Before the Williston Girls Varsity Hockey Team goes home for winter break, they have a weekend in Boston at the Nobles’ Holiday Tournament. Hosted at Milton Academy and the Nobles and Greenough School ice rinks, the team attends this tournament every year.

For many newcomers to the team this will be their first time playing in this holiday tournament. Williston freshman Marielle McHale is very excited for the tournament. “I’m excited to spend time with our team and see how we play against some of the tougher opponents. We are a strong team and we should have some good match ups,” she comments.

For Delaney Belinskas ’16, this will be her third time playing in the tournament. She says, “I’m most excited to see our team keep building as a whole. It takes time but the Nobles tournament is when everyone really steps up. From this tournament on we keep improving and moving forward.”

The team will leave from campus on Friday, December 19^th and travel to Boston to play their first game against Buckingham Browne and Nichols School (BBN) at Milton Academy at 2:30 p.m. The two teams matched up against each other for scrimmages earlier this year at Union College.

On Saturday, the Wildcats will play Nobles, a powerhouse team, again at Milton Academy at 8:30 a.m. Williston and Nobles do not play each other in regular season games and it is likely to be a hard battle between the two teams.

Also on Saturday, December 20^th  the team will travel to Nobles’ rink to play a rematch against the Pomfret School, at 6:30 p.m. The Wildcats and Griffins tied a game before Winter Break 1-1 in a tough game filled with penalties.

Assistant Coach Erin Davey is excited for this rematch.

“We’re in better shape and our offense has more fire,” says Ms. Davey. “This time, we’ll pepper the goalie, make her move, and put the puck in the net – as long as our defense stays calm, cool, collected, and plays simple hockey, we’ll wear them down. Transition and hard work is key!”

The semi-finals and championship games of the tournament, should the team make it that far, would take place on Sunday.

Follow @WillistonGVHCKY on Twitter for updates after games throughout the tournament.