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Grace Herdman

Senior captain Heather Hodgkins passes the puck to a teammate during a face off at the game on January 9.

The girls’ hockey team had a successful season, ending with an outstanding record of seven wins, one loss, and four ties. 

Despite the uncertainty and changes which came along with COVID, the team had a great season under head coach Mike Hodge and senior captains Kerryn O’Connell and Heather Hodgkins. 

“[The season went] surprisingly well,” Hodge said. “With policies and protocols in place, I was a little nervous but the team bought in. We were able to complete the season and have some success, and I think that the players really enjoyed playing.”

The hockey season had some scheduling postponements and cancellations, but nonetheless the team almost got all of their expected games in.

“Originally we were supposed to have 13 games scheduled,” Hodgkins said. “We ended up playing 12. A good amount of them got moved, some due to COVID, but mostly due to the weather.” 

Their first four games all came with tremendous wins, winning by at least five goals in each game. Among these four games, O’Connell cumulatively scored nine goals to contribute to these substantial wins. 

“[The season was] pretty good,” O’Connell said. “Obviously, we were just glad to play. We actually had a really good season. We had a record of 7-1-4, so that’s one of the best records that we have had in my four years here. Overall, I was really happy to play but it was also nice to have a very successful season.” 

At the conclusion of the season, there were no playoffs or championship, which meant games during the regular season did not lead to any standing or position in playoffs. 

“The fact that we were playing games that theoretically meant nothing was a challenge but our kids competed every game like we were playing for the playoffs and a championship, and so did our opponents,” Hodge said. “It’s different when you are playing just for the sake of playing, and it was still a ton of fun.”

There were a couple standout moments throughout the season, one being their frequent and competitive games against Shrewsbury, and another being their game against Longmeadow.

“We played Shrewsbury four times and they’re a huge rival of ours and it was always a really close game,” O’Connell said. “We tied them three times and lost one game. In another game, we played Longmeadow and we only had 11 players because some of the Hudson girls were out because of COVID… We went down 2-0, but we came back and tied the game…It almost felt like a win, in a sense, because we came back.”

Both captains had some hesitation on how the team would connect because of restrictions due to COVID. Hodgkins and O’Connell said despite these roadblocks, the team was still able to come together and create a family type atmosphere.

“We thought it was going to be harder to bond just because we couldn’t have pasta parties and stuff like that, but we found ways around it and I think we really did bond as a team and it was a great season overall,” Hodgkins said. 

“Even though we had COVID and we couldn’t do our usual team bonding activities, I still think we grew really close and like a big family, so it was a lot of fun,” O’Connell said.

Hodgkins hopes and anticipates a great next season for the team, even though she and O’Connell will no longer be part of the team.

“I think they’re going to be as amazing as teams have been in the past years,” Hodgkins said. “I just wish them the best of luck, along with the coaches. I think they’re going to do amazing.”