Portledge girls ice hockey team protecting its own zone

It begins and ends with the defense for the Portledge girls’ ice hockey team.
“We are first and foremost a defensive team,” Portledge coach Phil Hills said. “The girls get that. Everybody has to help out in the defensive zone.”
When everyone helps out, it makes life so much easier for goalkeeper Emily Appenzeller, who has allowed only five goals in seven games.
The terrific play of the Melville native Appenzeller has led to an undefeated start to the Panthers’ season.
“It’s a testament to her,” said Hills, who has Portledge (7-0) “off to an incredible start” inside the Women’s Interscholastic Hockey League of the Mid-Atlantic. “She’s a real live wire who is incredibly talented and instinctively great.”
What was also great was Portledge’s defense in its 2-0 win over Canterbury on Dec. 11. Right wing Julianne Mauriello was responsible for both goals, as she now has a six on the season, which is second to right wing Alex Horton’s team-leading eight.
“They’re a big team, very deep,” Hills said of Canterbury, which last lost to the Panthers in December ’09. “They put a lot of pressure on us early. We held tight. There was a little part in the second period when I noticed they hit a bit of a wall, legs got tired. That’s when we got our two goals.”
At times, Mauriello and Horton play on the same line, and are always together on the power play unit. Horton, of Great Neck, “is a lot faster than you think,” Hills said, and she has scored big goals all season. Mauriello is “very shifty, great skater, with a great shot, great stick handler and is fearless.”
Hills loves that his two top goal scorers can finish, yet even Mauriello and Horton understand it’s not just about goals.
“The girls get that everybody has to help out in the defensive zone,” Hills said. “Then, we use our speed to counter attack. That’s how we score.”
Everyone knows Appenzeller is the last line of defense, but teams are starting to learn quickly that they have to go through defenseman Christina Cahill to get to Appenzeller.
Cahill, of Oceanside, is playing the “best hockey she’s ever played,” Hills said. “She’s having a great season. She’s making the right decisions. She’s a fundamentally sound hockey player.”
Hills expects everyone not only to be fundamentally sound, but continue to follow the game plan, which everyone on the Panthers knows about and has heard from Hills a million times—defense, defense and more defense.
“If you follow the system, it puts you in a position to attack and take advantage,” Hills said. “Defense first, which leaves us in a position to counter. If somebody gets beat, we are right in your face.”