Sun. 3/5/17
Championship Sunday: KUA Tops Rivers
NEPSIHA Championship Games
Sun. March 5, 2017
At Saint Anselm College; Manchester, NH
Stuart/Corkery Tournament (AKA Elite 8)
Kimball Union Academy 6, Rivers 2
Manchester, NH -- Kimball Union blitzed Rivers for three first period goals, then found themselves in a tough game before pulling away with a couple of empty-netters at the end, bringing the school its first major title in 35 years with a 6-2 win here on Sunday.
KUA, which had won small school titles in 2010, 2012, and 2014, came into the postseason as a #3 seed and edged Thayer, 2-1 (OT), and Dexter, 2-1, to reach the finals. Rivers, the #4 seed, beat Belmont Hill, 3-1, and Exeter, 5-2, to get here.
The start was inauspicious for the Red Wings. It took KUA all of 1:34 to get on the board as senior Sean Thomson beat Rivers junior goalie Aidan Porter, with assists going to Thomas Samuelsen and Kyle Penney. At 5:08, with Rivers' Teddy Wooding in the box for a hit from behind, Wildcats' Finnish senior Roope Hirvonen, from Bobby Young, put KUA up, 2-0. The Wildcats kept pushing, but Porter kept them at bay until late in the period, when a shot from the left point by junior Bryce Dolan eluded him at the 16:42 mark.
Rivers came out for the second period rejuvenated, and the next 18 minutes featured good, solid two-way hockey with both goalies -- Porter and KUA senior Sean Dynan -- being forced to stay on their toes. Rivers, which had the edge in the period, finally broke through with 3:26 left in the period when sophomore D Tony Andreozzi, on a 2-on-1 with senior Charlie Parsons, finally solved Dynan.
In the third, Rivers again came out hard, with head coach Shawn McEachern urging them on, clapping his hands encouragingly after strong shifts. Roughly four minutes in, KUA's Bobby Young was called for interference and Rivers went to work on the power play, but for all their efforts and good puck movement, KUA managed to nullify it by blocking shots left and right.
With 8:08 remaining, and KUA up by two goals and the faceoff in the Rivers end, McEachern, knowing another goal was likely to put the game out of reach, particularly with the way Dynan was playing, called a time out to set his guys defensively. Of course, KUA coach Tim Whitehead and his staff had their chalkboard out too, looking to make it a three-goal game. Which is exactly what the Wildcats did, and it took three seconds, as Bobby Young, off the draw, tapped the puck between the opposing center's legs, curled around him, picked up the puck and passed it to Hirvonen, who beat Porter for his second goal of the game at 9:55, making it a 4-1 game.
If Rivers looked like their goose was cooked then, it looked doubly cooked a little over a minute later, at 11:08, when freshman defenseman Cade Webber was called for tripping. But this time KUA's power play went into reverse gear, as Rivers' senior D Michael Young, from Phillip Tresca and Charlie Lawerence, scored a short-handed goal to make it a 4-2 game with 3:24 left.
Rivers never stopped competing.
When Rivers' Wooding was called for boarding with under five minutes left, his teammates killed if off.
Rivers kept pressing, and pulled Porter -- with enough time to make something happen -- for the extra attacker. But there would be no rabbits to pull out of the hat, as KUA scored two empty-netters by, respectively, Kyle Shero and Andranik Armstrong for the final 6-2 margin of victory.
Final shots favored Rivers, 41-30.
For the KUA supporters on hand, which included Woodie Haskins, the coach of that 1982 team, there was jubilation. In recent years KUA has had some very good teams, but the Elite 8 crown has always managed to elude them. This squad, while lacking the starpower of most of those teams, has enough skill and speed, especially up front, but won mainly through playing a strong team game. Forwards like Middlebury commit Alex Heinritz moved back to D this season to add necessary depth there; Ben Tardif and Chris Konin did the same thing for stretches. Rivers doesn't lack for scoring ability, experience, and depth. We've seen them obliterate teams that gave them too much time and room to operate in, and they don't stop coming. KUA, however, is a resilient bunch that won a pair of 2-1 games just to get to the finals. They also had an advantage in size and strength, and were thus able to play a heavier, college-like game, which made Rivers' attempt to come back from that 3-0 deficit an uphill battle. But there was no quit in Rivers. To the contrary, they dug deep and made KUA keep working until they put the game out of reach with the empty-netters.
We asked KUA coach Tim Whitehead about the fast start. "Down the stretch I felt we weren't bringing out our best in the first period," he said. "So when the tournament started we talked about how we felt we would have to come out stronger."
"But the second period was all Rivers," Whitehead added. "They made a great push. But Dynan was terrific."
"I thought we were solid in the third period, especially killing penalties."
