On Valentine’s Day Eve, the girls’ varsity hockey team played Founders League rival Choate in an “Assist-A-Wish” game dedicated to raising money for a truly great charity: Make-A-Wish. “We chose Make-A-Wish because we feel at some point or another in life, cancer unfortunately has some effect on everyone,” Sharon Frankel ’17 explains, “ In particular, [senior] Paige Capistran’s brother passed of cancer when she was in the eighth grade. Make-A-Wish did something really special for her brother, Luke, and the Capistran family, so we thought it would be meaningful to give back.” The entire team quickly agreed to support the non-profit known worldwide for granting wishes to children suffering from life-threatening illnesses. The girls prepared for the event by decorating the rink, creating posters, and advertising the special game throughout the Island. The team even designed a unique bracelet to sell during lunch to help raise additional funds for Make-A-Wish, and students who supported the act of charity enjoyed a dress-down day. Then, after a long week of fundraising, it was time to drop the puck and the girls quickly directed their efforts toward Choate.
The first period opened with fast-paced action from both teams, but the Pelicans struck first when Jess Schryver took a breakout pass and found Emma Flynn racing up the ice. Flynn then deftly slid a perfect pass back to Schryver, who beat the Choate goalie! The Wild Boars battled back with an opportunistic goal, leveling the game at 1-1 toward the end of the period. Choate’s equalizer ended Loomis’ incredible streak of 340 minutes, or about seven games, without allowing a goal. Great defense!
The Pelicans then took firm control of the game in the second period. Jess Schryver scored her second goal of the game on a blast that was assisted by Paige Capistran and Sharon Frankel. Two minutes later, Schryver struck again, completing the hat trick on a backhand shot after receiving a pass from Abby Marmer. Sharon Frankel added a fourth goal late in the period that was assisted by Linda Essery and Abby Marmer.
The 4-1 margin would hold up, thanks to solid play from Cali Stevens, Maddie Giordano, Trina Hong and Georgia Kraus, and the Pelicans continued to pressure Choate through the high scoring line of Bailey Coyne, Emma Flynn and Jess Schryver. Michaela Giuttari, Grace Usilton and Sarah Stevens also turned in strong performances. In total, Loomis bombarded Choate’s net with 35 shots. Of course, not enough can be said of standout Pelican goalie Taylor Stadeli, who turned away 15 of 16 shots and started the team on its next defensive streak with two periods of shutout play!
The scoring also included a big assist for Make-A-Wish. Loomis Girls’ Hockey raised $1,250 for Make-A-Wish and another $250 to the Financial Aid Library through a wide combination of raffle-gift cards, a handmade stool, Loomis Chaffee gear, hockey supplies, a goodies basket, and a Valentine’s basket. There was also a spirited game of Chuck-A-Puck during the second intermission in which fans purchased pucks from the JV girls’ squad to throw at targets for prizes. Free hot chocolate and coffee for students rounded out the festivities, and this spectacular event drew largest crowd of the season! Sharon Frankel and Paige Capistran added, “We would like to thank the deans for helping to make our LC Dress Down Day possible, the coaches for being so helpful, the parents for donating raffle items, Bruno for his awesome craftsmanship, the bookstore for providing a great raffle item, Amy Frankel for supplying decorations, Fran Giordano for providing the hot chocolate, Mrs. Levine for providing coffee, and the student body for all of their support.” Everyone had a great time and a lot of fun–all for a wonderful cause. “This event was an amazing way to support Make-A-Wish,” noted sophomore Erin Levine, “We hope to continue this tradition next year!”
One last piece of good news: Even if you missed the game, you can always contribute to Make-A-Wish. Congratulations, Pelicans, on a win for both Loomis and Make-A-Wish!
