The Grosse Pointe South Lady Blue Devils beat the Mercy Marlins 9-1 at City on Thursday December 17, 2009. The Lady Blue Devils are 5-0 on the season with the win, and leading Division 1 in the standings. The Marlins are in 4th place in Division 2 with a 2-5 record.

Seniors Shannon Gianino and Ana Harris lead the scoring with 2 G each. Marissa Monforton, Jessica Snella, Emma Hull, Elizabeth Clem, and Claire Boyle chipped in 1 G each. Assisting were Baylee McColl, Dylan McColl, Julia Solecki, Hull, Sam Taylor, Cara Monforton, Meghan Polack (2), Clem, Gianino, and Boyle (2).

South’s blue-liners allowed the Marlins only 6 shots in their brief forays into South’s zone (to South’s 17). Goalie Maggie Miller started and earned the victory with 5 saves.There were no South powerplays, and they killed their one shorthanded situation.

South takes a holiday break from games until January 7, when they host Ladywood at City.I hope to see you there!    GO SOUTH!

The Grosse Pointe South Lady Blue Devils beat the Ladywood Blazers 8-0 at the Arctic Pond on Saturday December 12, 2009. The Lady Blue Devils are 4-0 on the season with the win. The Blazers remain in last place in Division 1 (1-4 record).

Sophomore and Assistant Captain Claire Boyle lead the Blue Devils with 6 points (2 G). Senior Captain Shannon Gianino got 4 points (2 G). Ana Harris (2 G, with 1 of these on the PP), Marissa Monforton, and Lorna Burns rounded out the scoring. Assisting were Monforton, Julia Solecki, Sam Taylor, Christine Daudlin, Cara Monforton, Gianino (2), and Boyle (4).

Besides the overpowering offensive pressure South developed, they did well at the blue line, allowing Ladywood only 5 shots in their brief forays into South’s zone (to South’s 28). Goalie Anastasia Diamond started and earned the victory and shutout with 4 saves. Maggie Miller appeared in relief and saved 1 shot.

The powerplay unit was 1-1 tonight, making them 4 of 10 (40%) for the year. The penalty killers killed all four shorthanded situations they faced, making them 94% for the year (1 PPGA on 16 times short-handed). Perhaps my favorite part of the game was seeing Cara and Marissa Monforton in the penalty box at the same time- truly a Kodak moment!

South’s Picture Day is Sunday Dec 13 at 1:30 at City. That is well-worth seeing for parents and relatives. Then South hosts the Mercy Marlins at City next Thursday, December 17 at 7:30 pm. Mercy is in the middle of the Division 2 standings with a 2-3 record (beating Regina and Walled Lake, and losing to Port Huron [twice] and Country Day). Following that game, they take a holiday break from games until January 7, when they host Ladywood at City. I hope to see you there!

GO SOUTH!

The Grosse Pointe South Lady Blue Devils beat the Ann Arbor Pioneers 4-2 at City Arena on Thursday December 10, 2009. The Lady Blue Devils are 3-0 on the season with the win. The Pioneers fall to 4^th place in Division 1 (3-1 record). The standings are incomplete, though, because the 2^nd and 3^rd place teams (Liggett and Cranbrook) have not yet recorded a couple of scores from the last 48 hours.

The first period was scoreless. South hammered Ann Arbor goalie Sydney Supica with 15 shots, but she saw, and saved, them all. Maggie Miller, on the other hand, was completely untested between the pipes for South in the first.

South stayed patient and kept the play in the Pioneer’s end in the second period. At 12:00 on the clock, Julia Solecki opened the scoring for South, with an assist by Rae Sklarski. It took 6 ½ minutes for Pioneer to respond, but Rachel Freeman (#7) scored to make it 1-1 from Shelby Supica. The goal came just 3 seconds into a Pioneer powerplay, from a faceoff in South’s defensive zone.  Less than a minute later, Lorna Burns made it 2-1 from Marissa Monforton and Baylee McColl, as all three crashed the net. Then Shannon Gianino got the game-winner, from Claire Boyle and Emma Hull, on a cycling, bang-bang passing play that the Pioneer’s goalie couldn’t stay in front of. Shots in the second were 15-3 in favor of South, and South lead 3-1 as the period ended.

Shots in the 3^rd were more even, 7-6 in South’s favor (37-9 for the game). Ten minutes elapsed, highlighted only by a successful penalty kill for South. Then, with 5:25 remaining, Ann Arbor’s speedy Julia Franceschi (#17) got loose while South was on the powerplay, and slipped a nifty short-handed goal in, from Emy Guttman (#11). The score slipped to 3-2 in South’s favor. But South’s newcomers were able to reply less than a minute later. Meghan Polack, even though she was covered, was able to dish a perfect pass to Baylee McColl who was streaking into the slot. McColl managed to elude the second defender, and get a quick shot off before the goalie had time to shift to her right and cover her. It was McColl’s first goal as a Lady Blue Devil, which made the final score 4-2.

