News Articles & Feature Stories

This past weekend, the Hoosac School Girls Varsity Hockey team traveled to Rye, New York, to compete in the Women’s Interscholastic Hockey League of the Mid Atlantic (WIHLMA) playoffs. Out of four teams, the Owls entered the weekend ranked #1 in the league, with only one regular season loss. 

The Owls kicked off the weekend with a great 7-0 victory against Rye Country Day School. Goals came from five different players, Adriana Urban, ‘23, Ellie Patrick, ‘24, Nina Hudakova, ‘23, Bella Gale, ‘24, and Geneva Letal, ‘25. Lacy Bigelow, ‘23, exhibited a stellar performance, picking up her first shutout of the season. The victory allowed the Owls to remain in their #1 seed for the championship game. 

The following day, the owls took the ice against a strong Portledge School team for the championship in an absolutely thrilling game. Portledge hit the ice flying, scoring an unanswered goal early in the first period. Throughout the next period and a half, each team had many scoring opportunities, but the game entered the third period with a score of 1-0. When Portledge School scored with only three minutes remaining in the game, many fans had thought the game over. However, the Owls were not so easily defeated; with two minutes left on the clock, Head Coach Bill Ward made the decision to pull the goalie. With six skaters on the ice, the Owls hounded their offensive zone in search of a goal. Their first came with 1:27 left, off a shot from defenseman Izabella O’leary, ‘23, with assists from Bella Gale and Geneva Letal. One minute and five seconds later, Emily Wroblewski, ‘23, assisted by Adriana Urban '23, scored for the Owls, tying the game at two with 23 seconds left, and ultimately sending it into overtime.

The first overtime was 5 minutes of 4 on 4 hockey.  Neither team was able to find the back of the net.  The two teams played two more 5 minute overtime periods of 3 on 3 hockey with no scoring.   About halfway through the 4th overtime, Portledge scored with a breakaway goal. However, throughout the 17 and a half minutes of overtime, the Owls battled hard and controlled the majority of play. They had countless scoring opportunities, including a 2 on 0 and numerous breakaways. 

Although the Owls did come out of the weekend with the results they had hoped for, they left with their heads held high, knowing that they battled their hardest and played two amazing hockey games. Their season is now winding down, with only three games remaining. They are looking to pick up a few more wins over the next week, starting with a strong Cushing Academy team on Wednesday.