KUA also blocked shots extremely well, especially in the the third period. "Kyle Shero has been really good at that," Whitehead said. "He's our best shot-blocker, and a great penalty killer. He's one of our unsung heroes. We have a bunch of them. "
"Mike Lombardi said it best," Whitehead added. "He said 'We have no superstars, just many spokes in a wheel.' "
As for the faceoff play that made it 4-1, Whitehead said that Hirvonen and Young had practiced it. He also said that he had used it once at Maine, with Ben Murphy and John Ronan pulling it off against BU.
As for BU -- and please forgive the transition -- McEachern, now in his seventh year behind the Rivers' bench (you may remember they lost to St. Mark's in OT in last year's Small School Championship game) was not at all downcast.
"I thought we came out tentative," McEachern said, "I told them between periods that we hadn't played our game, but once we got rolling in the second and third we played great. I was really proud of our guys. They left it all on the ice."
"These are special kids," he added.
***
Martin/Earl Tournament (Large School)
Avon Old Farms 8, Albany Academy 1
Avon Old Farms scored one goal in the first, two in the second, and then rolled in the third, adding five more en route to an 8-1 win over Albany Academy here today.
The Winged Beavers came out hard and junior Nick Wildgoose scored just 1:53 into the first period.
In the second, just 53 seconds in, senior John Giatrelis went bar-down on Albany Academy PG goalie Brandon Collett to make it 2-0 Avon.
Albany Academy responded strongly, cutting Avon's lead to 2-1 when junior Jericho Petkovich pickpocketed an Avon defender and raced the length of the ice for an unassisted goal at 5:23. Albany kept pressing throughout the period for the tying goal but just couldn't get another one past Avon sophomore goaltender Spencer Knight.
The backbreaker came with 18 seconds left in the second period when Giatrelis, who had a strong game, got the puck out front to junior Tyler Madden, who was all alone and fired a point-blank shot past Collett to make it 3-1 Avon at the second intermisssion.
Avon just rolled in the third, adding five straight goals for the final 8-1 margin of victory. Of Avon's six losses during the regular season, only one was lopsided, and that came in their season's first game, an 8-3 trouncing at the hands of...Albany Academy.
Avon's Spencer Knight, in what is almost certainly his last game for the Winged Beavers, was excellent, kicking out 31 of 32 shots for the win. Next stop for Knight, a BC commmit, will be the NTDP.
Brandon Collett (31/39) took the loss.
Giatrelis (2g,2a), Madden (1g,3a), Wildgoose (2g), Mac Wiseman (1g,1a), Matt Kirwan (1g,1a), Matt Allen (2a), Trevor Zegras (2a), Nick Keroack (1a), and Ryan Siden (1a) accounted for Avon's scoring.
Avon finished the season strongly, going 7-1-2 over their last 10.
This was Avon's first Large School title. They have eight Elite 8 titles, which they seem to prefer.
"We weathered the storm at the beginning of the second period," said Avon head coach John Gardner. "They outplayed us for most of the period."
"We could sort of feel it after the fourth goal (Kirwan's SHG at the start of the third)."
"We're a talented team and we showed that at the end," Gardner added, "but our relative youth cost us at times during the season as we were unpredictable and inconsistent."
Albany Academy third-year head coach Brett Riley, who has had three straight winning seasons and was making his first appearance coaching in the playoffs, said, "That third goal deflated us. We never really had a game like this, one where things didn't go our way at all."
"But," Riley added, "we overachieved and played as a team all year. I don't think anyone really expected that from us after we lost guys like Kevin O'Neil, Nick Boyagian and Jack Quinlivan to graduation."
***
Piatelli/Simmons Tournament (Small School)
Pomfret 3, Cushing 2 (OT)
Senior forward Ben Alofsin, who had assisted on both his team's goals in regulation, scored the game-winner at 13:43 of overtime to lead the Pomfret School to a 3-2 win over Cushing Academy.
The win gave the school its first hockey championship.
Third-year coach Matt Goethals, who took over a moribund program that had gone 3-21-2 the year before he arrived, had teams went 7-18-0 and 9-19-0 before breaking through with a 13-8-4 record this year and a #6 seed in the small school tournament. In the playoffs, Pomfret went on the road and soundly beat #3 seed Winchendon, 5-3, in the quarters, and #2 seed New Hampton, 4-2, in the semifinals to make it to the championship game against a Cushing team that entered the game on an 11-2-1 run and a seven-game win streak.
Cushing was a little tentative at the start, allowing Pomfret to have the edge in play in the first period. Cushing had some bursts late in the period, which ended 0-0.
