FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — Bella Freitas did it again.
The St. Mary's freshman took the puck in her skates in the defensive zone. She kicked it to her stick, and she was off to the races. Freitas (Everett, Mass.) powered into the offensive zone with plenty of space in a 1-on-1 rush, cut to the top of the right circle and scored with a low-glove wrister 3:43 into overtime to knock off Archbishop Williams, 2-1.
The first two periods went scoreless, but not without chances for either side.
The Bishops applied heavy pressure to the Spartans at the start of both the first and second periods, keeping St. Mary's goaltender Gianna Tringale (Danvers, Mass.) busy. Later in the first, Spartans eighth-grader Vanessa Hall (Saugus, Mass.) thought she scored five-hole on a wrist shot from distance, but the play was offside.
In the second, Tringale kept Archies at bay as the Spartans struggled to sustain pressure, putting just 10 shots on Kate McLeish (Dedham, Mass.) through the opening 40 minutes.
The Spartans got a boost early, though, with a pair of power plays. Archies killed off a 5-on-3, but SMH broke through on the remainder of the second penalty. Freitas dangled around a defender at the left dot and fired a shot on net, which Alyssa Norden (Peabody, Mass.) redirected under the bar for a 1-0 lead approaching the 10-minute mark.
BRACKET: Click or tap here for each result in the MIAA D1 girls hockey tournament
It didn't take long for the Bishops to answer, though. McKenzie Lima-Tower buried a rebound to tie it 1-1 with 8:10 left in regulation. St. Mary's defender Regan Sullivan (Melrose, Mass.) denied Caroline Batchelder's (Braintree, Mass.) bid on an open goal, but the puck shot right to Lima-Tower.
The No. 2 Spartans will play for the Division 1 state title for a second straight season, advancing to face No. 1 Notre Dame (Hingham). Last season, SMH fell to Shrewsbury, who they knocked off in the Elite 8 on Thursday, thanks to a pair of goals for Freitas.
Let's dive into seven standouts from the game before getting into three takeaways.
Gianna Tringale
St. Mary’s, senior, G, catches left, 5-7
Hometown: Danvers, Mass.
I don't think it's possible to overstate just how sensational Tringale was for the Spartans, especially in the clutch. She finished with 39 saves, including a whopping 17 in the third period, plus four more in overtime. She came up with several big stops in tight with Archies all over SMH in the opening minutes of the first. Early in the second, she sprawled and flashed the right pad to rob Archies eighth-grader Julie Murphy (Canton, Mass.) on a rebound. Like in the semifinals, she had some inconsistencies catching cleanly with her glove and steering away rebounds down the stretch. But at the end of the day, she made the saves that she needed to make. That's all that matters.
Bella Freitas
St. Mary’s, freshman, F, right shot
Hometown: Everett, Mass.
Every time I've covered St. Mary's this season, Freitas has been a standout. She finds a way to impact the game every time she's on the ice. As the Spartans struggled to exit their zone cleanly and generate chances in the first and third, Freitas' confidence with the puck stood out, skating it out with possession and challenging defenders and forecheckers in transition. On the power play in the third, she hunted a puck carrier in the neutral zone, stripped the puck and drew a hook for a 5-on-3.
During the end of the second 5-on-4, she made a slick backhand-forehand deke to get to open space and fire a shot on net that Norden tipped home. Toward the end of regulation, Freitas danced around three separate skaters in an end-to-end rush before getting two chances on net. There was no doubt she'd make more clutch plays in overtime. She's a dynamic, powerful player with good hands and a heavy release.
STANDOUTS: 7 players who impressed in St. Mary's quarterfinals win over Shrewsbury
McKenzie Lima-Tower
Archbishop Williams, 7th grade, F, left shot
Lima-Tower, a seventh-grader complementing a pair of juniors on Archbishop Williams' top line, was strong all game. The thing that immediately stands out with the youngster is her speed. She's hard for defenders to contain, creating chances off the rush and causing headaches on the forecheck. Lima-Tower found open space in coverage, putting herself in a perfect spot to score on Batchelder's rebound in the third. She broke free for a partial break later in the third, easily winning a race to the puck, but a tough angle toward goal prevented her from creating a better chance.
Regan Sullivan
St. Mary's, senior, D, left shot, 5-6
Hometown: Melrose, Mass.
Sullivan ate a ton of minutes on the back end for the Spartans, and her experience showed. It'll be forgotten because Lima-Tower scored on the rebound, but she saved a goal for St. Mary's. Sullivan recovered from the corner after the puck worked to the slot and got in front of Batchelder's shot, denying it on the goal line. For the most part, I liked her decisions on when and when not to pinch on the offensive zone. Defensively, she used her size and strength to win board battles, even as she was clearly tired later in the game.
Kate McLeish
Archbishop Williams, junior, G, catches left
Hometown: Dedham, Mass.
McLeish wasn't nearly as busy as Tringale was at the other end, but she was every bit as important to her team. During SMH's power plays, she did a good job of anticipating and tracking pucks through traffic. She did well with rebound control, too. She remained engaged, even when there were longer stretches where she didn't see many shots. McLeish made two big stops on Freitas in the third, one on a shot from distance and another in a scramble as Freitas got to her own rebound. She denied her again in tight in overtime, making a positional stop after Freitas made a move for a shot right off a face-off.
Alyssa Norden
St. Mary’s, freshman, F, right shot
Hometown: Peabody, Mass.
Norden was a major factor with Freitas and Keira Twomey (Melrose, Mass.) on SMH's top line once again. She routinely put on puck protection clinics along the boards in the offensive zone. Norden has smooth, efficient strides that allow her to get exits and entries with possession as well. On her goal, she maintained good positioning in a battle in front, getting her stick on Freitas' shot.
Aliya Greenwood
Archbishop Williams, sophomore, D, right shot, 5-5
Hometown: Dedham, Mass.
The Spartans had all sorts of trouble sustaining pressure in the offensive zone for most of the game. Greenwood was a big part of that on the Bishops' blue line. She used smooth skating and a good stick to close gaps and force plays to the outside. Her skating and vision were evident on breakouts. Regrouping behind her net on the power play in the second period, Greenwood evaded pressure with a quick stop and start. She came around the net with her head up and found a seam for a stretch pass. It gave Archies numbers going the other way, putting the Spartans on their heels.
‘A FRESH START’: How St. Mary’s remained a fixture atop the MIAA
Now, here are three takeaways from the game.
1. The importance of having a week to prepare for the championship cannot be understated for the Spartans. St. Mary's had just 13 skaters in the lineup on Saturday. They've missed co-captain and Nichols commit Kasey Litwin (Swampscott, Mass.) on the back end, too. SMH looked gassed as things wore on against Archies, especially Hall and Sullivan. They frequently sat for just one shift or even double-shifted, considering St. Mary's had four total defenders. They have a big chance to get healthy.
2. I do not doubt that this isn't the last we've heard of Archbishop Williams. The Bishops don't have a senior on their roster and boast plenty of talented underclassmen. Be it juniors in Batchelder, McLeish and Shea Nolan (Quincy, Mass.) or impactful young players like Lima-Tower and Murphy, Doug Nolan's team is in great hands moving forward. They'll be back, for sure.
3. St. Mary's had a ton of trouble exiting its zone cleanly throughout the game. A lot of that had to do with fatigue at the end of the second and throughout the third. Still, it was an especially slow start for the Spartans. Give Archies credit for coming out of the gates firing, too. But SMH made things harder on itself, forcing plays or struggling to complete passes on exits and in the neutral zone. It's something they'll need to clean up against a well-structured NDA team.
