The North Star Wolves played three games last week and picked up their first win of the season in the third one.
The Wolves got a goal from Lorelei Gatti with just 18.2 seconds left in the third period to propel them to a 2-1 win over the St. Thomas of Villanova Wildcats last Thursday afternoon at the Vollmer Centre in LaSalle. Gatti banged home a rebound to give North Star the win, their first over the Wildcats since 2018.
“It was crazy,” said Gatti. “I got the rebound. I was just there in time. It was really nice.”
Teammate Ashley Mongeau said there was a “lot of positivity on the bench” during the game.
“Everyone lifts each other up,” said Mongeau.
Mongeau was pleased with their effort.
“I’d say it was one of our better games,” she said. “We never gave up. They got the first goal and we got the last two.”
Mongeau said she hopes the win gives the Wolves some more confidence so they can win more games.“We’re doing pretty good,” added Gatti.
North Star head coach Dan Pettypiece said it was a nice finish to a busy week. He noted they had a short bench for most of them, as they have been regularly missing players this season due to injury or illness.
“We can’t seem to get healthy,” he said.
Despite that, the effort is there from all players when they hit the ice.
“They show up every game,” he said. “No one got down and stopped skating. The coaches couldn’t be any more proud of them.”
The coaching staff also includes Bill Atkinson and Carly LeBlanc with teacher representative Stephanie Mongeau.
Tyler Lamarche also scored against the Wildcats and Lamarche and Gatti were both looking for their first goals of the season heading into the game. Pettypiece said they were getting chances but they finally started to go in against Villanova.
Pettypiece said it is not always skill that wins hockey games.
“Sometimes will and heart can win a game,” he said. “It’s the intangibles.”
Meridith Coulter scored the Villanova goal.
The Wolves are trying their hand in WECSSAA Tier 1 this season to better prepare themselves for when they drop back down to the “AA” playoffs. The win over Villanova gave them a 1-3-1 record.
North Star Wolves Battle 1st place St Anne
The North Star Wolves Girls hockey team came out of the Christmas Break last Monday (Jan. 6) with their toughest test so far.
They played a very tough first place team – St. Anne – at home. The girls knew it would be a tough game, but they gave everything they had and although St. Anne was able to squeak out a 1-0 win, the Wolves frustrated them throughout the game.
We had our chances to score but just couldn’t get the equalizer. Carsyn Atkinson played a fantastic game in goal stopping several grade “A” chances. Our defense corps played a tough game in front of Carsyn and it helped earn her player of the game and the honor of hanging with “Henry the Hedgehog” for the day. The St. Anne coach complimented the Wolves effort following the game.
Effort has never been an issue with this group and the coaches and the coaches were very pleased to see them continue where they left off before Christmas.
Wolves travel to Sandwich to take on the Sabres
The Wolves visited the Vollmer Centre to play the Sandwich Sabres Jan. 8. Once again it was an outstanding effort from this very young team. The Wolves pulled ahead 1-0 on a goal by Kierstyn Baillargeon (her first-ever high school goal) assisted by Cierrah Carter.
This very tough Sandwich team seems to have our number and they were able to pull ahead 3-1 to close out the game.
Grace DeThomasis played a great game in goal for the Wolves once again to keep the game close and give us a chance but we just couldn’t score on our many chances. We are very lucky to have two great goaltenders. They always give us a chance to win.
On a side note, we have never had our full roster available to us in any game this year due to injuries and sickness but the Wolves have never let a little adversity stop them from giving outstanding efforts in every game.
We hope to have everyone back in the lineup soon and we thank our AP’s Tyler Casey and Daphne Macinnes for filling in on short notice. Keep up the great work North Star Wolves girls hockey. The coaches are very proud of your tenacity and never quit attitude.
—The first portion of the article about the Villanova game was written by Ron Giofu. The second and third portions of the article about the St. Anne and Sandwich games were submitted by Dan Pettypiece.
Wolves beat Villanova, lose to Sandwich & St. Anne
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