The first game of the season was a hard fought battle that ended in victory with a score of 4-3. This Saturday, SWS played Notre Dame at Terry Connors Rink in Stamford.

“Our team has a lot of potential and we hope to make FCIAC’s again this year,” Coach Fay said.  “Last year we were competitive against Darien, New Canaan, Greenwich, and Ridgefield.” Coach Fay also commented about a big change this year as the team is going to be practicing at Longshore Rink which is more convenient.

The SWS starters for the opening day game were assistant captain,  number 30, Claire Parry ‘17 in goal,  number 3, Biz Fay ‘19 and number 5, Haley Blau ‘17 (Westhill) in defense, number 14, Stephanie Walsh ‘18 (Stamford) at center, and Assistant Captain number 16, Kyra DalBello ‘17 and number 9, Caroline Gray ‘19 at right and left wing.

The team has been practicing together since the summer and were well prepared for opening day.

The game started with both teams feeling each other out for the first half of the first period. The stalemate was broken with a hard wrist shot by DalBello ‘17 that was assisted by Blau ‘17.

In the second period, Walsh ‘18 scored a goal off a rebound and a nice unselfish pass by DalBello ‘17 with 11:23 left in the period. About 10 minutes later, Captain number 4, Rachel Stanford ‘16 raced from end to end and scored on the backhand to extend the lead 3-0.

Notre Dame was not going down without a fight. They came right back with a wrist shot that at the end of the second period made the score 3-1.

When the third period came, the game became even more intense. Notre Dame was in their offensive zone when a pass to the crease tipped in to make the score 3-2. After a crucial penalty called with only 2:10 remaining, DalBello ‘17 scored her second goal of the game on the penalty kill with an assist by Walsh ‘18.

Five seconds later, Notre Dame scored a quick one off a rebound in a power play goal with a little more than a minute remaining in the game. With about 30 seconds left, Notre Dame had a great chance, but Parry ‘17 came up with a save which helped ensure SWS secure the win.

“One of our greatest strengths, without a doubt, is our goalie Claire Parry. Last year she was named All-FCIAC first team, and continues to prove herself as one of the best goalies in the state. We can always rely on her back in our defensive zone, and she is a key asset to our team,” said captain Rachel Stanford ‘16 about her teammate.

SWS is undefeated and wants to keep that streak going. “ We have a strong class of freshmen Carolyn Gray and Biz Fay. Also defensively Haley Blau ‘17 is going to fill a huge role for us, and  number 20, Emily Gitlin ‘18 are the two of many players that have really showed that they worked hard this summer and it showed on the ice during boot camp and our first couple of scrimmages.” said Parry ‘17.

“I was pretty happy with the way the girls played,” said Coach Fay. “Being our first game of the season and with some new faces starting their HS hockey careers, I would have expected some rust.  Instead, I thought we moved the puck pretty well against an improved Notre Dame team.  We also had some solid goaltending from Claire when we needed it.  A good start to a busy two weeks for us.”

The team’s next game is on Tuesday against Wilton at Sono Ice House in Norwalk at 8:50.