In the second period, Pomfret had a couple of good power play chances but came up empty. They were carrying the play, but it was Cushing getting on the board first, at the 11:28 mark, when junior Matt McGrath picked up a Josh Labonte defensive zone turnover and raced the length of the ice, beating Pomfret sophomore goalie Peyton Durand to take a 1-0 lead.
Pomfret got it back quickly -- 37 seconds to be precise -- when junior D Alex Rondeau, on the power play, fired a shot from the right point that beat Cushing senior goalie Joey Halstrom top corner glove side to make it 1-1. And that's where things stood going into the second intermission.
In the third, Pomfret came out and hit the crossbar just seconds in. But they kept at it and connected to take a 2-1 lead when Alofsin made a nice pass to PG Phil Satin at the 6:28 mark.
With Pomfret's top scorer, senior Jon Beniers, off for interference, Cushing went to work on the PP. Junior D Nolan McElhaney got the puck over to junior Matt Guerra at the opposite point. Guerra's shot -- a laser -- beat Durand top corner to the stick side.
Shortly after, Cushing's Ashton Fry took a high-sticking penalty. After killing it, Cushing seemed to get a lift as they poured it on at the end of the period, swarming Durand, who stood his ground.
After the ice was resurfaced, a full 18-minute overtime period got underway. Cushing kept at it and had the edge in play for the first six minutes or so of OT. Goethals called a time out to settle his players.
Right after the time-out ended, Cushing's Dakota Mulcay rang one off the crossbar. After that the game settled into more of an up-and-down affair.
The winning goal came when PG Chris Kral carried it into the Cushing end and took a shot that was partially stopped, but popped up in the air before coming down behind Halstrom, inches from the goal line. Alofsin tapped it home and the Pomfret celebration began.
Pomfret goalie Peyton Durand kicked out 35 of 37 shots to earn the win.
After the game, Goethals said, "We went hard for two and a half periods and had some great scoring opportunities, then Cushing started to bring it. We got a little stale toward the end, but when we scrambled Peyton (Durand) came through. He held the fort in OT. He's consistently given us a chance to win every game."
"We've been pretty resilient throughout the year. Our captains -- Jon Beniers, Labonte, Chris Wright -- have been great. They set the tone."
Goethals was asked if there was a point during the season when he felt his team had a chance of reaching the playoffs.
"After the first week or two," he said. "We set that as our goal."
Before coming to Pomfret, Goethals was an assistant at Rivers for two years. "Shawn McEachern has been a great mentor. He's been a huge influence. Greg Osborne my assistant, has been a great recruiter. I guess you could say we had high ambitions. This first championship for us is a huge accomplishment. The kids really earned it."
Down the hall, Rob Gagnon had just finished his last game as Cushing head coach, as he will be replaced by Steve Jacobs in the fall.
"I'm really proud of my guys," he said.
Asked how his team was able to come back from an awful first half to finish the season 13-13-2, Gagnon said, "At the start of the season there was a lot of individualism. We tried to commit to being a team. The players gave up their egos and everyone bought in."
"We didn't play that well today, but I also thought that Pomfret might have been the best team we played all year. I give them a lot of credit. They were committed to their system, and didn't take unnecessary penalties. Their structure was great. We got a little undisciplined in our systems."
"I thought we were going to win it in OT. We had chance after chance. I thought we could bury it, but their goalie was really good. We may have had trouble scoring goals, but the effort was there today."
Tues. 3/7/17
2017 All-NEPSAC Teams
NEPSGIHA Div. I
Player of the Year:
Cayla Barnes – New Hampton School – #23 – 2017
All-NEPSAC First Team:
Forwards
Becca Gilmore – Noble and Greenough School – #15 – 2017
Kelly Browne – Tabor Academy – #3 – 2018
Gillis Frechette – St. Paul’s School – #11 – 2018
Sharon Frankel – Loomis Chaffee School – #18 – 2017
