With Roster Intact Again, Falmouth Girls' Hockey Ties Barnstable

By: Rich Maclone
Published: 01/15/10

Watch out Southeastern Massachusetts Girls Hockey League because the Falmouth Clippers are back. That was the message FHS sent to the entire league on Wednesday night as a bevy of suspended players and coaches returned from a two-game hiatus and helped the team to its finest performance of the year, a 3-3 draw against undefeated Barnstable.

Yes the Clippers would have preferred to have had their seven suspended players, Head Coach Steve Cross and Assistant Coach Chris Faux triumphantly return to action with a win, but against a team that is playing fantastic hockey and had been handling the competition with ease, even a tie has to feel pretty good. Coach Cross said he was quite enthused with his team’s performance, despite the fact that the visiting Red Raiders rallied from a two-goal deficit to tie it in the third period on a pair of power play goals.

“It was the perfect game for us to come back with,” he said. “Barnstable was riding high and I think that they thought that they were going to blow us out.”

Early on it looked like it might be the Clippers that would be the team delivering a blowout. The home team hit the ice with purpose and grabbed an early 2-0 lead. Mikaela Beaton put her team on the board at the 2:55 mark of the first period to give the Clippers a quick 1-0 lead when she poked home a rebound of an Amber Morse shot. Catherine Parkinson also assisted on the first FHS goal.

Then, just 96 seconds later, Falmouth went up a pair on a goal by Jackie Sartell. The Clippers’ captain tipped in a fluttering shot by Abbie Haddad to make it 2-0. Devon Seibt also assisted on the goal.

Barnstable came back to pull within one on a goal by Kelsey Corbett at the 5:43 mark.

Falmouth made it a 3-1 game midway through the second period on a great all-around effort by center Shay Callahan. The center blocked a Barnstable shot and then was off to the races, deking BHS goalie Ali Talerman and depositing the puck in the net for a two-goal lead.

Unfortunately for FHS the Red Raiders would score a pair of power play goals, both on deflected shots that hit skates on their way to the net. Goalie Melissa Romiza, who had a fantastic game, could do nothing about either one of them said Cross. “They know that they played well,” Cross said of his goalie and defense. “They’re savvy enough to know that there’s nothing that they could have done when the puck goes off a skate like that.”

BHS made it 3-2 on a goal by Harleigh Jenkins at the 4:47 mark of the third period and then drew even on Shannon Cleary’s shot from the point that hit a skate at 8:48.

The Clippers did everything they could in the final minutes to end the night with a victory, and came close. Inside the last minute, with a draw coming to the right of Talerman, cross had Amy Wilson take the faceoff, instead of Callahan, so that the forward could win the puck back to the FHS sniper for a shot. The play worked just as it was drawn up, but Talerman made a nice save on a blast by Callahan.

With the tie the Clippers are still searching for their first win of the year and are 0-5-1. Cross admitted that a lot of work lies ahead for his team to be able to get back into state tournament contention, but it’s something that he, and his team, believes is possible.

“We were excited to be back together and we know that we’re a good team and this was the perfect way to come back,” he said. “It was just right for us. They came out fired up and I think that they will continue to do that. We have a goal. We’re going to take it one period at a time, but we have something that we’re going to work towards.”

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