Georgetown Visitation tops Holy Cross in girls’ showcase at National Capital Hockey Tournament
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Version 0 of 1. The National Capital Hockey Tournament is dubbed ‘the oldest high school hockey tournament on the East Coast.’ For 21 years, players from all-girls schools Georgetown Visitation and Holy Cross came to the tournament to watch brothers and friends on teams from host Gonzaga and other local participants. For the second straight New Year’s Eve, these former spectators have left the stands to play their own game. On Thursday afternoon at Fort Dupont Ice Arena in Southeast, Visitation broke open the game with four goals in nine minutes toward the end of the second period of a 7-1 victory. The Cubs won last year’s matchup 6-5 in overtime. “It’s a big step. It’s usually just a guys’ tournament and all-guys high schools play in it,” Visitation sophomore Livi Hally said. “My brother played in it, so I’ve known about the tournament, but it’s a lot cooler when you’re part of it and not just watching on the side — it’s cool to see how girls can play and not just guys.” Six different skaters scored for Visitation, which was led by Hally’s two goals. With unbalanced rosters composed of experienced skaters and newcomers, committed players from traveling club teams strive to enrich the experience by involving everyone. “A lot of these girls just started playing so it’s fun to feed them the puck and see what they do with it,” Visitation senior Kate Gannon said. “It’s a more satisfying win when you’re sharing the puck instead of being on your own doing stuff solo,” added Hally. Holy Cross senior netminder Casey Magersupp made 30 saves. The Tartans have two of the eight teams in the Mid-Atlantic Girls Hockey League, which also features locals Holton-Arms, Stone Ridge, Spalding and Baltimore’s Bryn Mawr and St. Timothy’s. The league hopes to grow as more girls take the ice. “The game has grown so much. There’s so many more girl hockey players and it’s cool to be a part of this,” said Holy Cross senior Maggie D’Arcy, whose goal eight seconds into the second period cut Visitation’s lead to 3-1. “It means a lot to me because I grew up watching my brother in the Purple Puck tournament. It’s really cool to be a part of it now.” Notes: No. 1 Gonzaga and O’Connell were knocked out in the semifinals of the boys’ prep division tournament Thursday morning. O’Connell (6-4-2) fell to defending champion The Hun School (N.J.), 7-0, while the Eagles (10-4-3) dropped a 3-2 shootout to St. Joseph’s Prep (Pa.). |