BELMONT – After losing eight seniors from the 2024-25 squad, the Duxbury girls hockey team is relying on a less experienced group to keep the program at the top. The early returns have been promising.

Powered by a two-goal performance by freshman Ryleigh Burt and a shutout from freshman goaltender Brooklyn Metzler, the Dragons (2-0) cruised to a 4-0 victory over Belmont/Watertown.

“I thought this was a great test,” Dragons coach Dan Najarian said. “Belmont is a top 10 team in the state, Brendan Kelleher is a great coach, and you see a lot of civic pride in this building. Everybody stepped up and played the way we needed them to play.”

The Dragons have nine first-year players and several played prominent roles in the victory. Najarian said the newcomers have really impressed him and that they have potential to excel.

“This class is a special class,” Najarian said. “They all play big minutes. I have one on the first line, one in goal, and they are sprinkled all over the lineup. What more can you ask for? I lost a great group of girls last year and the year before, and to have a new group like this come in and excel is special.”

The first period featured a significant shot advantage for the Dragons but Marauders goaltender Elinor Dorn stood tall. While Belmont was unable to generate many chances, they did have a few high-end scoring opportunities that Metzler and the defense were able to squash.

“I think our breakout was really good and we were just working together as a team,” Metzler said. “The key was to stay calm, sometimes I can get a little nervous but I was able to stay calm and get it done.”

The second period saw the Marauders start strong and generate some pressure on Metzler. However, the Dragons drew a penalty, and Liv Gleason was able to gather some space, flash a few toe drags and fire the puck past Dorn for the game’s opening goal.

A few minutes later, Duxbury doubled the lead via an Emily Camara blast from the point. This would be all of the scoring in the frame as the Dragons headed to the intermission with a 2-0 lead.

“We moved some kids around in the lineup,” Najarian said. “We’re only two games in and have had just a handful of practices, so you are just throwing darts to figure out what the lines will be. We’re still sort of trying to figure it out, but we found some line combinations that worked today, and they were able to find the back of the net.”

The third period saw Burt get both of her goals. The first came early in the frame when the freshman skated into the zone with the puck and fired it off of a defender and into the back of the net.

“I was just trying to keep it on my stick, get the shot off and hopefully make something happen,” Burt said of her first varsity goal.

Minutes later, Lucia Rose rushed the puck towards the net and fired off a pass to Burt, who slid it across the line to make it a 4-0 game.

“It felt awesome,” Burt said. “The support from my team was awesome, I was so excited to celebrate.”

Burtand her fe llow first-years are excited to contribute to the program’s winning culture.

“Being with a group that is so talented really inspires me,” Burt said. “It keeps me going, shows me my potential and what I strive to be as a player.”