Shannon Griffin – Buckingham Browne & Nichols – #11 – 2017
Charlotte Welch – Phillips Academy Andover – #14 – 2018
Defense
Cayla Barnes – New Hampton School – #23 – 2017
Lily Farden – Noble and Greenough School – #11 – 2019
Madie Leidt – Loomis Chaffee School – #7 – 2017
Taylor Matherson – Tabor Academy – #11 - 2017
Goalies
Cam Leonard – Choate Rosemary Hall – #1 – 2017
Lindsay Reed – Hotchkiss School – #29 – 2018
Div. I Honorable Mention Team:
Forwards
Finley Frechette – St. Paul’s School – #10 – 2017
Laura Lunblad – Lawrence Academy – #8 – 2017
Savanah Norcross – New Hampton School – #17 – 2018
Casey O’Brien – Noble and Greenough School – #5 – 2020
Jess Schryver – Loomis Chaffee School – #10 – 2019
Kristina Schuler – Choate Rosemary Hall – #10 - 2017
Defense
Nell Fusco – Buckingham Browne & Nichols – #14 – 2017
Julia McLean – Williston Northampton School – #18 – 2018
Abby Nearis – Kent School – #22 – 2017
Tori Palumbo – Williston Northampton School – #2 – 2018
Goalies
Maddox Angerhofer – Lawrence Academy – #34 – 2018
Kelly Pickreign – Noble and Greenough School – #35 – 2018
NEPSGIHA Div. II
Player of the Year
Miceala Sindoris – Worcester Academy – #5 - 2018
All-NEPSAC First Team:
Forwards*
Emma Crocker – Worcester Academy – #16 – 2017
Mia DelRosso – St. George’s School – #10 – 2017
Abbey Luth – Portsmouth Abbey School – #18 – 2018
Katy Meehan – Thayer Academy – #10 – 2017
Darby Melia – Thayer Academy – #11 – 2017
Kate Shaughnessy – Rivers School – #19 - 2019
Miceala Sindoris – Worcester Academy – #5 – 2018
Defense
Greta Close – Kimball Union Academy – #12 - 2017
Emma English – Brooks School – #7 – 2018
Tia Martignetti – Worcester Academy – #6 – 2018
Emily Martino – Canterbury School – #14 - 2017
Goalies
Caroline Kukas – Brooks School – #1 – 2019
Julia Pelletier – Worcester Academy – #31 - 2017
Div. II Honorable Mention Team:
Forwards*
Anna Consentino – Berwick Academy – #21 – 2017
Mairi Anthony – Brooks School – #11 – 2017
Noemi Neubauerova – The Gunnery – #21 - 2018
MaryKate Martino – Canterbury School – #5 – 2017
Julia Surgenor – Kimball Union Academy – #19 – 2017
Haley Parker – Proctor Academy – #14 – 2017
AnnMargaret DiSciscio – Tilton School – #12 - 2017
Defense
Claudia Capone – Southfield School – #10 – 2018
Alexis Cooper – Worcester Academy – #11 – 2017
Taylor Leech – Hebron Academy – #21 – 2017
Kiara Vazquez – Proctor Academy – #8 – 2018
Goalies
Courtney DeNaut – Greenwich Academy – #35 – 2018
Kelly Lavelle – Southfield School – #30 – 2018
*Due to ties in the voting there are additional forwards on the First Team and the Honorable Mention team.
Sun. 3/5/17
Sun. March 5 Championship Results
Sun. March 5, 2017
@ Phillips Andover Academy
Div. I
New Hampton 3, Kent 1
1st period
No scoring
2nd period
Kent- Keely Moy (Kerstin Goode) 2:09
3rd period
NHS – Kelly Matthews (Caelin Flaherty, Cayla Barnes) 7:07
NHS- Lauren DeBlois (Cayla Barnes, Taylor Curtis) 0:28
NHS- McKenzie Haberl (Savannah Norcross) 0:04 (empty net goal)
Chuck Vernon MVP -- Cayla Barnes, New Hampton
***
Div. II
Worcester Academy 5, Gunnery 3
1st period
WA -- Tia Martignetti (Alexis Cagan) 12:29
WA -- Carly Daly (unassisted) 3:43
2nd period
WA -- Emma Crocker (Taylor Brown, Sydney LaPointe) 14:44
GUN -- Mya Berretta (Nicole Moriarity, Sarah Kelly) 12:57
WA -- Taylor Brown (Miceala Sindoris, Morgan Mordini) 10:20
3rd period
GUN -- Mya Berretta (Noemi Neubauerova, Tab Franceschini) 14:23
GUN -- Noemi Neubauerova (Mya Berretta)
WA -- Carly Daly (Alexis Cagan) 1:17 (empty net goal)
Rob Brand MVP – Julia Pelletier, Worcester Academy
We'll have full reports on Monday.
Sat. 3/4/17
Sat. March 4 Div. I Semifinals Highlights
Kent 2, Nobles 1 (3 Overtimes)
Kent junior forward Julia Nearis scored with seven minutes left in the third overtime period to stun #2-ranked Nobles, 2-1, in a remarkable girls hockey game at Dedham today.
Kent advances to Sunday’s Div. I Championship Game against New Hampton, with a 3:00 pm faceoff at Phillips Andover.
Kent struck first today, scoring with about a minute left in the first period when senior standout Keely Moy capitalized on a bad turnover by the Nobles defender and then showed tremendous poise, holding the puck across the slot while looking for an opening and then delivering a laser top shelf.
