AUGUSTA, Maine — The Vermont champion Middlebury Amateur Hockey Association Under-14 girls team reached the semifinals of the New England regional tournament this past weekend in Augusta, Maine, before bowing out.
The MAHA girls defeated a New Hampshire team, 7-2, on Friday and then a Rhode Island team, 6-0, on Saturday morning before falling to one of two Connecticut teams, the Ice Cats, 4-0, in their second Saturday game.
That 2-1 record in pool play qualified the team for the semifinal round, unlike the other Vermont team, from Rutland, which went 0-2-1 and did not advance.
In the semifinal, the MAHA girls faced the eventual champions, the Connecticut Polar Bears, and fell behind after two periods, 3-1. Coach Mark Gleason said momentum shifted after MAHA scored halfway through the third, but his team couldn’t convert chances down the stretch and the final score ended at 3-1.
Gleason said the MAHA team of all eighth-graders was younger than most opponents and also skated only two lines, while most other teams deployed three lines, a factor when playing multiple games over a weekend against top competition.
But he liked the effort the local athletes showed this past weekend and all winter.
“Gritty, aggressive and determined team play carried them well all season and in regionals as well. Expect many of these girls to make great contributions to the Middlebury high school girls’ hockey team over the next several years,” Gleason said.
Members of the team included Anna Igler, Abby Gleason, Katie Billings, Andi Boe, Jesse Hounchel, Tulley Hescock, Raven Payne, Georgina?Mraz, Satchel McLaughlin, Polly Heminway, Justine Smith and Helen Anderson.