Megan Hancock leads Mayfield past St. Aloysius Gonzaga before exams

Written By ROBERT BELARDI

Mayfield Secondary School defeats St. Aloysius Gonzaga 1-0 in division one girl's hockey last Thursday (Jan. 16). 

Both teams headed into this contest seeking out a victory before diving into their textbooks for the next few weeks. 

Both teams were shorthanded for this bout. 

In the first period, Mayfield came out strong and were awarded an early goal. 

Emily Ignagni sprung into Gonzaga's zone and ripped the puck past goaltender Mireille Kingsley off the post and into the net. 

“I know this goalie is really good, I actually play against her in my own league, so I wanted to get a lot of shots on her. Before the game we were saying to the whole team that we need to get shots on her,” Ignagni said. 

Following the goal, Gonzaga settled into the game and showcased their style of hockey. 

Andrea Murray and Kalie Chan were elusive with the puck in the offensive zone, creating defensive issues. In response, Mayfield's plan forced Gonzaga's attack out wide towards the boards, trying to limit scoring chances. 

Before the end of the frame, Mayfield's Alyssa Borgati's nifty pass across the face of goal was a hairline off the stick of Tasha Godin, who was close to adding to the lead before the end of the frame.  

At the beginning of the second period, goaltender Megan  Hancock held Mayfield's lead. 

A few moments in, Maria Losev threw the puck on net. The rebound fell to Chan who batted the puck out of mid-air, only to meet the glove of Hancock, who shifted across the goal to make the spectacular save. 

In this teeter-totter matchup, Mayfield came back the other way firing pucks at Kingsley who denied all opportunities and limited rebounds. 

In the third period, following the first save, Hancock subsequently was forced to keep Gonzaga out multiple times in front of her goal. 

Kingsley responded in this affair, with a save of her own on alternate captain Carly Gout in transition. 

In the dying seconds of the third period, Gonzaga sent forward an extra attacker. 

Mayfield cleared the zone almost scoring a goal from their own end into the empty net. The final buzzer rung and Mayfield hung on for the victory. 

Ignagni described what the team thought about Hancock's performance today. 

“The whole team was just in awe, on how amazing she was. I couldn't believe how many times she put her glove up. It was unreal. She kept us in the game, she is the reason why we won the game,” Ignagni exclaimed. 

Head Coach of Mayfield, Jon Forbes, was pleased with the performance and explained the premediated approach to every game from his team.  

Forbes said, “We preach aggressiveness and that means a quick start, always. We always want to be the aggressor. We never want to sit back. Anytime that there is a tough opponent, we want them on their heels not us on our heels. That's all it is.” 

Since losing to St. Marcellinus in the first game of the season 4-0, the girls have retaliated with four straight wins, scoring 17 goals in total. 

The next game is on Thursday, February 6th on the road against Heart Lake Secondary School. Puck drop is at 2 p.m. at Jim Archdekin Recreation Centre.