Norwood February 2021

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Page 12 Norwood Local Town Pages www.localtownpages.com February 2021NEED A PROPANEREFILL?$ 003offSAVE$3.00!a 20 lb Fill(with coupon)NORWOOD BOTTLED GAS305 Providence Highway, Norwood(Next to Boch HONDA)781-762-2330 • 781-762-2331Norwood SportsIce Time Shortened for Norwood Girls HockeyBy Christopher TremblayLast winter, the Norwood girlsice hockey team qualified for aspot in the Division 2 Tournamentwhere they took part in adouble overtime win over Wakefieldbefore they fell to Canton inthe next round. This winter, theMustangs will not have the opportunityto play in the tournament,and not because of theirrecord, but because the MIAAdecided to put together a shortenedseason with no post-seasonplay due Covid-19.Norwood will play 10 gameson Wednesdays and Saturdaysas a home and away series eachweek against Medfield, Dove-Sherborn, Dedham, Westwood,and Medway-Ashland. The seasonwas slated to begin on January6 at Medfield.As the Mustangs settled in toprepare for the season, the squadknew that they had lost some talentedindividuals from last year’steam, including leading scorerAllie McDonough, defensivestandout Erin Wagner, and goalieJenn Mazzola.“We may have lost five seniors,but we gained seven freshmen,”Mustang Assistant Coach MikeMaloof said. “Some of the freshmenare pretty good, but I’m alittle nervous about the transitionfor the top-notch individual talentthat we lost. I’m hoping the newcomerscan step up; they won’tbe able to fill in the vacancies, atleast not right away.”Center Kate Rogers and leftwingerMaeve Glavin will mostlikely play on the same line whilealso captaining this year’s squad.Rogers began to play consistentminutes last year and can putthe puck in the back of the net ifneeded. Glavin has been a consistentforce basically since herfreshman campaign. Last seasonNTNas a junior, she posted 17 pointsfor the Mustangs (7 goals and 10assists).“I’d love to see more scoringfrom both of these girls,” Maloofsaid. “But they’re more into theteam effort than the individualism.”Possibilities of joining the duoon the top line include juniorCeali Reed and sophomore MorganRoach. Reed had playedfor the Mustangs her freshmanseason before leaving last year toplay for the Walpole Express, butdecided to return to Norwood forher junior year. Roach was a contributoras a freshman and has aknack for scoring.“It’s good to have Ceali back,but it’s going to be a learningcurve for her getting back intohigh school hockey, as well asmoving from defense to forward,”the Assistant Coach said.“Morgan has great hands andcould help us in the scoring department;she knows where tobe and I’m hoping that she takesthat next step forward.”Junior Marissa Cataldo wasthe Mustangs second leadingscorer behind McDonough lastyear notching 24 points (10 goalsand 14 assists). She will centerthe second line for Norwood.“Marissa has great talent andcan put the puck in the net,”Maloof said. “So, I am expectingthat she takes the next step andcontinues to do what she has forus in the past with more regularity.”On the defensive side of thepuck, senior Vivian Sharkey isthe team’s most consistent defender.Not only is she the team’ssmoothest skater, she can holddown the defense. Junior AllyParkinson, who was a forwardfor the Mustangs her freshmanyear, moved to defense last winterwhere she found her grove.Although she may be a little undersizedwhen she steps onto theice, she plays big and aggressiveand will not back down to anyone;she leaves everything on theice.Losing Mazzola between thepipes was huge but sophomoreLilly Newman is ready to stepinto the role for the Mustangsthis year. As a freshman last year,Newman started a few gameshere and there and found herway into 14 periods of actionwhere she allowed only 15 goals.“Last year’s performance wasstrong for a freshman,” Maloofsaid. “She showed a lot of promise,is ready to take control of theposition, and has looked reallygood in the scrimmages this year.She is also a girl who loves thesport.”According to the AssistantCoach, Newman’s first varsitygame came against Milton,where she allowed only one goaland got the win.Although there will be notournament appearances thisyear, the girls are looking forwardto getting on the ice and competing.“They’re just glad to be havinga season,” Maloof said. “Therewas a little bit of nervousness atfirst when they didn’t know ifthey were going to have a seasonor not, but 10 games are betterthan nothing. The seniors are alittle disappointed that there willbe no tournament as they wantedto show that they could competeoutside of our league.”Despite the fact that there willbe no post-season play this year,Maloof is rather confident inhis team’s ability to play stronghockey in their 10 league contests.“It’s a different season, butI’ve told the girls just to come topractice and the games as thoughit was a normal season,” Maloofconcluded. “There may not beany post-season, but that doesn’tmean we are not going to takethe season serious. I want them toput in the work and win as manygames as possible, If they do that,then we will be successful.”
