By Tim Healy — Sports Contributor
Despite a stellar performance by senior goaltender Crista Celi, the Concord-Carlisle High School varsity girls hockey team lost an evenly played game to Bedford 2-1 in overtime January 18. The loss drops the Patriots to 1-8 on the season.
Senior captains Sarah Alter and Phoebe Lewis were out with injuries, so coach Steph Jahnle turned to eighth grade athletes, tapping Emerson Ambrose, Samantha Sibley, and Molly Alexander to skate.

The Patriots found themselves down 1-0 after one. Then, with 3:57 left in the second period, Ambrose slid a soft pass at the blue line to her defensive mate Addison Healy, who took a shot from the point that Bedford’s goalie turned away. Sophomore forward Ava Thomas buried the rebound, tying the score at 1-1.
With 1:21 left in the game, Alexander took a shot that Bedford’s goalie deflected. Atkins put one on net just 14 seconds later, but CC could not find that elusive second goal. Celi stopped several shots to keep the game 1-1 at the end of regulation.
Just 43 seconds into the four-on-four overtime period, Bedford’s Rebecca Sobel capitalized on a breakaway to slip her second goal of the contest past Celi for the win.

JV action
CC skated some of its players January 15 against Winchester’s JV team in a lopsided shutout loss for the Patriots. The home team came close to avoiding the shutout on several occasions, but Winchester’s goaltender turned away shot after shot and kept freshman Elizabeth Sproule from scoring on repeated breakaways in the game.
Sophomore center Caroline Munroe made a spectacular clear in front of the Patriots net to keep the game in reach early, but the more experienced Winchester squad skated off with the victory, 8-0.