The score remained 1-0 deep into the third period when, with three minutes left, Kent took a bad penalty, handing Nobles the power play opportunity they were waiting for. And Nobles wasted no time either, tying the score when sophomore defenseman Lily Farden took a pass at the blue line and snuck one through a screen past Kent senior goaltender Becky Dutton.
In overtime, both teams had great chances but both Dutton and Nobles junior goalie Kelly Pickreign were at the top of their games. Nobles freshman Casey O’Brien had a couple of point-blank chances but just couldn’t find the back of the net.
The winning goal came off a Nobles giveaway in the neutral zone which allowed Nearis to come down on a 2-on-1 and rip a shot that Pickreign saved. Nearis, though, was left uncovered by the Nobles defenseman and she didn’t miss with her second chance, scoring on the rebound to give Kent a 2-1 win in a game for the ages.
New Hampton 3, Loomis 2
Senior forward Taylor Curtis, a Syracuse recruit, scored with 40 seconds left in a wild third period to stun #1-ranked Loomis and secure a spot in the finals tomorrow vs. Kent. Curtis’s goal came right after Loomis senior Maddie Leidt tied it up for the Pelicans with just over a minute left in the game.
***
Finals Prediction:
In case anyone is keeping score, we had both games right today and have now called five of the six D-I playoff games correctly. We’ll have to see if our crystal ball retains its powers for one more day, so here goes: Kent 4, New Hampton 2.
We know Kent is exhausted after basically playing two games today, but they look like a team on a mission -- and Becky Dutton is completely locked in right now.
Sat. 3/4/17
Sat. March 4 Semifinals Scoreboard
Semifinals
Sat. March 4, 2017
Div. I
New Hampton 3 @ Loomis 2
Kent 2 @ Nobles 1 (3 OT )
Div. II
@ Worcester Academy 5, Thayer 3
@ Gunnery 2, St. George's 1
Finals
Sun. March 5, 2017
At Phillips Andover Academy; Andover, Mass.
Div. II Championship Game: Worcester vs. Gunnery, 12:30 pm
Div. I Championship Game: New Hampton vs. Kent, 3:00 pm
Fri. 3/3/17
Div. I Semifinal Predictions
On Wednesday, we correctly predicted the outcomes of seven out of the eight games played, with our only miss coming in the overtime game between St. Paul’s and New Hampton. Will our predictions be as on the mark Saturday? Stay tuned!
#4 New Hampton @ #1 Loomis, 2:00 pm
If you had asked us a week ago we would have taken Loomis without hesitation, but after watching a totally rejuvenated New Hampton team on Wednesday combined with the fact that Loomis really struggled vs. Lawrence makes this game more of a tossup.
Loomis might have the edge up front with Sharon Frankel, Linda Essery and Jess Schryver playing their best hockey right now. But New Hampton has two lines that are very talented as well. Junior Savannah Norcross looks like she has stepped up her game. It will be interesting to see if New Hampton top scorer McKenzie Haberl is able to play after she left the St Paul’s game with an apparent injury.
On the back end Loomis was tested often vs LA and looked slightly exposed. Loomis needs to play much better team defensive against a team like New Hampton. The New Hampton defense is stacked with good defenders and senior Cayla Barnes looks pretty close to being unstoppable right now.
In net Loomis junior goalie Taylor Stadeli has had a great season but will need to play better than she did vs. Lawrence. We would expect New Hampton to come back with senior Cierra SanRoman in net but sophomore Olivia Sollows has also had a great season so we won’t be surprised to see her either.
Prediction: New Hampton 5, Loomis 3
***
#3 Kent @ #2 Nobles, 3:00 pm
This is the powerhouse matchup we have been hoping to see ever since their Jan 7th game was cancelled due to snow.
This will be a rare occasion, as Nobles doesn’t have its deepest roster this year. The Bulldogs are thin up front and not nearly as deep top to bottom as in years past. We all know how talented Nobles’ top line of Becca Gilmore, Katie Tresca, and Casey O’Brien is, but one of the key factors to this game is how much offense Nobles’ second and third lines will be able to contribute. Nobles will need sophomores Court Hyland (Harvard) and Maddie Bayard and 7th grade phenom Kaley MacDonald to step it up if they are going to win this game.
The Nobles defense is very solid with senior Lily Farden (Harvard), 8th grader Jenna MacDonald, junior Steph Nomicos, and sophomores Niki Lutschaunig and Rose O’Connor. All will need to be at their best vs. a strong Kent attack.
Nobles junior goalie Kelly Pickreign has been a rock again for Nobles.
As far as Kent goes, they really don’t have a weakness. They roll three strong lines led by dynamic senior Keely Moy, and have a strong defense. Since their only loss – to Loomis on Jan. 11th, a 3-2 decision -- Kent has given up only eight goals over their last 11 games (including three to Tabor).