February 2021 Norwood Local Town Pages www.localtownpages.com Page 13Norwood SportsNorwood Swim Captains Steer Abbreviated SeasonBy Christopher TremblayThis year, swimming season isgoing to be unlike anything thatthe Norwood Mustangs haveever had to face. With Covid-19still roaming the country, swimmeets this winter are going to be100 percent virtual. While theMustangs will be swimming atBlue Hills in Canton, their opponentswill be swimming in theirdesignated pools elsewhere at thesame time. Norwood will havefive meets this year against Westwood(which they were scheduledto open up against on January 8),Dover-Sherborn, Medfield, Norton,and Dedham.“Each team will swim at theirhome pool with officials presentthen the times for each event willbe compared and winners announced,”Co-Coach Jen Rodgersaid. “It will be just like a regularmeet just without the other teambeing in the pool next to you. Thebig question is, how do we motivatethe kids or know how fastthey need to swim to be competitivesince their will be no side-bysidecompetitors?”In addition to not swimmingagainst your opponents inthe same pool, there will be nopost season for any of the swimteams. That in turn leaves yet anotherquandary to the NorwoodCoaches to keep their team focusedat the task without the motivationof a prize at the end.“We are now challenged to setgoals for our swimmers in termsof school records and personaltimes in their specific events,”Co-Coach Kate Curtin said. “Weare going to set the kids up withexpectations in terms of trying tobeat the qualifying times for theirevents as though there was still atournament. We will also try tofamiliarize them with their opponentseach meet going thoughfilm and what we have from lastyear.”The Mustang coaches believedespite the lack of swimmers inthe pool from the opposing teams,Norwood will still be competitiveand will have their teammatesto swim against; so, in hindsightthey’ll have some sort of gage ofhow fast they need to swim.Social distancing will alsohave to take place at the poolamongst the Norwood swimmersand divers. Athletes will have tokeep their distance from otherteammates and if not participatingin an event must always keeptheir masks on. In addition to theCOVID-19 mandates this year,the Tri-Valley League changedthe co-ed standards to separateboys and girls meets.Guiding the Mustangs intothe pool during this abbreviatedseason will be tri-captains MeganSople, Hailey Burrows and VictorGreene. All three athleteshave participated in the Sectionalsas well as the States duringtheir high school careers and theNorwood Coaches are relying ontheir leadership.“Covid has made it challengingfor us as Coaches wedon’t get to see the athletes inschool,” Rodger stated. “Withthat said, our captains are our inbetween us and the team; theyare definitely an extension of thecoaching staff especially for communication.”Sople is a freestyler who bringsversatility to the team. Accordingto the Coaches, they can basicallyput the senior anywhere in thepool and expect results. Althoughshe can do anything, Sople primarilyswims in the 50, 100, 200,and 500 freestyle events. She canalso play a role for the Mustangsin the relays if needed. Her personalbest times are 27.83 in the50; 2:12.4 in the 200; and 5:59.44in the 500.Much like Sople, Barrows canbe depended on each time shegets into the water. Her coachesare looking for her once again tosurpass her personal best times aswell as qualifying times had therebeen a tournament.“We expect as lot out of Hailey,”Curtin said. “In freestyleevents, her times have definitelyhelped her to qualify as an individual,but they have also helpedthe team. As of recent, she hasalso been proficient in the backstroke.”Advertise your business!Call Jen: 508-570-6544 or email: jenschofield@localtownpages.comPictured left to right: Hailey Barrows, Victor Greene and Megan SopleBarrows personal best timesare 28.14 in the 50 freestyle; and1:10.30 in the backstroke.Greene primarily likes to focuson the sprint events: 50 and 100freestyle, breaststroke during hisfirst few years, and has been aninterictal part of the Mustangs200 and 400 freestyle relays.His best times include a 24.50in the 50 free; 54.49 in the 100free; and 1:11.54 in the breaststroke. Participating in the relays,Greene and his teammates havefreegamebuy one game,get one game freeNorwood Sport CenterNorwood • 781-769-0606Not valid on league play. One couponper visit per person. Offer expires 2-28-21.freegamebuy one game,get one game freeNorwood Sport CenterNorwood • 781-769-0606Not valid on league play. One couponper visit per person. Offer expires 2-28-21.NOW OPEN65 Cottage St. (East) | Norwood | 781-769-0606Call for Hoursdone quite well in the post-seasonsetting school records in eachevent. Swimming in the Sectionals200-freestyle relay, he brokethe school record with a time of1:39.77, and taking part in theStates in the 400-freestyle relayalso set the school record with atime of 3:46.61.Rodger and Curtin will be relyingheavily on their captains toguide the Mustang team in thisunprecedented season.
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Norwood February 2021

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