Girls Hockey
After finishing last year's historic season with a record of 14-6-2, the team is expected to have another great record with plans to make the state tournament in mind.
At the end of last year, the team lost 10 senior players, 7 of whom saw significant ice time. With only five players on the ice at a time and two main lines running, there are a lot of spots to fill. This year's team is made up of a small handful of upperclassmen and what seems to be a powerful group of young, talented players.
“With the talent pool from this young of a group including a couple of players who were on the team last year, the spots will be filled and they will be filled with skilled players who work hard and do the little things that make differences in the games.” Head Coach Rob Parsons said.
On top of the excitement that comes with such a young team, the girls are also joined by some new, yet familiar faces that come with the new co-op with Manchester Essex.
“The co-op and adding Manchester-Essex is super exciting for me and for a lot of these girls based on the fact that Cape Ann Youth Hockey is comprised of Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester, Essex, and Hamilton Wenham girls,” Coach Parsons said. “All these girls played together growing up through the U12 age group and then they get split up.”
On top of the girls being reunited, Parsons also mentions his connection with the new additions to the team.
“I’ve coached [the girls] as early as when they were 9 and as late as when they were 13 or 14 so it's great for me personally to have them back on my team,” Parsons said.
In this upcoming season, fans can look forward to top-notch defense from All-Conference defenseman Keagan Jewell, who scored a total of 10 goals and 14 assists last season with help from freshman Elizabeth Gentile (1 goal, 5 assists). There will be strong goaltending from Junior Kaydin Cusamano, returning as a fourth-year starter and finishing her 23-24 season with a total of 6 shutouts.
On the offensive line, Senior Halia Taylor stands as the only regular from last season, with 5 goals and 5 assists. After missing all of last season due to knee surgery, Junior Elliana Parsons is expected to make a major comeback, commanding the ice along with Freshmen Fiona Black (1 goal, 1 assist), and Kaya Collins (1 goal, 1 assist).
As for the new girls joining the team, Junior Teyah Fleming and Freshman Melanie Earl come off a strong season with Marblehead’s team. Manchester-Essex newcomer Joss Twombly and a talented group of Gloucester and Manchester-Essex 8th graders will be battling to fill the last empty spots on the roster.
Their first official home game is on December 14th at 7pm against Shawsheen Tech, but they're set to take on Newburyport this Wednesday at 5:30pm for a scrimmage.
