Brewin' Up a Tie

Sixteen Ms. Conducts arrived in North Conway for the Dave Dore Winter Classic Tournament and kicked off the weekend with a team pasta dinner and -- due to curfew -- an abbreviated game of Flip Cup and shortened hot tub time.

Kicking off the weekend on Friday night with a team pasta dinner.

Despite freezing rain outside and an early morning wake up, the team faced off against the New England Brewins on Saturday morning.  Although the Ms. Conducts had the first scoring chance on a second-shift breakaway by Julie Dalton, the Brewins went up 2-0 in the first period.  Goaltender Michelle Donnelly shut down the Brewins for the rest of the game and strong offensive pressure by Lori Gress, Keri Capobianco (spinning off a defenseman!), and Amy Thompson kept the game exciting.  The Ms. Conducts got on the board in the third period on a one-timer shot in the slot by Dalton (assisted by Carol Lowenstein and Michelle Bramante). Defenseman Colleen Callahan hit the post in an effort to tie the game and defenseman Katie Castagno's shots from the blue line narrowly missed the net.  With less than three minutes to go in the game, Dalton intercepted a pass and carried the puck down the ice.  Winger Pam Hegarty crashed the net and tipped in Dalton's pass for the game-tying goal.

In spite of many non-calls by the refs (a trip on Sandy "Stiletto" O'Sullivan, a hook and a check on Dalton, a slash to Hegarty), the women held strong and stayed physical.  Great teamwork and passing combine for a good game.  

COVERGIRLS

We have always joked about becoming famous -- or infamous -- for our hockey playing.  Now, there's a bit of truth to it with the recent article in Merrimack Valley Magazine about us.  Written by Lori Gress's friend, Liz Michalski, the article features our hockey sorority and highlights the friendships we've made on and off the ice.  The magazine hit newsstands in mid-November and is available at Whole Foods.

Holiday Mail for Heroes

Honorary Ms. Conducts Izzy DiAdamo (far right), Sophie Gallacher (second from right),
Audrey Gallacher (third from left) and friends create some cheer for the holidays.

Honorary Ms. Conduct Izzy DiAdamo hard at work at some off-ice teamwork.

What a great way to spend Veteran's Day weekend as Ms. Conducts Monica Gallacher and Heather Clark organized an afternoon of holiday card-making for our military heroes stationed overseas.  Honorary Ms. Conducts Sophie and Audrey Gallacher, Izzy DiAdamo, Nora Dalton, and Emily Wagner, along with some friends, helped create roughly 185 cards that are already packaged up and ready to be shipped to our heroes in time for the holidays.  

One Heart, Two Ms. Conducts

Ms. Conducts Brigid Hurley (far left) and Julie Dalton (second from right)
cook breakfast at Cor Unum on 11/10/13.

The 4am wake-up call was harsh on Sunday, November 10, 2013, as both Julie Dalton and Brigid Hurley ventured to Cor Unum in Lawrence to prepare breakfast for the hungry and homeless of Lawrence.  Walking into the restaurant-style meal center in the cold rain is nothing compared to the harsh reality of not being sure when your next meal may be.  Cor Unum serves up to three meals each day, 365 days a year, and relies on the dedication of others every day.  Each meal is served restaurant-style by volunteer servers. 

"You don't know what you're going to serve when you walk in there in the morning.  It's based on what is available in the refrigerator.  You want to serve a balanced meal, but sometimes the options are limited.  I knew I wanted to bake on Sunday morning so I switched on the ovens as soon as I got in there," said Dalton.

Hurley brought along her son, eighth-grader Connor, to help.  "He loves cracking eggs and I saw a smile on his face all morning," said Hurley, as Connor walked through the kitchen clearing plates. Dalton was in the power-position of chef ;) and Connor served as her sous chef cracking over 15 dozen eggs for the scrambled eggs,  greasing the muffin tins for the 8 or so dozen blueberry muffins, and adding syrup to the giant pancake that no one thought was feasible.

"I hate doubters...and making the pancake at the end proved that a team can do anything," said Dalton as she took off her batter-smeared apron.

