The Cranston-East Greenwich girls hockey co-op is searching for its first win after falling to Warwick-West Warwick 3-2 on the road on Monday.
After a scoreless first period, Warwick-WW would get on the board when Lauren Bastien scored on an assist from Meghan McNally. The Thunderbirds responded fast, though, as Lindsey Rowe got the tying goal, assisted by Summer Lacouture.
Hayley Clemm would score two unassisted goals for Warwick-WW to give the host the 3-1 advantage heading into the final period. Although the Thunderbirds would get one last goal from Delaney Keane, it would not be enough as they fell to 0-10 on the season.
The Thunderbirds have been rebuilding their roster the last few seasons as they introduce a core of young players to the varsity game. Despite their record, coach Matt Davis has been happy with the improvements they’ve made this year.
“We’ve had progress. The girls show up to practice every day. We’ve been dealing with some injuries and have struggled to find consistency, but our girls have stepped up. Our goalies have stepped up, we have a few girls that can score here and there, it’s just going to be about our defense and helping our goalies out,” said Davis.
Rowe has had a breakout season as a junior and leads the team in scoring. Davis has leaned on her quite a bit this winter and is happy to have her returning next year.
“She goes on the ice and gives 110 percent. Whether it is fore checking or back checking. She’ll come off the ice for five seconds and be ready to go back in. She’s a leader on and off the ice,” said Davis.
The team has five games remaining on its regular season schedule. Davis is looking for the girls to keep gaining valuable experience and developing, with a step forward being the goal for next winter as most of the roster will be back together.
“We’re going to be better next year and we’ll have more players that will fill out the team. The progression since day one, it’s been night and day,” said Davis. “We’re just trying to get everyone healthy and give them more ice time. We have a lot of new skaters and we want to give them that experience. You don’t understand how fast it is until you get out there.”