Mass. native Walsh pulls off pretty neat (hat) trick for Union
On Friday, Riley Walsh did something Union College hasn’t seen in a decade.
The sophomore, who was born in Duxbury and also lived in Hopkinton, scored the first hat trick in the women’s hockey program in 10 years. It wasn’t just any hat trick, either.
With Union down, 2-0, and 3:16 remaining in a nonleague matchup against Holy Cross, Walsh scored two goals in under three minutes, sending the game to overtime. Then, less than four minutes into overtime, she took advantage of a rebound, scoring her third of the night to win the game.
“We had gotten down on some mistakes we had,” Walsh said. “But we had the energy. We told each other we had to be more motivated. Our energy was super-high going into overtime.”
It was not just the program’s first hat trick since November 2013, but Union’s first in a home game in 19 years and Walsh’s first as a Division 1 player. It served as a spark, too: Walsh’s teammate Maddie Leaney would do the same thing Saturday, the first time in program history that Union had hat tricks in back-to-back games.
The feat is a perfect representation of Walsh’s sophomoreyear goals. In her rookie season, she led the team in scoring with 22 points, including 15 goals to set a school freshman record. She was named ECAC Rookie of the Week three times.
Walsh hopes to follow up that freshman year with even more of a motivation to win.
“We want to have more heart and more drive as a team,” she said. “We hold each other accountable. We have a great coaching staff who are pushing us toward those goals.”
Walsh also is motivated to better another area of her game.
“I also want to stay out of the penalty box,” Walsh, who had 21 penalties last season, said. “I want to clean up my game from last year.”
The Vermont Academy product took her early skating strides on a backyard rink. Her father Steve coached for Marlborough’s Minuteman Flames club program, and she and her three siblings — Meghan, Sean, and Brady — all have played. Sean has continued his career at Division 3 St. Olaf College.
“I stuck with hockey because I got super passionate about it,” Walsh said. “I saw how passionate my dad was about coaching.”
At Union, Walsh has found players with a similar passion for the game, as well as the positive, team-first atmosphere she sought in a college program.
The Garnet Chargers have been one of ECAC Hockey’s struggling teams for years, but coach Josh Sciba has things looking up.
Last year’s 11-22-1 record marked the most wins in team history. This year will see them make their first league tournament appearance thanks to a change in the playoff format.
“Where we are placed is going to be interesting,” Walsh said. “We have the potential to finish higher than we ever have before. We are excited to show who we are.”
Plymouth to Alabama
Women’s college hockey has made its first forays into the Deep South, and a Plymouth native is right in the middle of it.
Paige Cote is a junior chemical engineering major at Auburn, and the vice president of the school’s two-year-old program. It’s a first for a school that is better known for football.
“The team’s goal is to grow the game,” Cote said. “Not only is hockey limited in the South, but women’s hockey is almost nonexistent here. For our girls who have played their whole lives, this is a chance to create a team for future girls to continue onto in their college years.”
Though it began as an independent entity, Cote’s team is not only recognized as an official club sport of the university, but has become a founding member of College Hockey South’s Women’s Division. The large college club conference welcomed six teams into the division this fall, including Georgia, Miami, and South Florida.
In late September, Auburn hosted the Columbus Classic, a tournament to open the season, which was won by the University of Tampa. It was a weekend full of firsts, including the first time Auburn played a team that was not Georgia, usually the only nearby competition.
“To finally play the Florida teams and be supported by College Hockey South was a huge deal to us all,” Cote said. “The weekend was some of the girls’ first-ever hockey games.”
Cote thought her hockey career had ended after her time with the Plymouth North/South co-op squad, but is pleased that it hasn’t. It’s a huge commitment (the team has access to practice ice only once a week at 10:15 p.m. at a rink 45 minutes away,) but it makes attending college 1,210 miles away from Plymouth feel a little less far.
“Auburn is my favorite place in the world,” Cote said. “However, there are still many times that I find myself missing home. Hockey brings that sense of home to Auburn.”
Weekend plans
No. 7 Northeastern travels to North Andover on Friday to face Merrimack, a team bolstered by the play of the Hockey East Goaltender of the Week, sophomore Calli Hogarth . . . Boston College’s tough schedule doesn’t get any easier this weekend. After facing No. 9 Clarkson and No. 1 Wisconsin on consecutive weekends, the Eagles face a home-and-home series against No. 14 UConn.