ASHBURNHAM, Mass. — In a top-10 matchup with major ramifications in the race for the Elite 8, No. 8 Cushing outlasted No. 9 Deerfield, 5-4, at Iorio Arena on Wednesday.
Bella Freitas (Everett, Mass.) led the way for the Penguins with two goals and an assist. Sadie Bellissimo made 21 saves. With the win, Cushing improved to 21-6-1 on the season. They currently hold the No. 6 spot in the Elite 8, according to USHR. They're projected to finish with the No. 7 seed.
Allie Corrieri (Devens, Mass.) had a goal and an assist for the Big Green. Campbell Krotee (Darien, Conn.) made 22 saves. The loss dropped Deerfield to 14-5-2. The Big Green currently have the No. 1 seed in the Large School tournament and USHR projects them to remain there at the end of the regular season.
Freitas opened the scoring with 10:54 to go in the first period off a whacky bounce. Her centering pass deflected up into the air and tumbled into the net.
Corrieri tied it for Deerfield less than two minutes later, leading the rush and firing a wrist shot inside the right post.
Olivia Austen (Darien, Conn.) made it 2-1 for Deerfield seven minutes into the second period, burying the rebound off the boards after Corrieri's shot from distance missed wide.
Brooke Harb (Atkinson, N.H.) tied it for Cushing with five minutes left in the frame, beating Krotee over the blocker off a slick feed from Lily Winkler in the cycle. Julia Lambert (Wilmington, Mass.) made it 3-2 with a minute left in the period, burying a feed from Freitas at the right post.
Keira Austen (Darien, Conn.) tied it 3-3 less than 30 seconds into the third, scoring top shelf with a wrister from the point.
Freitas restored Cushing's lead three minutes later, picking the top-right corner on a partial break, and Violet Dittman added an empty-netter off a turnover with a minute left.
Brady Wierl cut it to 5-4 with 33.5 seconds left, putting home the rebound off the glass after Chloe Cleaves' (Riverside, Conn.) shot missed high. That was all Deerfield could muster before the final horn.
Let's dive into three takeaways before getting into 13 standouts from the game.
Takeaways
1. Never say never, but with back-to-back losses, Wednesday might have closed the book on Deerfield's Elite 8 hopes. The Big Green are currently 10th in the JSPR algorithm and are losing ground on the teams ahead of them. Tilts with Kent and Hotchkiss will offer chances to get back on track this weekend, and if Deerfield can manage a win or two against Williston Northampton and Loomis Chaffee next week (with some help around the NEPSAC), maybe they can sneak in.
Deerfield gave Cushing a heck of a fight, though. After the Penguins dictated the pace early, the Big Green got to their game and took it to Cushing for much of the back half of the first and the start of the second. After the way they started the third, turning it into a fire drill in Cushing's zone before Keira Austen's equalizer, it looked as if they might just come away with the win, but Freitas' second goal was a major blow. Still, give Deerfield credit for battling until the end. If not for the fluke bounce on Freitas' first goal, it might have been a completely different story. Them's the breaks.
2. Their stats won't exactly jump off the page in a 5-4 result, but both Bellissimo and Krotee played well enough to win for their respective sides. Both caught tough breaks on funny bounces, too. Krotee reacted quickly and had some impressive pad saves, and she had Lambert's number up until her goal late in the second. She kept Deerfield in it until the end, flashing her pad for an incredible stop on Harb in front after the initial shot was blocked. Meanwhile, Bellissimo came up with quality saves in key spots as well. She denied two Grade-A chances for Cleaves in the second. The first came early in the period off a turnover with the game tied, and the other came right after Cushing fell behind, 2-1.
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3. Of the games I've seen them play this season, this was the best Cushing's forecheck has looked. They had strong layers and were hard on pucks. They gave Deerfield fits on breakouts and frequently won pucks back before establishing cycles. Each of their top two lines had clear identities, too. Freitas and Lambert's line with Molly Bardol (Walpole, Mass.) had a little more flash and generated more chances in transition. Harb's line with Madi Soderquist (Woburn, Mass.) and Brooke Fallon (Bedford, N.H.) played more of a checking style and created offense off of turnovers and out of the cycle. Both lines executed.
Now, let's get into some standouts.
Bella Freitas
Cushing, 08/2009, F, right shot
Hometown: Everett, Mass.
Freitas' line was Cushing's best at the start, and she was at the center of it throughout the game. She made a great play to set up Lambert's goal late in the second, driving into the slot with a ton of speed before slipping a nice feed to Lambert at the right post. Freitas made it look easy on her second goal, too. After Cleaves' pass to the slot didn't connect off the rush, Freitas jumped on the loose puck and flew the other way. She picked the top-right corner perfectly with a bullet from the right dot.