Prediction: Kent 3, Nobles 1
We know we’re talking about Nobles losing at home, but if Kent can keep Nobles off the power play we really don’t see Nobles being able to score much 5-on-5. Kent senior goalie Becky Dutton is certainly an MVP candidate after her tremendous season and we think Kent is just a little bit stronger right now.
​Fri. 3/3/17
Div. II Semifinal Predictions
Thayer at Worcester Academy, 2:00 pm @ Holy Cross
Worcester Academy is led by the dynamic junior forward Micaela Sindoris​ (Northeastern), one of the best three-zone players in girls’ prep hockey. Sophomore Carley Daly has stepped up this season and, with 23 points, has doubled her point production from her freshman year. Junior Morgan Mordini has complemented Sindoris and Daly since joining them on their line. Post Grad Emma Crocker has provided scoring depth for the Hilltoppers and will be needed to balance out the depth of Thayer. Senior goalie Julia Pelletier, fresh off a 22-save shutout against Brooks, will need to be on her game against the Thayer offensive attack.
Thayer has demonstrated an ability to score goals in bunches this season, most recently potting four in the first period against KUA on Wednesday. While Thayer’s senior duo of Katy Meehan and Darby Melia have combined for 96 points on the season, the Thayer offense has great depth as three other players have 20 plus points: sophomore Dylan Amonte, and freshmen Rivers Morris and Claire Weber. Also, freshman Madison McCafferty has chipped in 19. The Tigers can score. And they can defend: junior Emily Smith has been solid between the pipes.
These two teams met in early December and Thayer raced out to a 3-0 first period lead. While the final score was Thayer 6-3, the game featured five goals in the last five minutes, including two empty-netters after Worcester, with their goalie pulled, cut the Thayer lead to 4-3. In the end, we believe that the depth of the Thayer forwards will prove to be the difference.
Prediction: Thayer 4, Worcester Academy 3
***
St. George’s at Gunnery, 4:30 pm
St. George’s, the reigning champions, will have to make the 140-mile trek to the Gunnery. St. George’s junior goaltender Hailey Martin will need to be on her game to shut down the powerful Gunnery offense, which put up 40 plus shots against Canterbury on Wednesday. St. George’s showed balanced scoring in its 4-2 quarterfinal win over Rivers and will need forwards Mary Leys, Maddy Treganza, Olivia Mastrangelo and Peyton Mulhern to be ready to go.
Gunnery has played what is arguably the toughest schedule of all the D-II playoff teams, with 13 D-I opponents in the regular season versus nine D-II games. Gunnery will need to continue to get contributions from its deep forward ranks against a tough and battle-tested St. George’s team. Highlanders sophomore goalie Katie Broccoli will be tested.
We expect a hard-fought battle between two teams that are not afraid to mix it up. In the end, the depth of the Gunnery’s ranks should prove to be the difference in a tight game.
Prediction: Gunnery 3, St. George’s 1
Thurs. 3/2/17
Wed. March 1 D-I Quarterfinals Highlights
New Hampton Advances on Norcross OT Goal
BC commit Savannah Norcross, off a feed from Sierra Lee and Kelly Mathews, scored early in OT to give #4 New Hampton a 2-1 win over #5 St. Paul’s and its first-ever D-I postseason victory.
The Huskies will travel to #1 seed Loomis for a semifinal matchup at 2:00 pm Saturday afternoon.
It was St Paul’s striking first when senior Finley Frechette tucked one in off of a goalmouth scramble in front of New Hampton standout goalie Cierra San Roman. New Hampton quickly responded when standout sophomore defenseman Lauren DuBlois scored off a blast from the high slot to tie the game at 1-1.
In the third period, both teams shortened their benches, leading to some tremendous up-and- down hockey with both teams having plenty of chances. New Hampton superstar Cayla Barnes was all over the ice, generating all kinds of opportunities for her teammates. St Paul’s top line of Isabel Stoddard, Bella Kang and freshman Tiffany Hill were tremendous all game. Ditto for SPS senior goalie Peri Donaldson.
This was perhaps the best game we saw all year and it’s too bad that one of these teams had to lose, as both are capable of winning the entire tournament. We have to congratulate St Paul’s on another tremendous season. With their young returning talent we strongly feel they will be back in the hunt again next season.
Gilmour Lifts Nobles, 1-0
Harvard commit Becca Gilmore scored on a 5-on-3 power play in the third period to give #2 seed Nobles a thrilling 1-0 win over an inspired Williston team. The game got off to a great start at a furious pace but devolved as the referees started calling penalty after penalty, which took the flow out of the game. Both teams have strong power plays, but in a game of this magnitude we wish the refs had put their whistles away and let these two excellent teams play 5-on-5.
