NHL HOCKEY: North's women sustain attack

Infused with Black Sticks fire power, Northland Women had a convincing 3-0 win against Canterbury, backed up with a 4-0 win over Midlands as part of their build-up to the National Hockey League.
Strikers Charlotte Harrison, Jade McLeod and Jess Macalister delivered the goals against Canterbury at North Harbour on Friday night, in a match where coach Alan Lints put emphasis on the team's defensive systems and formations.
Northland led Canterbury 2-0 at halftime, outclassing the South Island side. The second half was a more even affair, but Northland still managed to extend the gap with Macalister positioning herself well to slot the goal.
Northland played Midlands at Whangarei's Rosvall ITM Stadium in their second match of the weekend where the focus switched to aggressive play.
Northland led 4-0 at halftime, and hung on, defending vigorously to maintain their advantage.
It was a promising performance from the Northland women who were missing six players, Lints said.
"The leadership group decided we would play a lot of hockey at a high intensity with no rotations - basically the girls were physically flogged."
Black Sticks Anna Thorpe and Stacey Michelsen played a wider attacking game while Laura Douglas and Ella Gunson played in close midfield, and helped out with numbers up front when needed.
With Rana Vette away with the New Zealand Masters, Melissa Simpson and Elley Miller away with Northland Under-18 team at the national tournament in Wellington, and the two Australian imports Emma Cobbin and Jess Esslemont still to join the team, the weekend left Lints with plenty to smile about ahead of the NHL start on July 30-31.
This week the women have three turf sessions before playing two weekend games against a Northland Presidents team.