On February 26th, Eastside Hockey Arena was packed with fans there to witness the Grosse Pointe South Lady Blue Devils take on Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Eaglettes in a tense hockey game. The back and forth nature of the game’s possession led to increased tension as the match persisted. The 4-1 final score of this game illustrated the passion that the Blue Devils have on the ice.
Three minutes into the first period, South came out strong. Maeve Hix ’24 scored the first goal assisted by Anne Wayman ’24, taking the lead early on and creating initiative for the Eaglettes to come back stronger. They put many shots on goalie and captain Rosie Smith ’25. The Eaglettes were able to contain the puck to their end of the ice for the main portion of the first period, but they lacked points on the scoreboard. The Blue Devils were able to intercept the Eaglettes’ passes leading to a second fast break goal by Molly Reynolds ’25 at the end of the first period.Assistant captain Ruby Verlinden ’24 described how the team needed to act assertively to maintain the score.
“Getting the first few goals felt really good,” Verlinden said. “We just had to keep the energy going and not get ahead of ourselves and play confidently.”
Beginning the second period, the game got a bit more aggressive. The Blue Devils came out fiercely, determined to keep their lead, resulting in a few penalties. The puck remained in South’s possession for the majority of the period. Abby Evans ’25 was able to score two unassisted fast break goals off of interceptions seven minutes apart. An avid fan of hockey, Scout Webber ’25 attended the game and explained how the team played well from a fan’s perspective.
“It was really fun to watch the girls come back so hard,” Webber said. “They were really determined to keep their lead and knew how to handle the puck around their end, which was super beneficial to their end score.”
Jumping into the third period, the Eaglettes refused to give up despite the score. They managed to maintain possession the majority of the third period, performed excessive shots on South’s goalie and found the back of the net with three minutes left, resulting in a 4-1 end score.
Tinley Gram ’27 described how the goal in the third period affected the team during the end of their play.
“(The team) didn’t care because it was the end of the game and we knew they didn’t have time to come back, but we were determined to have a shut out, so it was disappointing,” Gram said. “The end result was because of our hard work, so we are proud.”
