On Saturday, January 27th, the Harborwomen hockey team of Hingham High School took on the Duxbury Dragons for an exciting and highly anticipated game. Being a very distinct rivalry in both teams’ histories, the Harborwomen and Dragons have been known to be equally balanced opponents. 

This specific game attracted quite a crowd. Students, families, and fans from both teams alike made appearances on Saturday at Hingham’s home rink, Pilgrim Skating Arena, to watch the girls battle it out. In order to gain popularity for the game as well, online posts made by both teams circulated on social media apps such as Instagram and X. 

Before games, especially those as important as playing Duxbury, preparation is always vital to be game day ready. All players have their own rituals, superstitions, and traditions that put them in the right mindset to play their best game on the ice. For example, Sophomore goalie Izzy Maggar described her feelings going into Saturday’s game and how she prepared for it, saying, “I went into the game with adrenaline, excitement, and some nerves. To warm up, I showed up at 2 for my game that started at 6 (4 hours early). When I get there, I start with hand-eye coordination. Then I go for a run and stretch. After that, I go back to hand-eye coordination. Then I get mentally locked in and wait for my team to arrive so that we can start our team warm-up together! Then I eat my good luck clementine and hop on ice”. 

Unfortunately, Saturday’s game did not favor the Harborwomen. With an early goal from the Dragons in the first few minutes, the team’s energy was temporarily lost. However, Hingham girls’ hockey quickly regained their composure and demonstrated excellent defense to combat Duxbury’s equally talented offense. It was back and forth, and by the second period, Hingham was down by two but tied with Duxbury with their seven shots on goal. By the third period, Duxbury put one more in the net to end the game 3-0. 

While the team was disappointed with this loss, there is still more left in the season. Freshman defenseman Reagan Leiphart described her perspective in the locker room after Saturday’s game, explaining, “I’d say it was a really exciting game to watch because we are both really competitive teams, so it’s just upsetting we weren’t able to get a few pucks in the net as we’ve done against other teams. Hopefully, this is stuff we can improve for the rest of the season”.