The season has officially come to a close for Wesleyan women’s ice hockey, and what a journey it has been. When The Argus last checked in on the team in December, they had just come off of their fifth straight win in a 2–0 victory over Salve Regina University, tying the record for the best start to a season in the program’s history.

In their follow-up game on Saturday, Dec. 11, the Cards clinched another victory, defeating Manhattanville College 6–1, officially setting the record for best season start in program history. The previous record had been held for over 20 years since the 1998-99 season, when the Cards opened 5–0. The victory was a true team effort, with goals by Chiara Christie ’23, Christina Tournas ’25, Brigitte Goeler-Slough ’23 (in the first multi-goal game of her career), Effie Tournas ’25, and Caroline Mezias ’25. In total, nine Cardinals registered at least one point, with Christina and Effie Tournas each earning three from one goal and two assists, and Goeler-Slough earning two, both from goals.

Captain Ally Detre ’22 looked back on this accomplishment proudly.

“It feels good to see as a program you’re getting better,” Detre said. “It put us in a great position going forward. We had a lot of people score their first goals and really produce a lot in that game. I think it was a very feel-good win for the team.”

After this incredible run, the team ran into some bad luck over their next few games. After a 31-day break, the Cards suffered their first loss of the season on Tuesday, Jan. 11 to No. 10-ranked Colby in a 1–2 defeat, with the only goal coming from Jenna Rekoske ’24 in the third period, assisted by Mairead Kennedy ’24.

This was followed by back-to-back losses against No. 1.-ranked Middlebury on Friday, Jan. 14 and Saturday, Jan. 15 with final scores of 0–1 and 1–4, respectively. Despite being outshot 44–11 in the first game, the Cardinals held strong throughout the first three periods. In overtime, though, the Panthers finally managed to get one in the net, bringing the final score to 0–1. The follow-up game was unfortunately less close, with the Cards scoring only once with a goal by Mezias assisted by captain Cali Stevens ’22 and Caroline Jenkins ’23 in the second period.

The team then had two losses against SUNY Cortland and Conn. College. Both games ended with final scores of 1–2, with the sole Wesleyan goals coming from Brooke Keough ’23. She was assisted by Christie and Isabelle Allieri ’25 against Cortland and by Detre ’22 against Conn. College.

The next game was much closer, with the Cards losing to Conn. 3–4 in overtime. It opened with Wesleyan taking an early lead with a goal by Mezias in the first period. The Camels managed to tie it up at the start of the second period, but the Red and Black got ahead with a goal by Christie. Going into the third period, Conn. College had once again tied the score 2–2. Though Rachel Ziff ’23 netted another goal for the Cardinals in the third period, the Camels sunk one in at 19:50, bringing the game into overtime and eventually clinching the victory.

The following three games saw another loss to Colby (0–3) and two to Amherst (1–2 and 0–2), with the sole Wesleyan goal in these matchups being scored at their Jan. 31 game against Amherst by Effie Tournas. 

Detre attributes this struggling period in part to the difficulties the team faced due to COVID-19, but believes that they showed their strength even during these harder times.

“We were quite unlucky with COVID and there was a stretch of two months where we never had everyone healthy,” Detre said. “There was a lot of uncertainty and tough times as a team. I think we really did a good job doing our best and pushing through that. So that was hard. But I’m proud of the way we grew as a team on the ice and off the ice.”

The Cards finally broke their losing streak with an impressive 3–2 victory over Williams at home on Friday, Feb. 4. The Red and Black opened strong with the first goal of the game scored by Bridget Cornell ’23, followed by another from Goeler-Slough, bringing the score to 2–0 by the end of the first period. Williams scored once early in the second period, but the Cards responded with another goal by Effie Tournas. In the third period, the Ephs managed one more goal, but the Cardinals ultimately emerged victorious with a final score of 3–2.

“I think definitely going into it we had a really strong week of practice,” Effie Tournas said. “I think going into that we just really wanted a win. We battled hard throughout the entire game and took all of our opportunities, and that really paid off in the end.”

The next matchup against Williams unfortunately yielded another loss with a final score of 1–3 as Effie Tournas scored the sole Cardinals goal in the second period.

The next two games on Tuesday, Feb. 11 and Wednesday, Feb. 12 saw losses to Hamilton College. The Feb. 11 game featured two goals by Effie Tournas in the first multi-goal game of her career, but Hamilton ultimately emerged with the win and a final score of 2–5. The following matchup was much closer, with the Continentals not scoring the first goal of the game until the second period. Hamilton then netted another goal early in the third period, but the Cardinals ramped up the energy at the end of the period, scoring at 19:20 as Allieri was assisted by Goeler-Slough, bringing the final score to 1–2.

Fortunately, after this game, the Cardinals got back on track when they took on Trinity. Their Tuesday, Feb. 18 matchup ended in an overtime 1–1 tie, with the sole Wesleyan goal by Keough in the first period. The next night’s results, though, were much more gratifying, with the Cardinals clinching a 2–0 senior day victory with goals by Audrey McMahon ’22 and Stevens, ending the regular season on a high note in their first shutout win since November.

Detre credits the victory to the team’s enduring resilience.

“I think we played really well as a team,” Detre said. “We tied them the game before, and I don’t think we played the way we necessarily knew we could, and I think we really came back and rallied that second game.”

The team then entered the NESCAC tournament against Conn. College in the first round. At the end of regulation time, the teams were tied 2–2 after Wesleyan goals by Effie Tournas and Jenkins. After a goalless first overtime period, the Camels managed to score in double overtime, bringing the final score to 2–3 and the Cardinals’ season to a close.

Looking forward, the Cardinals are optimistic about what next year’s season will bring. As a soon-to-graduate senior, McMahon is hopeful there will be good things to come for this hardworking team.

“A lot of the games that we lost [this season] were by one goal,” McMahon said. “It shows that we’re right there, and I think in past seasons that hasn’t been the case. It’s really promising. I think they have all the right things they need going forward to be on the other side of playoffs next year.”

Detre echoed these confident sentiments.

“I think the team is looking like it’s trending in a really great direction and I think that taking that momentum and remembering the hard parts and using it as motivation [is important],” Detre said.“I’m excited to watch them next year, and I’m proud of them.”

 

Erin Byerly can be reached at ebyerly@wesleyan.edu.