For Williston, this is the second year in a row their season ends with bitter disappointment after starting out with such high hopes. This loss will sting for a while because they really did lift themselves off the canvas after a disappointing end to the regular season and played one of their best games in a long time. This was also the third time in their last four D-I games that Williston was shut out, which is hard to believe given the talent they have. We have no doubt that Williston will be a factor again next season as they return almost their entire roster.
#1 Loomis Edges LA 6-5 on Last-Minute Goal
A power play goal by Sharon Frankel off a blast by Linda Essery with less than a minute left in regulation gave the top-ranked Pelicans a thrilling 6-5 win over # 8-seeded ranked Lawrence Academy in an exhilarating back-and-forth girls playoff game.
We generally don’t like to comment much on specific penalty calls, but in this case we have to say that the penalty called on Lawrence with one minute left in a 5-5 playoff game was disappointing. In situations like this the referees really need to put their whistles away and let the teams battle it out. At that point, Lawrence had Loomis on their heels and it was really anyone’s game with overtime looming.
We have been talking about the LA first line all year and they certainly saved their best for last. Laura Lundblad, Corinne McCool and Kelsey Ryan have been unstoppable all season and they outplayed the Loomis top lines for most of the game, a surprise to us after watching Loomis dominate Deerfield in this same rink just four days ago. Lawrence will have a hard time replacing their four standout seniors -- Lundblad, Ryan, Rachel Walsh and Emily Lanci. All four had standout seasons.
Loomis was fortunate to get out of this with a win and will need to regroup for a red-hot New Hampton team on Saturday. Loomis looked like a very different team than the one we saw last week and will need to play much better in order to advance to the finals. Junior goalie Taylor Stadeli has had a great season but will need to play much better on Saturday if the Pelicans are to advance to the title game Sunday.
Kent Holds on; Edges Tabor
In a neutral site game played at Westminster, #3 Kent jumped out to a 4-1 second period lead but had to fend off a comeback by #6 Tabor to hold for a 4-3 win and a Saturday semifinal matchup at Nobles (3:00 pm).
Kent came out strong and controlled play for long stretches of the first period. Their pressure led to a 5-on-3 power play and the Lions were able to capitalize when Mel Anderson drove one from the point for a 1-0 lead. Early in the second period, Keeley Moy (Harvard) broke in on a strong move and upped Kent’s lead to 2-0. Tabor cut the Kent lead to 2-1 on the power play when impressive sophomore Annie Berry (UNH) took a nice feed down low from Cindy Giandomenico and Kelly Browne (BC) and jammed it home. Tabor was looking to gain some momentum from the goal, but instead it was Kent that continued to control play, scoring two goals within two minutes as Cece Ehrhard made it 3-1 Kent Julia Nearis went in on a breakaway and gave the Lions a 4-1 lead.
With the game threatening to become a runaway, Tabor could have folded their tent. But they didn’t. Instead, they came to life, finding their legs and taking control with pressure all over the ice. On the power play, Kelly Brown collected a rebound off an Annie Berry shot and buried it to make it 4-2.
Things got interesting just seven seconds into the third period as senior defenseman Taylor Matherson (Dartmouth) went bar-down on a power-play bomb from the point to cut the Kent lead to 4-3. Tabor continued to press for the equalizer throughout the final period, even getting two prime scoring chances while skating 3-on-5, but were turned away by Kent senior goalie Becky Dutton (Harvard), who made several highlight saves to preserve the win. Defenseman Mel Anderson and forward Tina Paolillo (Brown) were strong defensively for the Lions.
Semifinals
Sat. March 4, 2017
Div. I
Loomis vs. New Hampton, 2:00 pm (@ Loomis)
Nobles vs. Kent, 3:00 pm (@ Nobles)
Div. II
Worcester Academy vs. Thayer, 2:00 pm (@ Holy Cross)
Gunnery vs. St. George's, 4:30 pm (@ Gunnery)
Finals
Sun. March 5, 2017
At Phillips Andover Academy; Andover, Mass.
Div. II Championship Game, 12:30 pm
Div. I Championship Game, 3:00 pm
Thurs. 3/2/17
Wed. March 1 D-II Quarterfinal Highlights
With three lower seeds going on the road and securing wins it may have appeared like there were three upsets on Wednesday, but as predicted by USHR, the Div. II semi-finalists for 2017 will be Worcester Academy, Thayer, St. George’s and Gunnery.
Worcester’s Pelletier Blanks Brooks
Miceala Sindoris​ (Northeastern) and Carley Daly each ​had a goal and an assist, and Morgan Mordini added two assists as the #1-seeded Hilltoppers defeated #8 Brooks, 2-0. Sindoris broke a scoreless tie in the second with assists from Daly and Mordini. The three connected again in the third when Daly added an insurance goal. Senior Julia Pelletier posted the 22-save shutout. Caroline Kukas finished with 24 saves for Brooks. Worcester will host Thayer on Saturday (2:00 pm at Holy Cross).
