This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Mercy Hockey Drills Country Day

The Marlins score nine goals in the offensive shoot-out.

The girls varsity hockey team set a goal prior to Monday’s game. They wanted to hold Detroit County Day to 20 or fewer shots on goal. 

Unfortunately, the Marlins didn’t come close to accomplishing the goal, as both teams recorded 37 shots in Monday’s contest at Southfield Civic Center. Nonetheless, Mercy defeated Country Day, 9-6, in a back-and-forth game that featured several major changes in momentum.  

“One of the focuses we tend to do it limit the number of shots,” Mercy head coach Pat Gregory said. “Against this team, our goal tonight was 20. We didn’t come close to our goal. That’s disappointing. We weren’t getting back in the play and picking up our wings. 

Find out what's happening in Farmington-Farmington Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“It was a back and forth game. We got a little bit sloppy at times and played out of position. They capitalized on mistakes that we made. We are a young team and we are still learning the game," Gregory said.

Mercy sophomore forward Madeline McClain led the way for the Marlins, scoring five goals and tacking on two assists. 

Find out what's happening in Farmington-Farmington Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Three of McClain’s five goals came in the third period. And it’s a good thing, as Country Day was pressing hard to try and get back in the game. 

“We didn’t quit,” Country Day head coach Ricardo Dipasquo said. “We have a young team in terms of hockey IQ. They learn every shift. Every shift they get better and they work harder. But sometimes it just gets away for us. (Mercy) has some really good players that can go end to end.” 

The two teams didn’t waste any time getting on the score sheet. Four minutes into the game, Mercy had already jumped out to a 3-1 lead. 

Mercy kept the offensive pressure up throughout the rest of the first period and into the second frame, with the Marlins holding a 6-1 lead less than five minutes into the second period. 

But Country Day wouldn’t go away. The home team scored two goals at the end of the second period and tacked on a shorthanded tally early in the third period to make the score 8-5. 

“I thought we did really well in the beginning of the game,” McClain said. “We were really motivated in the beginning because we knew that Country Day wanted to beat us. Coach changed things around, and I think we got a little bit lazy. They definitely gained momentum and came back. The whole team was stressed out and frustrated.” 

Then McClain took over for Mercy, scoring three of the next four goals to put the game out of reach for Country Day. 

“I was really motivated in the third period,” McClain said. “I knew if we didn’t put points on the board, then we weren’t sure what was going to happen in the last five minutes. 

For Country Day, the aggressive push in the third period came too late. 

“I felt like there were a lot of unlucky bounces,” Country Day junior forward Jamie Bamberger said. “We couldn’t get a break, no matter how many times we shot. But we did better in the third period. We won the third. A lot of the teams we’ve been playing are really good. It’s an opportunity to improve playing better teams, but I think tonight will boost everyone’s spirits.” 

Near the end of the game, Gregory tried to use his entire bench, as Mercy has the daunting task of playing on back-to-back nights. The team will be on the road against University of Liggett on Tuesday. 

“I tried to play a lot of the girls to make sure that everybody is rested for (Tuesday),” Gregory said. “We also want to make sure we are ready for the playoffs. We have a big stretch of the season coming up.”

The Marlins travel to play University Liggett on Tuesday. The game starts at 5:45 p.m. in McCann Arena.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Farmington-Farmington Hills