FALMOUTH — Speed can mean everything in hockey. For Greely/Gray-New Gloucester, it meant the key to victory Friday night.
The Rangers used their speed to their advantage, and they scored a bunch of goals quickly to put the game out of reach in a hurry for an 11-1 girls’ hockey win over Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland at Family Ice Center.
The Rangers (3-0) put four shots on goal in the first four minutes before finally getting one in just under five minutes in. That was followed by three more in just over three minutes for a 4-0 lead 8:02 into the game.
“I think their experience, and the number of girls they have (with experience), and our lack of experience really showed out,” Red Hornets coach Dana Berube said. “I think the first couple shifts we were fine. Honestly, we’re a work in progress. I knew this was going to be a tough game.”
Freshman Camilla Lattanzi got the goals going, then Bridget Roberts, Molly Horton and Courtney Sullivan — the Rangers’ three senior captains — all followed with tallies of their own in the first.
“This time of the season you kind of don’t really know what to expect from anyone. So we kind of try to approach every game the same way,” Rangers coach Nate Guerin said. “We know that Courtney and Bridget … they’re going to stand out against everyone, so letting them kind of lead the way and the rest of our girls are able to follow and contribute.”
The Red Hornets (1-1-1) got one back late in the first, with Colleen Mathieu finishing up a rebound of Caroline Tracy’s initial shot against Rangers goalie Jordyn Owens.
The visitors made it tougher on themselves in the second by putting themselves in the penalty box. The Rangers took advantage of that too.
Horton cleaned up a rebound of Jayme Morrison’s point shot for one power-play goal, then Lattanzi scored twice on an extended power play — first with a two-man advantage, then in a 5-on-4 situation.
Maddie Pelletier added a pair of goals 44 seconds apart late in the second to stretch the lead to 9-1.
“Maddie played great, Camilla played great,” Guerin said. “They’ve been doing an excellent job, both of them. All of our new players, really.”
Sullivan nearly made it 10 goals before the period was done, but Red Hornets goalie Manny Guimond stuffed Sullivan on a breakaway, then again on the rebound.
Guerin called the initial save an “incredible” one, but it was also costly for the Red Hornets. Guimond injured her groin on the play and was pulled between periods after stopping 32 of 41 shots.
“There was no point of getting her back out there and risking any further injury,” Berube said. “I thought she was phenomenal. Even with the number of goals that were put in behind her, she reminded all of us of the caliber goalie she is. She stood on her head on a lot of those shots.”
Anna LeBlanc stepped up when Berube was looking for a backup goalie, and the sophomore stepped into the crease for the first time in her career. She was greeted by Sullivan, who did make it 10 goals 20 seconds into the third with a backhand goal. Morrison rounded out the scoring late in a third period with a running clock.
LeBlanc finished with a pair of saves. Owens stopped four of five shots for the Rangers.
“I thought our kids, they had a lot of good sportsmanship even when it was that lopsided,” Berube said. “You see a lot of boys’ games, if you see a score like that, it can get ugly. So I was proud of the girls for acting the right way, regardless of what the score was, and doing the right things.”
wkramlich@sunjournal.com
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