The Edge School Lady Mountaineers wrapped up its season second overall in the Junior Women’s Hockey League (JWHL) after losing to the North American Hockey Academy (NAHA) 5-2, March 13 in Madison, Wisconsin.
Heading into the third period of the final deadlocked at two, the Mountaineers made a few mistakes against the powerhouse NAHA Winterhawks, giving up three goals in the final frame.
“If you do make a mistake, they typically make you pay the price, they are so talented you will find yourself digging the puck out of your net,” said Mountaineers head coach Mario Amantea. “I think we should be pretty proud of what we did. We stuck with NAHA for two periods, short staffed.”
Having lost four players to injuries and sickness prior to the playoffs, March 11-13, played in Wisconsin, was tough for the team said Amantea.
“We haven’t been hit that hard this year with the injury bug, it certainly did hurt,” said Amantea. “It’s a credit to the strength and conditioning program here at the school. We were missing some key players but the rest of the girls battled hard.”
The team has eight seniors who will not be returning to the club next season, but Amantea is excited about the girls who will be returning.
“We are in the midst of recruiting some girls, and we have a good core of girls coming back,” said Amantea. “It will be a very strong team.”
One more game is on the schedule for the Lady Mountaineers, as the school plans on holding a seniors game against another team in the JWHL, but a date has yet to be set.
