try and settle his team. Kuhn sat for one shift, came back on the ice and had yet one more rush and a goal. That was a hat trick in a mere 1:29, each goal essentially on the same play. Woodstock held on for the 3-2 road win, an important one to stay ahead of U-32 in the D-II standings.
This article first appeared in the February 9, 2017 edition of the Vermont Standard.