Algonquin Girls Hockey won the Elite Eight this past Wednesday with a final score of 2-1 leading them into the Final Four.
Sophomore Alex Cutler and Clinton senior captain Emily Johns scored the 2 goals that got them to the final four.
With the two first periods being 0-0, the pressure was brought to all players, but Cutler was determined to score the first goal of the game.
“It was an amazing feeling to be able to get a goal and help the team move on,” Cutler stated.
With the score being 1-1 in overtime the intensity built as the seconds went by, but Johns wanted to make history her senior year.
“The ending of OT was also really nerve-racking and I think every player was on edge about what was going to happen next,” said Cutler.
But it wasn’t only overtime that built anxiety that day. As the girls were getting hyped for their elite eight game, five minutes into the drive the windshield wiper broke off. The team then needed to switch buses with still an hour and a half left to drive. This delay resulted in a shorter warm-up time on the ice but they still came in ready for the big game ahead of them.
Then after the first period was over, the Zamboni had broken down, so the teams had to wait almost ten minutes until it was fixed.
“These delays didn’t impact the team mindset, but it affected me physically me because the flow of the game was altered. It was so long between the breaks that I had time to throw up. If I’m constantly moving, I’m not in my head. I usually need time to zone in,” said Cutler.
The team’s road to the playoffs had many successful moments.
“All the shutouts our goalie Addy had towards the end of the season were a highlight,” said junior Lauren O’Malley
Girl’s Hockey was on the Final Four bracket with their game being this past Saturday against Duxbury. Unfortunately, the girls lost a strong season with the end score being 3-1.
“It’s crazy to think about if we got to finals, it would be Algonquin’s second time,” said Cutler
Algonquin Girl’s Co-op Hockey won the Division II State Championship in 2022.
“We were truly like a family and we wanted to keep playing together because of how special that connection was,” said O’Malley.
Even with this strong season, it isn’t lost on the players that many women’s sports don’t get the attention they should get. In the HHS community, the attendance between boys’ and girls’ sports has a large gap of fans.
There is more coverage in boys’ sports, even in this very paper. Girls Hockey won game after game, yet the stadiums had plenty of seats available. Many teams have expressed that attendance is lower for girls’ sports.
“We’re lucky to even have our name on the board in front of the school, and I think being in Friday Morning Lights was a big shock to me,” says Cutler.
“It takes us getting to the Final Four before they even mention us,” Cutler concluded.
