Girls' ice hockey: Strath Haven shuts out Haverford
Girls' ice hockey: Strath Haven shuts out Haverford
The Strath Haven High School girls’ ice hockey team managed to get the break it was looking for when it traveled to take on the Haverford Fords in Inter-County Scholastic Hockey League (ICSHL) action last Wednesday night at the Skatium.
After opening up the year with a record of 0-2, Strath Haven not only ended its losing streak but dominated Haverford in a 9-0 shutout to earn a spot in the win column.
This gave the Panthers one more thing to be thankful for on Thanksgiving the following day.
“It feels very good,” said Strath Haven head coach Chris Polo. “We’ve been working on different things.”
All that the Panthers had to do was work together as a team to seal this victory“When you work together, good things happen,” said Polo. “They executed tonight.”
Haverford dropped to 2-4 with this result. The Fords needed somebody to step to the forefront on offense and that simply did not happen at any time during the game.
“We didn’t have any true scorer,” said Haverford head coach Chris Marley. “We have a very young team.”Forward Carlie Smythe got her team on the scoreboard first off of a feed by forward Maeve Hiehle. The Panthers boosted their lead to 3-0 when defender Eleanor Miller and forward Candy Cook scored within five seconds of each other. Cook and defender Sarah Polo assisted on Miller’s goal. Miller provided the assist for Cook. Defender Sarah Peichel came in and scored off of Hiehle’s assist.
Peichel extended her sprint to 2-0 when she found the net unassisted at the beginning of the second stanza. Polo tallied a goal assisted by Miller. Cook scored again, this time off of an assist by Smythe. Hiehle accounted for a goal with 6:40 to play in the period and Haverford used a time out.
The Panthers finished with a total of 31 shots on goal as they had great possession of the puck. The Fords took 16 shots.
“We spent a lot of time in their zone, a lot of passing,” said Polo.
“We were shorthanded,” said Marley. “Strath Haven is a bigger team with more talent.”
Goalkeeper Jordan Matsinger led the way on defense for the Fords.
“She’s seen a lot of pucks this season,” said Marley. “She does well.”
Haverford and Strath Haven have a long season ahead. Both teams will be back on the ice this Friday night. The Fords host the Radnor Red Raiders at 10:30 p.m. at the Skatium. The Panthers are set to take on Downingtown West at 9:45 p.m. at Ice Works.
“Hopefully, it will get better,” said Marley.
