Growing up Holliston, Jenna Shutt was interested in learning how to skate and play hockey with the boys. Around the sixth grade, she joined a learn to skate program out of Framingham and by the seventh grade she was playing hockey for the Framingham Flyers. Like most newcomers to the sport, she got to try out all the positions on the ice, after playing goalie she knew this was the position for her.
“I started out playing the other positions, but when it came to my turn to play goalie, I immediately fell in love with the position,” the Holliston junior said. “Goalie is different than any other position and I like the feeling of all the pressure being on you.”
Playing in the youth hockey program, Shutt found that there really wasn’t any pressure put upon her, but by the time she started playing for club teams, the pressure kicked in. However, she didn’t let it get to her and just took to the ice and played her game.
“Obviously letting up as goal is not a good thing, but you just have to forget about it and move on,” Shutt said. “Leave it behind, and move onto making the next save, and focus on doing your job, keeping pucks out of the net.”
Having no girls’ hockey team based out of Holliston High School, Shutt got involved with the Medway Ashland co-op team. While there were no tryouts so to speak of, her introduction to the team was competitive and unfortunately for Shutt the team already had a junior goalie.
With a keeper (All Star Rachel Gittings) already established the Holliston athlete knew that she would have to wait until she graduated before she would get her opportunity. In the meantime, then then freshman would take to the ice with the junior varsity team on a regular basis, while continuing to work hard in practice with the varsity team.
“My freshman year I did get a start against Dover-Sherborn, and while I was nervous going in, the pressure of playing a good game kept me going,” she said. “It was a good game, we won 2-1, and I thought that I played pretty well especially facing the amount of shots that came my way. I felt I proved that I could play the game and belonged on the team.”
During her sophomore year as the back-up, once again Shutt used her time on the bench to study the team’s current keeper of the goal.
“During my sophomore year, I used my time sitting on the bench to my advantage. I began watching our goalie and look into the things she did well,” Shutt said. “I would then try to mimic those things in practice while continuing to work hard to show the team that I was just as good as she was.”
In addition to playing for Medway Ashland, Shutt continues to work hard during the off-season and plays on a boys midgit team out of Framingham as well as a girls’ team out of Natick during the fall season.
Coming into this season, her junior campaign, Shutt knew that the starting goalie position was hers and although her work ethic didn’t change, she did have to change her mindset about the way she prepared for the upcoming season.
“Before the season, I had to get myself mentally prepared as this was to be my year to show what I am capable of doing,” the Medway Ashland goalie said. “I had taken everything that my father, who was also a goalie growing up, taught me when I was younger, and everything I had learned over the last two years watching this team.”
Shutt just wanted to come into her first varsity season as the starting goalie and play her game while proving herself on the ice.
“I’ve worked hard and want to be one of the top goalies in the league,” she said.
At the time of this writing, the team was 5-6-4 with Shutt posting 2.25 goals against average, and Coach Karl Infanger was quite proud of the way his first-year starter was playing.
“Although this is her first year starting, her first start against Dover Sherborn she performed very well,” the Medway Ashland Coach said. “Despite our record, she has played great this year, despite having some big shoes to fill. She posted a 26 save performance against top ranked Canton and has a 90 % save rating.”
While she still has the rest of this season as well as all of next year, Shutt is hoping that hockey is something that she’ll continue to play after she graduates form Holliston.
“I know that it’s still a way’s off, but I would really like to continue to play hockey on the college level,” she said. “Playing club hockey would also be fine, but I’m hoping to play for a college team.”
As Shutt and her Medway Ashland teammates continue to put forth their best skate this year in trying to earn themselves a spot in the Division 2 Girls Ice Hockey Tournament, the Holliston native is also hoping that she can continue to play well enough to get colleges to eventually look at her. She has a year and a half to have that accomplished, but right now she just wants to help her team into the post season.
Issue Date:
March, 2020
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