The holiday break gives teams a chance to step back, take a breather and evaluate where they are.
But by no means does this mean any thing is a lock the rest of the way.
Monsignor Martin (MonMar) continues to hold down first place with 25 points, but they have four teams gaining on them.
FLOP recently posted two more wins, extending its winning streak to six, and now stands at 21 points. While Williamsville (20), KenGI (19.5) and NiCo (15) are keeping pace.
CASH, with 10 points, is in the middle of the pack but certainly more than capable of putting together a hot streak of its own.
“What I like most is that they are improving from game to game,” said CASH head coach Nicola Aidemy.
“Even though we’ve been in this league for 10 years every team is different every year. So even though even though we are playing Williamsville we don’t know what they’re gonna play like. So (my girls) adjust well. They’re very aware of what they need to work on so they’re very willing to work on it in practice. And they are really willing to apply it in the games when we tell them to try different things.”
Aidemy added that she likes the fact her team is averaging 20 shots per game. Getting pucks on net is sign they are working hard to create scoring chances. That facet of the game was a bit of an issue last year for CASH.
HEWS, LID and St.Mary’s, though in the lower half of the standings, are just trying to build on the positives to date and fashion a strong run down stretch of the regular season.
Widely regarded as they best, most balanced girls league in the state the tough competition on a daily basis is what makes every team in the Fed dangerous regardless of where they are in the standings.
“Everybody makes the playoffs,” said Aidemy. “So this is the time when you can try things, you can work on things and hopefully perfect them by the time we hit playoffs. So that’s really the goal.”
KenGI will jump right into the fire when they return to action as they will take part in the Plattsburgh Tourney Jan.7-8.
The opening round will see KenGI face Section X Massena while host Plattsburgh Hornets square off against another Section VII squad Beekmantown.
Championship and third place games will be played on Saturday.
Plattsburgh was a state semifinalist in 2020 with a sophomore heavy squad.
Captain Amanda Vaughan is one of the best in the state.
The Hornets opened the season with a win over 2021 state champ Clinton-ending the Bears 19 game winning streak.
The Massena Raiders have been one of the most dominant teams in Section X for years. In fact, the Red Raiders won the 2015 state title at the HarborCenter. Beating Kenmore (prior to the merger with GI).
Beekmantown, though down this season, is capable of playing the role of spoiler.
While it would be great to come home with a trophy and the title of champions KenGI head coach Jeff Orlowski is seeing the big picture. That playing quality teams from outside Section VI will make his girls even better.
“There’s a good possibility that this is gonna be a preview of what the state tournament is gonna look like in February,” said Orlowski. “If we can find our way out of Section VI these are the teams we’re gonna play. We’re gonna learn a lot.”
Along with sharpening their on ice skills, Orlowski feels this trip will be a great bonding experience for the girls.
“We are all definitely excited to finally get the chance to travel as a team,” said senior co-captain Molly Leggett. “This will be a good chance to get some more team bonding in as we reach the end of the season and will need to work hard together to do well in playoffs.”
The season resumes Jan.3 with three games.
FLOP @ St.Mary’s, 4pm at Cheektowaga Rink.
CASH @ NiCo, 4:30 at Hyde Park.
KenGI @ HEWS, 5:30 at Riverworks.
Leader board:
Camryn Brownschidle leads the Fed with 18 points. Aizah-Rose Thompson (Willy) and Sydney Radecki (LID) are tied for most goals with 12.
NiCo’s Kayla Persinger is tops with eight assists.
MonMar’s Sophia Will has seven wins while FLOP’s Kerrigan McCarthy has six W’s to her credit.
Three stars of the Week:
1st:
Maya Griffin-FLOP
The freshman collected five points including the game winning goals against LID and NiCo. Griffin, who is seventh in the league in scoring, has been a big part of FLOP’s hot streak that has them in second place.
2nd:
Katie Dougherty-FLOP
Four points in two games for Dougherty who has also been a big part of FLOP’s six game winning streak. Their only loss of the year was back on Nov.30.
3rd:
Carolyn Bourgeault-KenGI
A 20 save shutout of first place MonMar speaks volumes of how good Bourgeault is.
Stick tap:
Aizah-Rose Thompson-Willy
Notched two goals in a 3-1 win over CASH, Thompson is also second in the Fed in scoring with 15 points.
Feature Image Courtesy of Janet Schultz/NYHOCKEYONLINE
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