Deerfield Girls Varsity Hockey hit the road this afternoon to open their season against a talented St. Mark’s squad. Neither team was able to break through in the opening frame, but the Big Green earned the better chances with a strong forecheck and good puck movement down low. Our six defensemen did a great job of shutting down rushes in the neutral zone, and of moving the puck quickly on the breakout. Penalty killers Meghan Halloran ’17, Mary Edmonds ’19, Margaret Williams ’19 and Christina Halloran ’20 did a nice job of preventing the home team from setting up, and goalie Liv Mikesell ’20 covered any puck that came her way. Deerfield took the lead in the second period, as a great step up by Meaghan O’Brien ’18 and backcheck by Edmonds allowed the elder Halloran to break in alone, and she made no mistake in slipping the puck past the St. Mark’s goalie. To the home team’s credit, they kept us on our heels for much of the third period, and were able to snipe a shot past Mikesell after a turnover on our power play. Demonstrating some impressive character, grit, and resilience, Deerfield dominated play in overtime, with Halloran, Edmonds and Mae Emerson ’19 buzzing all over the offensive zone. Unfortunately, we could not quite find the winner, and had to settle for a 1-1 tie. Still, it was a nice effort to start the season, and certainly revealed the potential of this young squad. Mikesell was solid in goal in her Deerfield debut with 16 saves, while the Big Green put 22 pucks on the St. Marks net. Many thanks to the Fujiyoshis and Hallorans for the spread of pizza, drinks, fruit and delicious treats after the game. Next up is a tough test against Loomis on Wednesday.