The Red Hornets (3-0-1) got on the board quickly, as Grace McBride put back a rebound of Madi Simard’s shot just 2:27 into the contest. Those were the first two shots of the game for the Red Hornets, and were the only two of the first period.
The Clippers (2-3) answered back four minutes later on a Georgia Giese goal, then took the lead 80 seconds later on a power-play goal by Katie Clemmer.
The Clippers outshot the Red Hornets 4-2 in the first period and pressured the puck every time the Red Hornets had possession.
“We had to get our feet moving a little bit more, and I think we had to play a little more disciplined. We weren’t doing a very good job angling them,” Red Hornets head coach Shon Collins said. “In the D-zone, I don’t think we had very good awareness. That first goal they scored, I don’t know that any of my players knew that player was standing alone in front of the net.”
Simard said the first period was a wakeup call.
The Red Hornets regrouped in the second, and did so in a hurry. Madi DeRosa scored on a counterattack 38 seconds into the period to tie the game 2-2. Simard and Saige Arseneault added unassisted goals of their own two minutes apart as the Red Hornets doubled-up the score, 4-2, six minutes into the middle period.
Simard and DeRosa hooked up on one last goal with just over two minutes left in the second period. Simard streaked up the right side, then found DeRosa wide open by the left post as a Clipper defender and goalie Miranda O’Shea both focused their attention on Simard. DeRosa didn’t miss on the chance to put the exclamation point on the scoring in the game.
“Definitely the chemistry is up. We’ve been working a lot during practice,” Simard said of her tandem play with DeRosa. “I can’t really describe it. I was coming down the right side, and she just yelled for it. And we kind of have that connection, we just kind of know each other’s there.”
“I thought they were both really impressive,” Collins said of Simard and DeRosa, who combined for six points. “They drove us offensively tonight.”
The Red Hornets scored on four of their six shots in the second period, and were held to just one attempt on goal in the third. The Clippers totaled four of their 19 shots in the final period, but were unable to solve Red Hornets goalie Sarah Hammond, who made 17 saves to earn the win.
“She’s been really strong for a kid that started playing hockey for the first time on November 2, when our season started,” Collins said of Hammond, a senior. “She’s done an excellent job reacting, and picking the team up when we’re not doing the little things we need to.”
The Red Hornets return to action Saturday when they travel to face Greely at Family Ice Center in Falmouth.
wkramlich@sunjournal.com
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