A great week of girls high school hockey in Grosse Pointe
By: Alexis Bohlinger on February 18, 2021
https://www.grossepointenews.com/articles/a-great-week-of-girls-high-school-hockey-in-grosse-pointe/

It was a great start to the girls high school hockey season this past week with all three Grosse Pointe teams coming away with their first win. After waiting months to begin competition, the girls were eager and excited to take the ice and their enthusiasm showed in their performance.

The University Liggett Knights walked away from their home opener with their first victory versus the Cranbrook Kingswood Cranes on Friday, Feb. 12, at McCann Ice Arena. The final score was 4-0 with freshman goalie Brooklyn Peshl earning her first high school shutout. Senior Captain Gabrielle Anusbigian scored two of the four goals for her team.

Liggett head coach Greg Paddison believes this win was a team effort.

“I was really impressed with the way we started,” he said. “We’ve tried emphasizing getting a fast start and putting our opposition on their heels from the get-go and I feel like we were able to accomplish that.”

The following evening, the Knights earned a 9-2 victory in their home arena against Regina/Lutheran North United. Paddison was eager to work his younger players into the lineup.

“It’s a thrill as a coach hearing the entire bench erupt when our players who don’t see as much ice get scoring opportunities,” he said.

The Knights are featuring 10 new players this season, most of whom made their high school debuts this past weekend.

“I was really proud of our players who were seeing their first high school hockey action,” Paddison said. “It’s also great to hear our players who we expect to be our top point-getters talking after games about team statistics rather than individual statistics, which tells the coaching staff that the girls are really buying into the ‘team first’ mentality.”

Just a few blocks away the same evening, the Grosse Pointe South Blue Devils took the ice at ESH Ice Arena for their first win versus a new team in the league, the St. Catherine of Siena Academy Stars. Having lost 2-1 the evening before to the Mercy Marlins at Eddie Edgar, the Blue Devils came out ready to put pucks in the net. The final score of the game was 9-0 with sophomore Elise Harr earning her first shutout of the season.

“Getting a lot of goals is always good for morale,” said Blue Devils head coach Hailee Craig. “We even had a few girls score their first career high school goals in this game,” including Kamryn Schocker, Ryleigh O’Donoghue and Gabby Vosburg.

The following evening, the Blue Devils once again took the ice at ESH for another high-scoring victory, 10-1 versus the Plymouth-Canton-Salem Penguins. Major contributors were Schocker with five goals and one assist, Liv Livingstone with three goals and three assists and Ellie Smith with five assists. Harr had another great performance in net, saving at least four breakaways.

“We’ve got a great group this year and once we nail down our systems and get more comfortable playing together there won’t be much these girls can’t do,” Craig said.

The Grosse Pointe North Norsemen also had an exciting home opener Friday, Feb. 12, beating the Livingston United Knights 2-1 with a winning goal from freshman Ella Dobbs, with just one minute remaining in the game. Senior Erin Murphy scored the first goal for North.

Upcoming games will feature the Norsemen playing Washtenaw United on Wednesday, Feb. 24. The Blue Devils will face the Livonia Knights on Sunday, Feb. 21, and Liggett will attempt to keep their undefeated streak alive Wednesday, Feb. 17, versus Ann Arbor Huron-Skyline.