Girl Talk: Warrior trio piling up the points
Andover High senior forward Nora Hurley (5-9-14) and her linemates Abby Walles (6-4-10) and Brooke Howard (2-6-8) have combined to score 13 goals this season, which has played big for the Golden Warriors (5-2-1).
“We have some new talent that has come in and we have all worked collectively together during practices and games and it’s shown (with our record). We have been learning new systems, and new things on power plays and it’s been helping us to scoring more goals,” said Hurley.
Maeve moving for Raiders
Among the many bright spots for the 5-3 Raiders is junior defenseman Maeve O’Sullivan, who returned to the line-up after missing her sophomore season with a knee injury.
“Maeve has been strong on the blue line for us and is chipping in offensively as well,” said first-year head coach Ron Cardillo. “You could see early in the pre-season she was still a little hesitant getting back on the ice. She has really come on as late as her confidence in her knee is growing and her play is really taking off.”
Kmiec flying for HPNA
During the fall, Mia Kmiec an injury during a soccer game. She wasn’t sure if she’d make it back in time for the start of this season. She has and she’s been on fire with seven goals and three assists through the first nine games.
“I’m very surprised (with my production). Coming off a torn meniscus and missing the fall hockey season, I didn’t know what to expect for this season,” she said.
Added head coach Gary Kane, “Mia has emerged as one of the top talents over these last two years. Leading HPNA in scoring she has found her scoring touch and has also made the players around her better. Mia will be a player to watch over these next couple of seasons.”
Dunn dealing for Pinkerton
The Astros were decimated when some of last year’s top players transferred, however, new players have stepped right into the lineup including freshman defenseman Finley Dunn, who has three goals and three assists in just two games.
“Finley started the season strong scoring two goals and one assist in the season opener win against Souhegan. She followed that performance with a goal and two assists in a loss against Kingswood,” said head coach Scott Dunn.
Salem pushing toward .500
The last few years, the wins have been extremely hard to come by for the Salem Blue Devils. Thus far this season, Salem is 3-4.
“These girls come to practice and work hard,” said coach Scott Crowther. “The captains push all the girls to do the same and are always positive on and off the ice. The leadership shows in the games.”
The captains, Grace Hoover (7-6-13), Lauren Herr (4-1-5) and Keegan Powers (4-2-6) have combined for 13 goals and 8 assists through six games.
Powers had a big game on Wednesday night in a loss to Exeter. She scored two goals and blocked nine shots from her defensive position.