Head Coach Lauren Wiggins Proud of Branford Hornets' Girls’ Hockey’s Resiliency

The Branford girls' ice hockey team may still be searching for its first win, but that doesn't mean Lauren Wiggins's Hornets are hanging their heads. Instead, Wiggins is proud of her squad for the resiliency they've showed, a characteristic the head coach is hopeful will lead to a few wins in the second half of the campaign.

Branford's resilient attitude was on display when it recently went up against Guilford for despite dropping a 5-2 decision, the Hornets netted two goals in the third period, showing both Wiggins and her athletes what can be achieved when everyone works as a team.

"We were coming off a tough loss to Lauralton Hall [5-0] and were down going into the third period against Guilford, but the girls skated hard the whole game, backed each other up, and then things started clicking in the third period," said Wiggins, who's assisted by Scott Valentine and goalkeeper clinicians Dave Salerno and Mike Rapacciuolo. "I was excited for the girls that they worked together as a team and lifted themselves up by scoring a few goals. When you're a growing program, you look for things to build on going forward and I think what we did will help us down the line and motivate us to keep up our intensity."

Branford's first goal against Guilford was netted by junior forward and assistant captain Emily Hershman on assists from freshman defender Marissa Guglielmi and senior forward assistant captain Erica McLean. Guglielmi then tallied the Hornets' second score on assists by freshman forward Sam DeVito and sophomore forward April Simmons.

Senior captain Chandlar Fowler started in net with sophomore Whitney Morris playing the third period and making nine saves, including halting a breakaway in the final seconds. Coach Wiggins credited Morris for playing her "best game of the season" versus Guilford and also complimented Fowler for the job she's done in net, although Fowler was recently moved to forward/defense to give the Hornets' offense a little boost.

Something else of which Wiggins was complimentary is the guidance and leadership from their quintet of captains that consists of Fowler, McLean, Hershman, and junior forward and assistant captain Caity O'Brien. Wiggins said her athletes "are always positive and get along with each other" and Branford's captains have played a pivotal role in establishing that attitude.

"Our captains are all great kids who work hard," said Wiggins, whose team also recently lost to West Haven 6-2, a game which saw Morris made 26 saves and Guglielmi and Hershman score goals, the latter coming on assists from Fowler and McLean. "Chandlar is the most vocal of the captains who isn't afraid to tell the team to pick it up. Erica always hustles and gives 110 percent and that mentality trickles down to the other kids. Caity is another captain who will speak up and Emily just knows the game so well and always helps her teammates by telling them where to go on the ice."

The Hornets have six other seniors in forward Brianna Clyne and defenders Bridget Cunningham, Jill Denhardt, Lisa Hackley, Deirdre Morris, and Anna Abate. Branford's other juniors are forward Bailey Fryer and Karli Signor, plus defender Emily McColl. In addition to Morris and Simmons, the sophomore contingent is comprised of forwards Cassidy Murphy, Lauren Kuhn, Jamie Ardito, and Shelby Antonino. DeVito and Guglielmi are Branford's two freshmen.

Coach Wiggins expressed optimism about the amount of talent in her underclass and also with how her athletes' experience level has increased from a year ago as many of Branford's girls also compete in year-round travel programs and attended an offseason skills clinic organized by Wiggins.

"Our skill level as a program has improved a lot and so we've been able to work more on things like the power play and penalty kill, instead of just focusing on the fundamentals," said Wiggins. "We have a solid group of athletes and I definitely feel we're heading in the right direction."