Girls Hockey: Storm Cruise Past Sentinels, 13-2

KINGSTON — Head coach Edward Curran of the Narragansett/South Kingstown/North Kingstown Storm girls’ hockey team mentioned he likes to put pressure on his offense.

The offense certainly did not have a problem with that Friday night at Boss Arena.

The Storm (1-3-1) scored three goals in the first 1:50 en route to a 13-2 victory over Smithfield. It is the team’s first win of the season and Curran has emphasized offense thus far into the young season and it was in full force Friday.

“I think that was something we actually felt like we could do,” Curran said regarding the scoring. “We tried to put a little pressure on them offensively. We just scrimmaged the other night and we felt like the progress is really starting to show. The girls are starting to make some really nice passes and good plays.”

Captain Alexandria Smith led all scorers with four goals and an assist for the Storm. Devin McKnight netted three goals and the Storm managed to outshoot Smithfield (0-4-0), 32-12. Smith was particularly satisfied with the team’s defensive performance, noting those 12 shots allowed.

“They did really well tonight,” Smith said. “They skated hard and it’s a long three periods so they did good for only having 12 shots on goal.”

McKnight got things rolling for the Storm, scoring on a nice wrist shot 1:24 into the match. Andrea Cooper scored just 16 seconds later to give the Storm a 2-0 cushion.

The Storm continued to take advantage of poor Sentinel puck control and scored three more times in the first.

It took a little longer for the Storm to strike again, its next goal not coming until 7:03 left in the second when Smith scored, but at the second intermission the Storm still held a comfy 8-0 lead and had a 22-8 shot advantage.

The Storm scored three times in a span of 1:38 in the third period, two goals from Smith and the last coming from McKnight. Smithfield would not give up, however. Despite being down 13-0, the Sentinels continued to fight hard and scored the last two goals of the game, both from senior Catalina Costa.

Having players from three different towns on one team will take some getting used to, both Curran and Smith note, but so far it has been a fun and rewarding experience.

“I don’t see that as an issue at all,” Curran said. “The kids just get along. Some of them know each other from youth hockey and those who don’t are making new friends as we speak.”

Smith agrees that the co-op has been beneficial for all.

“It’s definitely different,” Smith said. “Everybody thinks it’s going to be hard but it really isn’t. We’re all high school girls, we get along fine. It’s really cool.”

Curran knows that not all games will be like this one, but he is happy anyway that the morale is high and there is much momentum heading into the next game.

“We were up against some inexperience,” Curran said. “Then one thing led to another. Their confidence was high tonight. It’s nice. It was a nice win for the girls.”

Smithfield’s next game is Wednesday at Portsmouth when the Sentinels face the Toll Gate/Pilgrim/Warwick Vets co-op squad. Face-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. The Storm play at Portsmouth on Friday at 6 p.m. against St. Mary Academy - Bay View. 

SCORING:

FIRST PERIOD SCORING:

SECOND PERIOD SCORING:

THIRD PERIOD SCORING:

PENALTIES:

Narra/SK/NK - 1 - 2:00

Smithfield - 2 - 3:30

SHOTS:

Narra/SK/NK - 32-12

SAVES:

Narra/SK/NK - Emily Edwards, 6

Smithfield - Emily Sheehan, 11