Medway-Ashland Girls’ Hockey Aims to Advance

Entering their eighth season the Medway-Ashland girls’ hockey team is looking to continue its success and keep its steak of advancing into the tournament alive. Playing in the South Eastern Massachusetts Girls Hockey League, the squad has seven straight appearances in post-season play. Last winter the team went 10-7-2 during the regular season to earn a 22 seed (28 teams made the tournament). However, that low number only fueled Medway-Ashland as the girls upset number 11 Marshfield 4-3 in overtime and then number 6 Burlington 5-4 in overtime before final bowing out with a 2-0 loss to Wellesley (who eventually lost in the championship game) in the Quarter Finals.
When the program first got under way, Coach Kurt Carter would schedule anyone he could just to get the girls playing; nowadays things are different.
“As independents, I’d schedule anyone who would play us,” the Medway-Ashland Coach said. “As of late, I’ve been scheduling more challenging teams. There are no softies in our league, and the coastal teams have pretty much owed it so I want to play those them to see where we stand as well as get the team ready for tournament play.”
Although the team is currently off to a rough start at 0-3-2, it’s not exactly where the coach had hoped they would be, but on the other hand he is not panicking quiet yet.
“I really figured that we’d take off right where we were last season despite having lost two of our key defenders and a top forward,” Carter said. “I thought that our depth was good enough and this would be the year. We have nine seniors this year and a couple of incoming freshmen, who once they’re up to speed, should bridge the gap; with this type of talent we should be able to succeed.”
Leading the squad on the ice is senior right winger Ashley Fondo from Holliston. The senior is without a doubt a proven goal scorer for Medway-Ashland leading the team in scoring last winter where she notched 21 goals and added 20 assists. On the left side Gabby Airosus from Medway will play with Fondo on the first line. Last year the duo was paired with center Kerry Ann Goode, who has since moved on and left a big hole for Carter to fill.
“That has been our Achilles heel so far, trying to find the right playmaker to take her spot,” the Coach said. “We’ve been through numerous combinations looking to find that balance but nothing really yet.”
While Fondo is once again expected to lead the team in scoring, Carter has a handful of girls who should be able to find the back of the net on a regular basis. In addition to Airosus, Carter will be looking to a trio of Ashland players to light the lamp in Katie McGoff, a junior left wing; Maddy Hornung, a junior center and Colleen Reardon, a senior forward. Airosus, McGoff and Hornung all have the potential to score 20 goals this season; they just need to step it up. Reardon, who is typically a right winger, has been used on the first line as of late looking to find that right piece.
“It has been my observation though my eight years of coaching girls hokey that when they first come in as freshmen they’re all wide eyed and willing to work hard,” Carter said. “They get a little comfortable in their sophomore year and by their junior year they either get it or don’t. I’m looking for McGoff and Hornung to make that leap this year.”
Another junior is Holliston’s Morgan Perry who has stepped up her game big time this winter and could also make that leap Carter is hoping for.
Defensively, the team is still very solid despite losing last year’s captain to graduation and a talented underclassman to prep school. With the vacancies, senior Lexi Maher from Ashland and junior Allie Smith from Medway have taken on more responsibility on and off the ice for the team. The two have secured the Medway-Ashland defense with their maturity and leadership inside the blue line.
Three other Medway athletes have also shown promise; sophomore Sophia Theodore, incoming freshman Lauren Norton and senior Rae Lambert. Although Lambert is currently needed defensively, Carter Is hoping to get her more ice time with the first line in hope that she could be the playmaker the team is looking for.
Medway sophomore Rachel Gittings is beginning her second year between the pipes for the team.
Medway-Ashland may not have gotten off on the right foot to open the season, but the squad still has high aspirations of getting back to the Semi-Finals and the Boston Garden.
“Our thought process hasn’t changed although we’re 0-3-2right now. It’s still early enough in the season to get things going; we just need to stop giving games away – otherwise we could be 5-0,” Carter said. “We’ve had back-to-back games where we were up 2-1 with a minute to play and gave it away. We just need to learn how to win.”
If Medway-Ashland can find their winning ways, much like they did last year down the stretch, they should have no problem of achieving their goals of playing on the Garden ice.