KINGSTON, Mass. — Some of the state’s best girls high school hockey teams rang in the new year with the conclusion of the fourth annual Tenney Cup at the Bog on Wednesday.
Hingham took home this season’s title in a dramatic 2-1 win over crosstown foe Notre Dame (Hingham), the defending champions.
Hingham sophomore Callie Crean scored the game-winner on the power play with three minutes left in regulation. Her wrister from the slot rang the left post before ricocheting off NDA goalie Erin Kral‘s (Whitman, Mass.) back and in. It seemed to be the only way the Harborwomen could beat Kral, who stood tall for the Cougars after surrendering an early goal.
There was no shortage of drama in the consolation, either, with Ava Baker (North Reading, Mass.) scoring the game-winner for Malden Catholic with 3.5 seconds remaining in regulation for a 2-1 win over Duxbury. Baker was also the hero in a 2-1 upset over Duxbury last winter, scoring with 15 seconds left in that game.
Bishop Feehan shut out Sandwich, 2-0, in the fifth-place game, and Archbishop Williams took down Milton, 7-1, in the seventh-place game.
I made it down to the Bog for Wednesday’s consolation and championship.
Earlier this week, we highlighted nine standout forwards from the final day. Now, let's dive into 10 defenders and goaltenders who stood out from the day.
Ava Baker
Malden Catholic, Class of 2025, D, right shot, 5-3
Baker was arguably the best player on the ice in MC's win over Duxbury. She was everywhere on a late penalty kill. She blocked multiple shots and passes from Meg Carney at the left circle, forcing her to the outside. Baker later intercepted a pass before sending the puck into space for a break for Alyssa Jankowski (Medford, Mass.) in the closing moments. Jankowski's initial chance wouldn't go, but Baker smartly trailed the play and crashed the net. Nobody picked her up when the puck found her all alone at the right post, and she buried the game-winner.
She set up Elle Ferguson's (Natick, Mass.) opening goal early on with a great stretch pass to kick off the rush. Baker picked the puck up behind her net with speed and her head up, skating it out to the top of the zone before hitting Ferguson on her tape in stride. All game, Baker led forwards into space and made a good first pass. Defensively, Baker had an active stick and read plays well. She had good stick position and gave Maeve Gallagher a bump late in the second to prevent a clear lane to the net.
TENNEY CUP:Â 9 standout forwards from the final day
Shea Richardson
Hingham, Class of 2027, D, right shot, 5-4
Richardson had a strong game moving the puck and quarterbacking things in the offensive zone for Hingham. She opened the scoring, driving to open space in the slot for a feed from Caroline Doherty before beating Kral with a slick finish in tight. In the second, Richardson made a good heads-up pass to Doherty for a breakaway. She came through with some physicality in the third, bumping Emily Coughlin (Marshfield, Mass.) off the puck to prevent an NDA breakaway. Richardson also did a good job leading the rush herself. She combined for some great chances with Ellie Bellew on a 2-on-1 late, and gained the zone with possession on the rush that set up Crean's game-winner.
Erin Kral
Notre Dame (Hingham), Class of 2026, G, catches left
Kral was sensational in net for the Cougars, finishing with 28 saves, even though it felt like more. Nearly every save was a quality stop. She robbed Hannah Lasch several times throughout the game, including two point-blank chances in the slot early in the first as Hingham tried to double its early lead. Kral was square to everything, taking good angles against shooters and getting into position quickly. What was most impressive was how strong she was on second and third-chance opportunities around her crease, standing tall amongst the chaos and quickly pouncing on pucks for whistles. It just felt like it would take a crazy bounce to beat her.
CC Flynn
Hingham, Class of 2026, D, left shot
The save of the game might not have belonged to either Kral or Hingham goalie Izzy McGarr. Instead, Flynn might take the honor. NDA's Emma Burke's (Braintree, Mass.) hard snap shot squeezed through McGarr and nearly trickled over the line, but Flynn scrambled to pull the puck off the line. It was the highlight of a steady game for Flynn, who played a lot of minutes in all situations, kept things simple and made good decisions with the puck. She also successfully held the offensive blue line in the run-up to Richardson's opening goal.
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Carina Perry
Duxbury, Class of 2025, G, catches left
Perry wasn't busy for most of the first two periods against MC, but she faced an uptick in pressure at the end of the second and through the third as the Lancers found some offense. In the second, she made a fantastic save with her toe on Nevin Mustone's (Medford, Mass.) turnaround shot in front, stretching her right leg to get a piece of the puck. Later that shift, she made a good blocker save on Avi Panacopoulos' (Danvers, Mass.) wrister from the point, anticipating the shot and battling around a screen to get to it. Perry also made a handful of strong saves in the third to keep things tied, including a huge push to her left to stone Abby Poole's (Wakefield, Mass.) one-timer. It looked to be a sure goal.
Ella Faherty
Notre Dame (Hingham), Class of 2027, D, right shot
Faherty (Hanover, Mass.) did a good job of using her size and long reach to defend in transition, and she showed good mobility at times. She had a couple of strong chances against the rush in the second period against Hingham, including one where she smartly stepped up with a poke check to stop Addy Garrity in her tracks just inside the blue line. In the third, she made a good read to step in front of a high-to-low pass along the boards, intercepting it before leading the rush for a clean exit and entry.
Emma Burke
Notre Dame (Hingham), Class of 2028, D, left shot
Burke was solid in all three zones for NDA, making good decisions throughout. She had one of their best chances of the game in the second period, leading the rush with strong strides before making a move to the slot and getting a hard snap shot. It nearly trickled over the line after overpowering McGarr. Later in the third, Burke did a good job against Garrity in transition, using her frame and stick to clog the lane and block her shot.
Sami Norton
Duxbury, Class of 2025, D, left shot
Norton was an excellent, mobile puck-mover for Duxbury. She was effective skating the puck herself and was strong leading regroups in the neutral zone. Norton knew when to take her chances and did a good job identifying skating lanes, including one rush in the second where MC gave her all sorts of time and space. She took it and got a good entry. Norton was also strong running the point on the power play. She was constantly in motion, rotating with forwards and scrambling the penalty killers. It opened up passing lanes that she took advantage of.
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Avi Panacopoulos
Malden Catholic, Class of 2025, D, right shot, 5-5
Panacopoulos wasn't flashy but made some simple, effective plays throughout the game for the Lancers. In the first, she had good gap control and stick position defending the rush, easily breaking it up and jumpstarting the breakout. She had a couple of good shots from the point in the second, getting the puck off her stick quickly and on net. In the third, Panacopoulos made a great pinch at the offensive blue line, getting her body in front of the puck carrier to stop her in her tracks and get it back in deep.
Megan Mullarkey
Malden Catholic, Class of 2025, G, catches left
Mullarkey made some excellent saves for MC as Duxbury piled on the pressure for the better part of the consolation game. She made a fantastic stop on Carney shortly after the Dragons tied it, reading her the whole way as she tried to go forehand-backhand all alone in tight. Mullarkey made it look easy. Her positioning was strong, especially on a pair of one-timers in the slot, be it Zoey Madigan's point-blank look in the second or Addy Harrington's late in the third. She followed Harrington's with several more key saves with Duxbury jamming away in a net-front scramble with less than two minutes to go. Mullarkey came through again with a strong pad save on Madigan's wrister in the slot moments later.
