After a back-and-forth game against Delano Nov. 30, Park’s girls hockey team was ultimately met with a loss. The team managed to score, but Delano came through with two extra goals in the third period, making the final score 1-3.
Head coach Ryan St. Martin said a stronger start in the game may have led to a closer score.
“We could have started a little stronger,” St. Martin said. “(The beginning) ended up not affecting the whole game, but maybe if we got a goal earlier, it would have changed the outcome.”
According to senior Camryn Witham, the team could have focused on their determination going into the third period.
“We could have had more perseverance,” Witham said. “In the first and second periods we played pretty well. We started to lose it in the third period after they scored.”
Freshman Lianna Hess said although there were things she would have changed about the way she played on the ice, her passes were good.
“I could have done better today by supporting my defense, staying back and stepping up to the forwards more,” Hess said. “I did well pinching and being open for passes.”
According to St. Martin, the team managed to stay strong for most of the game, especially knowing that Delano was a tough team to go up against.
“We had a good week of practice, so we were looking forward to playing this fast team,” St. Martin said. “The biggest thing we did was handle adversity well, especially when we had some situations we had to dig deep for.”
Witham said she wants to learn from this game, and will be more focused going forward.
“For the next game, I’m going to make sure I get more sleep and drink more water and I’ll come to the game with my head in it,” Witham said. “We’ll go into (the next game) stronger and learn from this one.”
Hess said she plans to put more effort into practices, and is prepared for the next game.
“In practice, I’m going to try my hardest and play smart,” Hess said. “Next game, we’re going to come back ready to win, and ready as a team.”
Girls hockey’s next game is against North Wright County at 7:00 pm Dec. 5 at Minnetonka Ice Arena.
