Tewksbury RedCats Girls U10 Hockey Team ties Waltham 3-3

On Saturday December 1st the Tewksbury RedCats Girls U10 Hockey Team played Waltham at Hockeytown USA in Saugus and skated to a 3-3 tie.  Despite playing
with only 8 skaters the RedCats dominated play from the initial puck drop until
the final buzzer.

The RedCats came out flying and had 2 great scoring chances on the first shift of the game from the line of Ryan Quinn, Abby O’Keefe, and Maci Chapman but the Waltham goalie made the first of many of her saves on the day.  Waltham fought
back and created their own pressure on the RedCats but great defensive plays by
Alexis Raymond and Jade Owirka kept Waltham off the board.  The RedCats continued to pressure the Waltham goal as Kaylen Taddia and Alice Sharpe worked a nice give-n-go resulting in a great scoring chance for Taddia that hit the left post.  Waltham was able to take the 1-0 lead with just over 2 minutes to play in the first period but the RedCats battled back and had chances to tie the game as the 1st period ended but the Waltham goalie made a great save on Ryan Quinn’s last second shot.  The RedCats tied the game 2 minutes into the 2nd period when Abby O’Keefe buried a rebound, assists going to Maci Chapman and Lydia Pendleton.  Waltham battled back and was able to get pucks to the RedCats net but goalie Megan Cunningham made a handful of outstanding saves to keep the score tied.  The RedCats kept firing pucks at the Waltham goalie, getting great scoring chances from Kaylen Taddia, Maci Chapman, and Abby O’Keefe as the 2nd period came to an end.  The RedCats took a 2-1 lead just 2 minutes into the 3rd period when Ryan Quinn and Lydia Pendleton worked hard on the forecheck and gained control of a loose puck.  Lydia skated the puck around the net and sent a great pass across the crease to Ryan who fired a one-timer into the back of the net.  The RedCats defense of Jade Owirka and Alexis Raymond helped on the offensive end as they both were able to make great plays on the blue line to keep the puck in the offensive zone resulting in scoring chances for the RedCats.  The RedCats took a 3-1 lead with 5 minutes to play in the game when Abby O’Keefe fired a hard wrist shot from the right face-off circle that the Waltham goalie saved but Lydia Pendleton was in the perfect position and fired the rebound over the sliding goalie into the top corner of the net.  Waltham battled back and was able to score 2 late goals to tie the game 3-3.  The RedCats never gave up and had 2 last second chances to win the game but the Waltham goalie once again was there to shut the door.