Waltham High girls hockey team looks to pick up momentum 

It has been a bit of a slow start to the 2025-26 campaign for the Waltham High School girls hockey team.

The Hawks have started out with a 1-3-1 record while dropping games to Woburn, Acton-Boxborough and Westford Academy.

“It has been a little up and down,” Head Coach Chris Watson said. “We have one good win and one good tie, but we haven’t really played like ourselves yet. We are just trying to find ourselves, it seems like.”

However, with the beginning of league play comes great opportunities for a fresh slate. 

“We are hoping to rebound going into league play,” Watson said. “We are just trying to increase the intensity, emotion and passion and get back to playing at the level we know we are capable of [as a team].”

WHS showed its potential in a  victory over the Lexington Minutemen on Dec. 23 and a tie against the Grafton Gators on Dec. 27. The Hawks knocked off the Minutemen by a 2-1 tally behind a pair of goals from Molly Whittier, assists by Nina Joannidis and Sophia LaFauci, and a stellar 16 saves from goaltender Miyana Bahl.

The contest versus the Gators was an intense one. Each team netted four goals with LaFauci accounting for three of them on the Hawks side with Joannidis chipping in the other. Whittier contributed two assists alongside helpers from Taylor Losier, Ryanne O’Connor and Ava Anderson. Despite allowing a quartet of tallies, Bahl was tough in goal with 27 saves.

Based on these outputs, the Hawks have the ability to put it together as 2026 kicks off. A challenging Dual County League should make for some fun contests.

“Our overall schedule has definitely intensified,” Watson said. “The league now has a lot of parity. The teams that used to be considered the weaker ones have improved. Every league game is going to be a fight. We have to meet that match and play to our capabilities and standards to have a chance in all of those games.”

Upcoming games for the Hawks include Weston/Wayland on Jan. 3, Cambridge Rindge and Latin on Jan. 7, and Shawsheen/Bedford on Jan. 10.