Needham, Westwood draw
WALTHAM — The postseason might be a almost a month away, but it was still very much on the minds of the Needham and Westwood girls hockey teams Monday night at Bentley Arena. NEEDHAM 1 WESTWOOD 1 The tightly-played 1-1 draw was exactly the type of tests they are looking when booking quality nonleague opponents as they prepare for their respective tournaments, the Rockets in Division 1 and the Wolverines in Division 2.
Junior Britt Nawrocki delivered the point for Needham, banging home a one-timer just 22 seconds into the third period to even the game. The Rockets still have some work left before their tourney ticket is punched as the tie moved them to 6-3-2 on the year as they begin the back half of an unrelenting schedule — all three losses have come to reigning state champions — but coach Allisyn Furano knows that the gauntlet serves an important purpose.
“The team is relatively young, but you play the regular season to get ready for tournament,” said Furano. “To play Wellesley twice, to play Braintree twice, to play Methuen/Tewksbury, to play
Westwood twice, all those games are going to challenge you. So I think at the midway point of the season, there are certainly things that we need to work on, but give Westwood credit. I thought they played a great game, and it was a great high school hockey game.”
For Westwood coach Ed Amico, the tie marks another sign of progress as for the second time this year his squad has a turned an earlier defeat into a better result as Needham won the first meeting, 4-1. The Wolverines, now 10-3-1, also avenged a loss to Canton.
“That was a theme before the game, these second times around, how much have we progressed,” said Amico. “That shows that your hard work is paying off, and it’s not just coachspeak. It’s showing up on the ice.”
After a scoreless first period, Caroline Shu broke the ice for Westwood at 1:53 of the second. Shu, one of two impressive freshman defensemen for the Wolverines along with Sophia Levering, rushed out of her own end along the left boards, cut in front and finished with an unassisted goal for the 1-0 edge.
But the lead disappeared just moments into the third when Nawrocki took a feed from behind the net from Maddy Foster and knotted it with a quick release. Twin sister Cammy Foster also picked up an assist on the play.
Each team had their lone power plays in the third but couldn’t find the go-ahead goal, with solid work in net from both goalies. Freshman Marissa Poma made 17 saves for the Wolverines while junior Kenzie Kelly had 14 stops for the Rockets.