Medway/Millis March 2016

March 2016 Local Town Pages www.millismedwaynews.com Page 23
Sports
Medway-Ashland Gearing Up
for Hockey Tourney
By KEN HAMWEY
No one can accuse the Medway-Ashland
girls ice hockey
team of being inconsistent. The
program is seven years old, and
it’s qualified for tourney play in
all of those seven seasons.
The co-op team, which also
includes skaters from Millis and
Holliston, had a 9-4-3 record at
Local Town Pages deadline and
soon will be gearing up for another
tournament run. Last year,
coach Kurt Carter’s squad went
15-5-4 overall, bowing out of
the playoffs after losing to Milton.
The girls’ deepest advance
in tourney action came in 2014
when they were eliminated by
Sandwich in the semifinals.
“During our early years our
objective was to get to the playoffs,’’
Carter said. “This season
our goal is to compete for a state
championship. It’s a realistic expectation.
We’re glad we qualified
for the playoffs but the key
now is to peak at the right time.’’
Medway-Ashland’s strengths
outweigh its deficiencies, making
the co-op contingent a viable
force in the Western Division
of the Southeast Mass. Girls
Hockey League, which includes
Franklin, King Philip, Westwood,
Dover-Sherborn, Medfield and
Walpole. “Our skill level is good,
we’ve got depth, we’re technically
sound and we can score,’’
Carter said. “On the flip side,
we’re young, inexperienced and
could be more confident.’’
Carter usually adjusts his
team’s style to the type of talent
on his roster. This season, he
says, “we’ve taken an aggressive
approach to the puck, our forechecking
is strong, and we’ve got
the speed and skill to get back on
defense.’’
The squad’s two senior captains
— center Kerryann Goode
of Medway and defenseman
Kasey Thoresen of Ashland —
are four-year veterans and no
doubt key cogs for the tourney.
“Kerryann became our first career
100-point scorer (10 goals,
22 assists this season),’’ Carter
said. “She’s got a high hockey
IQ, she’s skilled, skates well and
is quick. She’s a strong and accurate
shooter. Kasey is our leader
on defense. A smart competitor,
she’s strong, physical, tough and
wins her battles.’’
Medway’s Gabriella Airosus,
a junior left wing, and Holliston’s
Ashley Fondo, a junior
right wing, form the team’s first
line with Goode. “Gabriella is a
finesse player,’’ Carter said. “A
hard-worker, she can shoot and
gets her share of points. Ashley
has speed and power and she can
score, too.’’ Through 16 games,
Fondo had 16 goals and 13 assists
for 29 points and Airosus had 5
goals and 16 assists for 21 points.
Another key to Medway-Ashland’s
longevity in the playoffs
is freshman goalie Rachel Gittings
of Medway, whose goalsagainst
average was 2.19 after 16
games. Carter admires her fundamentally
sound style. “Rachel
has great composure,’’ he said.
“She’s instinctive and she plays
the angles well.’’
Sophomores Ally Smith of
Millis and Caroline Werner of
Holliston, along with Thoresen,
provide Medway-Ashland with
a formidable back-line defense.
“Ally and Caroline both have a
high hockey IQ, they play strong
and their skill level is good,’’
Carter said.
A senior whom Carter rates
highly is center Kaitlyn Auen of
Ashland. He admires her senior
leadership but he also likes her
intense style of play. “Kaitlyn is
very fast and she can change the
momentum of a game,’’ Carter
emphasized.
The team’s green line, named
for the shade of its warm-up
jerseys, consists of sophomore
Maddy Hornung at center, soph
Katie McGoff at left wing and
junior Colleen Reardon at right
wing (7 goals, 6 assists). All hail
from Ashland. “They’re good
skaters, highly skilled, fast, strong
and have scoring potential,’’
Carter noted.
Carter acknowledges that his
team is young and has depth, and
that’s evident with the likes of juniors
Rae Lambert (Medway left
wing), Kathryn Johnston (Holliston
right wing) and Lexi Maher
(Ashland defenseman) and sophs
Morgan Perry (Holliston right
wing) and Meghan Moriarty
(Ashland center). “Our future
looks bright with this group,’’
Carter said. “Their talent level
is very good.’’
The 50-year-old Carter, who’s
lived in Medway for 11 years and
is a vice president of finance for
Acronis (software company), has
been the program’s only head
coach since its inception, and his
passion for the program is obvious,
especially when the name of
the late Maddie Lamson is part
of the conversation. She died in
an auto accident last fall.
“Her loss impacted us on a
daily basis,’’ he said. “She was a
great example of why I love this
program. She had a relentless
desire to improve and she constantly
strived to be the best she
could be. She was a three-year
player and was a captain.’’
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With talent drawn from Medway, Ashland, Holliston and Millis, the
Medway-Ashland girls ice hockey team has a realistic goal of tourney
play, says Coach Kurt Carter, shown.
www.medwayoilpropane.com