It may have been small consolation for girls’ assistant hockey coach and DHS football coach Dave Maimaron, but it was certainly a nice way for head coach Friend Weiler and his team to open their season on Saturday night at the Hobomock Arena, with a dominating 3-0 win over Marshfield.

While everyone is optimistic about the 2009-10 season after having lost just a handful of players, the arrival of some promising freshmen and another year of experience for the returnees has tabbed the Lady Dragons as a team with plenty of potential to lead the winter sports scene.

Duxbury was relentless from the opening face-off, and its aggressive play created a pair of power plays for the Rams.

But when handed a lemon, you make lemonade, and that is just what the Lady Dragons did. Freshman newcomer Hanna Murphy netted the first of what promises to be many goals during her Duxbury career when she took a pass from Briana Connolly to score a shorthanded goal that gave her team a 1-0 lead.

No sooner had Duxbury taken the lead, then they found themselves on the power-play 42 seconds later.

The puck hardly left the Marshfield zone, as Murphy’s line kept buzzing the Ram net and goaltender Vicky Langrill, who would keep her team in the game the rest of the night, including stopping a Duxbury break-away with 22 seconds left in the first period.

The second period started with the Lady Dragons in the Marshfield end for the first minute, but still unable to dent Langrill.

Despite a Marshfield rush, Duxbury was in total control and finally got the insurance goal it needed when Martha Findley blistered a shot from the slot with 9:51 remaining for a 2-0 lead.

The goal only served to inspire the Lady Dragons more, as their constant pressure in the Marshfield zone tested Langrill frequently, and two power plays in the final seven minutes kept building the shots on net to absurd proportions.

Despite Duxbury’s total domination, it entered the final 15 minutes with just a two-goal lead.

Langrill was at it again at the 9:19 mark, robbing Murphy of her second goal from the slot and keeping the Rams’ slims hopes alive.

Both teams had power-plays chances in the final five minutes, but it was Duxbury that capitalized on theirs when Connolly beat Langrill with 46 seconds left in the game. It was a shutout win for Duxbury goalie Julia Hannon, who turned aside six Marshfield shots.

Langrill was the star of the night, as she stopped 46 Duxbury shots.

While all the games aren’t expected to be so one-sided, there is little doubt Weiler has a squad that could do significant damage during the regular season and the playoffs.

While the loss of Meg Muncey, Anie Grunwald, Sam Sinclair, and Siobhan McCarthy from last year’s team is significant, Duxbury seems to have taken the “we don’t rebuild, we reload” approach with the addition of some talented freshmen.

Rookies Hannah Murphy, Lily Connolly, Carly Campbell, Katie Fallon, Shelby Pollack, Emily Giumetti, and goaltender Victoria Sanchez made this year’s squad that stands at 26 players due to the fact that there is no JV team for the program.

The crop of freshmen looks like it should blend in well with Weiler’s veteran squad that is captained by senior Taryn McCall and Hannon and includes a first line of junior Molly O’Sullivan, Connolly, and senior Kaitlin Sullivan.

Duxbury’s first line has all the ingredients for a big year with Connolly supplying all the touch around the net and O’Sullivan being a “Cam Neeley-type” forward who can be strong on the wing and force her way inside with the puck. Add the playmaking talents of Sullivan and all three players are expected to pile up the points come year-end.

In the sport of girls’ hockey, some high school coaches are thankful if they have one solid line of skilled players they can double shift all night long. Weiler is in a far more enviable position, as he has three solid lines, one centered by Murphy.

“Hannah is an explosive offensive player,” says the Duxbury coach. “She works hard at the game and is great with the puck. I think you’ll see she makes all those that play with her much better players.”

Playing on the wings with Murphy are classmate Lily Connolly and sophomore Colleen Leddie.

“Lily is a playmaker with quick bursts of speed that get her to the net, while Leddie is a real intense kid who’ll go into the corners and do the dirty work,” said Weiler.

Duxbury’s third line will consist of seniors Mary Donovan and Maura Murphy-Kusins, along with sophomore Kelsey Powers and senior Christine Fallon.

“All of these players are strong defenders, and I have no problem putting any of them out there when we need to shut down the other team’s best player and top line,” said their coach.

Other players vying for time up front include: Kelly Johnson and Meg Hyland.

The defense will have Martha Findley paired with McCall, while juniors Olivia McCarthy and Keri Gould will be the next duo on the blueline.

“There is no doubt that Martha is our QB out there,” said Weiler. ‘She has great stamina, has good defensive skills, and can also move the puck out of the zone, while McCall lends a physical presence to the duo.”

McCarthy and Gould have shown they won’t back down from anyone and present a physical presence at the blue line that is hard to penetrate.

Sophomore Corey Connolly and Campbell are also expected to see some action on defense, along with Kayla Errasti.

A season can be won or lost in net, and the Dragons return Hannon to the fold for her fourth year as a starter. The senior is the backbone of the team, according to Weiler and will be in net for the majority of the games, despite finally having a capable backup in freshman Victoria Sanchez for the first time in her high school career.

“We have plenty of depth on this team with creative forwards and a strong defense that can advance the puck,” says Weiler. “This can be a very dynamic offense going to the net, but I don’t want to see the kids get over confident. We need to get the right mix of players working in synch, so that I can throw three lines out there and know they’ll gel.”

The girls will get one of their biggest challenges of the young season on Wednesday night when they travel to Barnstable to take on the Red Raiders at 6:20 p.m.