Besides the excellent offensive pressure South developed, they did well at the blue line. Hull stood out all night, playing extremely solid defense. She was ably assisted by defenders Dylan McColl, Jess Snella, Andrea Marshall, Cara Monforton, Christie Daudlin, Alison Daudlin, and Melissa Klinger. Goalie Maggie Miller took charge of her end with 7 saves.

The powerplay unit was 0-1 tonight, making them 3 of 9 (33%) for the year. However, they did give up a rare SH goal. Meanwhile, the penalty kill had a good evening, only allowing 1 PPG on three chances, making them 92% for the year (1 PPGA on 12 times short-handed). The penalty killers did a particularly good job protecting the lead in the closing moments, as South’s Boyle was sent to the box for checking, with just 2:20 remaining. Ann Arbor poured it on, and emptied their net at 1:24, but Marissa and Cara Monforton were flying up and down the ice, preventing the Pioneers from developing sustained offensive pressure as the clock rolled down to zero.

South travels to the Arctic Pond to meet Ladywood’s Blazers at 6:30 pm on Saturday, December 12. Although Ladywood is struggling at 1-3 this year (victory over Country Day; losses to Cranbrook, Walled Lake, and Port Huron), you would be surprised how tough they have played us over the years on their home ice. In any case, what else would you rather do this Saturday? ;) I hope to see you there!

The Grosse Pointe South Lady Blue Devils beat the Walled Lake Wild 8-0 at Suburban on Thursday December 3, 2009. The Lady Blue Devils are 2-0 on the season with the win. The Wild fall to 1-2 with the loss (won vs. Ladywood; losses to AA & GPS).

Senior Ana Harris lead the Blue Devils with 4 points (2 G, 2A) with one of her goals on the powerplay. Several players had three points on the night; Emma Hull, Shannon Gianino, and Claire Boyle (1 G, 2 A each). Marissa Monforton, Jess Snella (powerplay), and Rae Sklarski also scored. Earning assists were Gabby Hartman, Bailey McColl (2), and Elizabeth Clem.

The powerplay unit scored on both its opportunities, and the penalty killers stopped the Wild on all three of their powerplay chances. Shots in the game were in South’s favor (36-5).

Freshman Anastasia Diamond started in goal and earned the victory with 1 save. Senior Maggie Miller appeared in relief and made four more saves.

This week, South hosts Division 1 rivals Ann Arbor Pioneer on Thursday Dec. 10 at 7:30 pm (at City). Ann Arbor is in first place in Division 1 with a record of 3-0 (with victories against Walled Lake, Bloomfield, and Plymouth-Canton-Salem). Then South takes the bus to the Arctic Pond, to test themselves against Ladywood’s Blazers on Saturday Dec. 12 at 6:30 pm. Ladywood is at 1-2, with a victory over Country Day, and losses to Cranbrook and Walled Lake.

I hope to see you at both games! GO SOUTH!

The Grosse Pointe South Lady Blue Devils beat the GP North Norsemen 6-1 at GPCR onWednesday, November 18, 2009. The Lady Blue Devils are 1-0 on the season with the win. North falls to 0-1 with the loss.

Senior Julia Solecki lead the Blue Devils with 3 points (1 G, 2A) including the game-winning goal. Also scoring were Marissa Monforton, Sam Taylor, Meghan Polack (powerplay), Rae Sklarski and Claire Boyle (short-handed). Assisting were Monforton, Alison Daudlin, Shannon Gianino (2), Ana Harris (2), Sklarski, and Lorna Burns.

In the locker room after the game, coach Bill Fox & Matt Elich gave pucks to Polack and Taylor, for their first high school league goals.

The powerplay unit got a lot of work, as the teams were assessed a total of 28 minutes of penalties. South scored on 1 of 6 (17%) PP opportunities, and denied North on all 6 occasions when South was short-handed. Boyle’s shorthanded goal, the first in the game, was scored while South successfully killed 1:16 of a 5 on 3 disadvantage.

Shots in the game were in South’s favor (25-10), reflecting meticulous back checking by the forwards, and great defense from veterans (Andrea Marshall, Cara Monforton, Emma Hull, Christine Daudlin, Jess Snella), and newcomers (Dylan McColl, Melissa Klinger).

Maggie Miller started and earned the victory with 5 saves and no goals allowed. Newcomer freshman Anastasia Diamond gave up a goal on 5 shots against.

GO SOUTH!

Well, the first scrimmage is behind us and the team looks great. GPS Lady Blue Devils beat Northville Mustangs by a score of 3-1 at City on Wednesday Nov 12 2009. Returning players Lorna Burns, Claire Boyle, and Emma Hull (senior) scored for the LBD.

Please note that our Saturday scrimmage was cancelled (regular practice will be held- see Blue Devils Calendar at left).

See you at our next game, Wed Nov 18 (7pm at GPCR) against our old friends from GP North. It'll be interesting to see how we match up against our crosstown rivals this year! 

GO SOUTH!