If you would like to help you the next time, please email Julie at sixdaltons@icloud.com

Ms. Conduct Julie Dalton and honorary Conduct, Connor Hurley, show off the team pancake.

Ms. Conducts Victorious at Grant Rink

L to R: Lori Gress, Shereen Tyrell, Julie Dalton, Courtney Leavitt, Kellie Reid,
and Mary Lalley celebrate post-game at at the Gibbet Hill Grill in Groton.

A short Ms. Conducts bench didn't stop the team from putting together a 3-2 victory Saturday night against the Chicks with Sticks at LA's Grant Rink in Groton.  Special guest goalie, Alex Dalton, stood strong between the pipes in his first game since Mites as a netminder.  Behind a hat trick by Courtney Leavitt, honorary Ms. Conducts -- Nora Dalton and Emily Wagner -- provided offensive and defensive power.  The team toasted their victory with members of Chicks with Sticks at Gibbet Hill Farm.

The Ms. Conducts Take VT by Storm

A team of Ms. Conducts traveled north on July 19th-21st to Burlington, VT for the Hockey Fights MS tournament.  To put it bluntly: they rocked the house!  Or at least the locker room ("Blurred Lines," Carol???!!! Anyone??)!  The ladies went 2-1, winning 3-0 (with goals from Keri Capobianco, Katie Castagno, and Sandy O'Sullivan (from the blue line!!!!) on Friday night.  They began Saturday on a high note with a 7-0 victory (a second shutout for our stud goaltender, Michelle Donnelly) with goals from Amelie Gagnon, Capobianco, Julie Dalton, Kristi Morris, Michelle Bramante, Mary Lalley, and Dusty Beeley.  A lunch and tattoo later, the girls met their match with the ladies in bright orange.  A faster game ensued and although they had some great chances (and dare we say some sketchy ref'ing) the Ms. Conducts lost 2-1 (sweet goal by Gagnon).  All was not lost as a beautiful night out on Lake Champlain and the Vermont Brew Fest kept the girls' spirits high.  The girls thought they were in second place and playing for the championship on Sunday, however a tie-breaker didn't go in the Ms. Conducts' favor and they instead played for third place on Sunday in Waterbury.  At the end of regulation and despite goals by Dalton and Capobianco - and crazy goaltending by Donnelly - the game was tied 2-2.  With a long drive ahead and a long weekend behind, the girls opted out of the 5-minute 4v4 overtime and proudly kept their third place finish. 

Everyone contributed in true team fashion: the defense held the blue line and scored goals, the forwards chased down pucks, battled in front of the net, passed and scored (assists are as important as goals!!), the team's goalie is truly awesome (with perfect skin, too), the coach was enthusiastic, kept the girls' chins up, and stacked the pucks perfectly before each game (and Castagno did a great job of not sharing pucks with the stupid other teams that didn't bring their own!!!), and lastly, the mini-coaches (Maverick and Julia Gagnon) are irreplaceable on the bench and in the team's hearts.  They were true members of the Ms. Conducts, too. :)

Rockin' out in the locker room to Blurred Lines.

Sunset over Lake Champlain before the VT Brew Fest.

The Ms. Conducts clean up nicely! L to R: Amelie Gagnon, Kristi Morris, Julie Dalton,
Michelle Bramante, Katie Castagno, Dusty Beeley, and Trisch "Alabama" Grimes.

Sipping VT's finest at the Brew Fest.

Ms. Conducts are Dirty Girls!

Kate Wagner, Julie Dalton, Shereen Tyrell, Keri Capobianco, Mary Lalley, Lori Gress, Michelle Bramante, Dusty Beeley, Sandy O'Sullivan, Steph Vaccaro, and Dee Secor are all smiles post-race!

Eleven Ms. Conducts earned their Dirty Girl status after completing a women's-only 5k obstacle course held at the Amesbury Sports Park in mid-July. The girls walked, jogged, climbed, crawled, and slid through woods and mud...and laughed while doing it.  These events are held across the U.S. and the funds raised go to educating women about breast and ovarian health, and supporting cancer survivors.  What a delightfully dirty day!

Julie and Lori: persevering even with mud on their faces!

Michelle, Julie, Dusty, Kate, and Lori are squeaky clean pre-race!