Exeter girls varsity hockey opened its season with a spirited, back-and-forth tilt on the road at Governor's Academy, skating to a 4–4 tie in a thrilling matchup.

Exeter set the tone late in the first period with a play sparked by strong pressure in the neutral zone. Erin Sears forced a turnover, received a pass from Emma Shu, and sliced between two defenders before lifting a shot past the Governor's goalie to put Big Red in front with four minutes remaining. Governor's responded quickly, capitalizing on a chance less than a minute later to knot the game at 1–1 after one.

The hosts grabbed a 2–1 lead midway through the second, but Exeter rallied with poise. With time winding down in the period, Sears delivered a crisp one-time pass to Paisley Meyer, whose initial attempt was blocked. That rebound found a streaking Maria Gray who charged in and buried the puck into the back of the net, bringing Big Red even at 2–2 heading to the final frame.

Exeter carried that energy straight into the third. On the power play, Sears once again engineered the offense, threading a pass to Mia Griffith, who snapped a shot inside the near post to restore the Big Red advantage. Just minutes later, Meyer added to the surge, sending a drive through traffic and into the net to build a 4–2 cushion with 13:42 left.

But Governor's refused to go away, cutting the lead to one off a faceoff shortly after. Exeter held firm for much of the period, but with the clock ticking under a minute, Governor's found a late equalizer to force the 4–4 final in a thriller to open the season.

Exeter returns to action Wednesday with a 4:15 p.m. matchup at Milton.