Thayer Strikes Hard and Fast
​Fifth-seeded Thayer’s high-powered offense was hitting on all cylinders as the Tigers raced out to a 4-0 lead after the first period and never looked back en route to a 5-1 win over #4 KUA. Sophomore Dylan Amonte opened the scoring early with an assist from senior co-captain Darby Melia (Brown) and freshman Gabby Grattan. Freshman Madison McCaffery followed up at the midpoint of the first to stake the Tigers to 2-0 lead. Melia (1g,2a) connected on a power play to increase the margin to 3-0. Ten seconds later McCaffery rounded out the first-period scoring, making it 4-0 with Amonte and junior Caroline Skillman picking up assists. KUA’s Mia Brown scored early in the second to cut the lead to 4-1. Skillman closed out the Thayer scoring in the second and junior goalie Emily Smith shut down KUA the rest of the way for the 5-1 final. Thayer advances to face Worcester Academy in a Saturday semifinal.
Dragons Roll Over #2 Rivers
Defending champions St. George’s, the #7 seed, is not quite ready to relinquish its crown as the Dragons went on the road to defeat #2-seed Rivers, 4-2. Maggie Barrow staked Rivers to a 1-0 lead about seven minutes into the first. St. George’s responded less than a minute later when freshman Mary Leys (2g) evened the game at 1-1. Less than two minutes after that, junior Maddy Treganza put the Dragons up 2-1, which is where things stood at the first intermission. Sophomore Peyton Mulhern and Leys both scored in the second to increase the lead to 4-1 after two periods. Impressive Rivers sophomore Camille Phelan scored with 10 minutes to go in the game to cut the lead to 4-2. St. George’s junior goaltender Hailey Martin shut down the Red Wings the rest of the way for the 4-2 final. St. George’s advances, hitting the road again to face the Gunnery at 4:30 on Saturday.
Franceschini Leads #6 Gunnery
Some people questioned #6-seeded Gunnery’s sub-.500 record coming into their matchup with Canterbury, especially after the Highlanders finished the season with three straight losses. Gunnery, however, demonstrated its depth with seven players contributing to the scoring in their 4-1 win over #3 Canterbury. Gunnery’s Noemi Nuebauerova (1g,1a) put Gunnery up 1-0 in the first with assists from Mya Berretta (1g,1a) and Nicole Moriarity. In the second, Berretta increased the lead to 2-0 with the help of Tab Franceschini (2g,1a) and Nuebauerova. Franceschini increased the lead to 3-0 at the end of two periods with assists going to Emma Killeen and Keely McGann. Canterbury’s MaryKate Martino, assisted by Steph Proteau, cut the Gunnery lead to 3-1 early in the third. But Franceschini notched her second goal of the game, assisted by Killeen and Kristyna Patkova, to put Gunnery up 4-1. Katie Broccoli (22 saves) shut down Canterbury the rest of the way. Gunnery will host St. Georges on Saturday.
Stay tuned to the USHR girls section all weekend. It looks to be a good one.
Wed. 3/1/17
Wed. March 1 Quarterfinals Scoreboard
Quarterfinals
Wed. March 1, 2017
Div. I
(#1) Loomis 6, (#8) Lawrence 5 (at Loomis)
(#2) Nobles 1 vs. (#7) Williston 0 (at Nobles)
(#3) Kent 4 vs. (#6) Tabor 3 (at Westminster)
(#4) New Hampton 2 vs. (#5) St. Paul's 1 (OT) (at New Hampton)
Div. II
(#1) Worcester 2 vs. (#8) Brooks 0 (at NESC, Marlborough, Mass.)
(#2) Rivers 2 vs. (#7) St. George's 4 (at Rivers)
(#3) Canterbury 1 vs. (#6) Gunnery 4 (at Canterbury)
(#4) KUA 1 vs. (#5) Thayer 5 (at KUA)
Semifinals
Sat. March 4, 2017
Games Hosted by Higher Seed
Starting times TBA
Div. I
Loomis vs. New Hampton, 2:00 pm (@ Loomis)
Nobles vs. Kent, 3:00 pm (@ Nobles)
Div. II
Worcester Academy vs. Thayer, 2:00 pm (@ Holy Cross)
Gunnery vs. St. George's, 4:30 pm (@ Gunnery)
Finals
Sun. March 5, 2017
At Phillips Andover Academy; Andover, Mass.
Div. II Championship Game, 12:30 pm
Div. I Championship Game, 3:00 pm
New England Prep Hockey News
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