The Tewksbury RedCats Girls U10 Hockey Team traveled to West Roxbury's Roche Arena on Sunday September 23rd to take on a strong skating Westwood team.  The RedCats, in their first season of an all girl U10 team, came out flying determined to get their 1st win of the year.

The puck dropped and the RedCats put immediate pressure on the Westwood goalie with quality scoring chances from Abigail O'Keefe, Lydia Pendleton, and Nikole Gosse.  The RedCats kept pressure on the Westwood defense with strong fore-checking from the line of Maci Chapman, Tess Barrett, and Kaylen Taddia.  With just over 3 minutes gone in the first period, the RedCats took a 1-0 lead off a goal from Lydia Pendleton with assists going to Caitlin Marchant and Abigail O'Keefe.  Westwood battled back and put pressure on the RedCats but the defensive work of Ryan Quinn, Alexis Raymond, and Jade Owirka kept the puck away from the RedCats net.  The RedCats increased their lead to 2-0 when Nikole Gosse and Kaylen Taddia worked the puck down low behind the Westwood net and found Abigail O'Keefe in the slot.  O'Keefe wasted no time and beat the Westwood goalie with a strong wrist shot.  Caitlin Marchant and Lydia Pendleton both had quality scoring chances as the 1st period came to an end but the Westwood goalie turned both shots away.

The 2nd period started much like the 1st period with the RedCats using their strong skating and speed to put pressure on the Westwood defense.  Maci Chapman, Tess Barrett, and Kaylen Taddia all had quality scoring chances with both Chapman and Barrett hitting the post.  Abigail O'Keefe scored her 2nd goal of the game to make the score 3-0, with assists going to Ryan Quinn and Nikole Gosse.  The RedCats kept pressure on Westwood and increased their lead to 4-0 when Ryan Quinn scored a pretty goal with assists going to Tess Barrett and Maci Chapman.  Westwood had a number of excellent scoring chances near the end of the 2nd period but RedCats goalie Megan Cunningham made a number of outstanding saves to keep the score 4-0.

The 3rd period was an up-and-down period with both teams getting scoring chances.  Jade Owirka made a nice play to keep the puck in the offensive zone and got off a strong wrist shot that the Westwood goalie saved, and Ryan Quinn and Abigail O'Keefe worked a nice give-and-go that saw O'Keefe just miss the net for the "hat trick".  The 3rd period then turned into the Megan Cunningham show.  The RedCats goalie stood on her head, making save after save to keep the RedCats in the lead.   Alexis Raymond made a number of outstanding defensive plays to keep the puck away from the RedCats net.  Westwood was finally able to break through on a fluke goal with just over 2 minutes to play in the 3rd period.  They cut the RedCats lead to 4-2 with just over a minute to play in the game but the RedCats held off a final push from Westwood and secured the 4-2 win.