Brooke Harb
Cushing, 07/2007, F, left shot, 5-4
Hometown: Atkinson, NH
NCAA: Stonehill
Harb played a strong, detailed game for Cushing. She had a good poke check high in the defensive zone in the first, breaking up strong pressure for Deerfield. She got rewarded in the second with a thing of beauty to tie it, 2-2. Harb swung out of the cycle and drove into the slot, getting a sweet feed from Winkler before feathering a shot over Krotee's blocker. It was a pretty finish to a pretty play. She was good at the dot, too, which helped set up a great look for Fallon curling around the circle off a face-off win.
Julia Lambert
Cushing, 07/2008, F, right shot, 5-4
Hometown: Wilmington, Mass.
NCAA: Stonehill
Lambert was sharp from the jump, getting a great look on a 2-on-1 with Bardol to start things off. Her goal came off a great all-around sequence for her line. After they worked the puck out of the corner, Lambert parked herself to the right of the crease, where she perfectly redirected the feed from Freitas, beating Krotee inside the post. Shortly after her goal, she had a good shot as she tried to look off Krotee, who flashed the pad for a great reactionary save. Lambert was confident with the puck and was strong carrying it through the neutral zone.
Taylor Buckley
Cushing, 1/9/2006, D, right shot, 5-10
Hometown: Woburn, Mass.
NCAA: St. Anselm
Buckley kept things simple on the back end, and effectively used her size in battles in front. She came through with a key play early in the first that could have set a different tone for the game. After a miscue for Bellissimo handling the puck behind the net, turning it over to Reagan Deery (Darien, Conn.), Buckley hustled to cut Deery off at the right post. She broke up her bid at the wraparound on a wide-open net.
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Allie Corrieri
Deerfield, 5/6/2006, D, right shot
Hometown: Devens, Mass.
NCAA: Colby
Corrieri turned it over to Dittman for the empty-netter, but otherwise, she had a great game. She came through with a quick answer to Freitas' opening goal, which started with her flying into an open seam to offer Amelia Healey (Barre, Vt.) an outlet on the breakout. From there, Corrieri motored into Cushing's zone, cut across the middle to the right circle and unleashed a perfect wrist shot over Bellissimo's pad and inside the right post. She also helped set up Olivia Austen's goal when her shot from distance ricocheted off the boards into to the crease. Later in the second, Corrieri took a good gamble to step into space and chip a 50-50 puck out of danger in the neutral zone, preventing a possible 2-on-0 for Cushing after Deerfield got caught up ice. In the third, she recovered after getting burned in the corner to stick-lift Harb.
Lilly Winkler
Cushing, Class of 2026, F, left shot, 5-3
Hometown: Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Winkler had some excellent chances in transition, and she had a sweet assist on Harb's goal. She also came through late with a key defensive face-off win to help Cushing run out the final 20 seconds. In the first, Winkler led a good rush and tried to pick the top corner from the left dot, forcing Krotee to make a challenging shoulder save. In the second, she had another good look in transition, using the defense as a screen for her snapshot and getting an offensive zone face-off. On Harb's goal, Winkler curled up the half wall with her head up and saw Harb driving middle. She swiveled a slick pass through a seam to set her up.
Chloe Cleaves
Deerfield, 11/27/2007, D, left shot, 5-8
Hometown: Riverside, Conn.
NCAA: Yale
Cleaves was terrific moving the puck up ice herself. She constantly pushed the pace and led the rush. In the second, she stole the puck from Taylor Buckley (Woburn, Mass.) at center ice before walking in 1-on-1 and trying to roof it short-side. Later, she led an end-to-end rush and got a good shot in tight that wouldn't go. She led another good end-to-end rush in the run-up to Freitas' goal, but when her centering pass didn't connect, Deerfield got caught with numbers up ice. Late in the third, Cleaves assisted Wierl's goal when her high one-timer ricocheted off the glass right to Wierl's tape in front. Cleaves also rang the post in the first period. Her seeing eye wrister off a face-off was labeled for the top left corner, and Bellissimo never saw it through the traffic.
Keira Austen
Deerfield, 6/28/2007, D, right shot, 5-3
Hometown: Darien, Conn.
NCAA: Brown
Austen had several good, hard wrist shots from the point, and she got rewarded on her goal. She got the puck at the point with Cushing scrambling to start the third, and she rifled a heavy wrist shot under the bar through traffic. Later, she did a good job of digging the puck free out of a battle in the defensive zone. She fought through stick traffic to start skating it out before hitting her sister in stride with a good stretch pass for the exit. After Wierl got it to 5-4, Austen didn't waste any time with the puck. She smartly drove into the offensive zone and quickly put a puck on net for an offensive zone face-off.
Olivia Austen
Deerfield, 10/2008, F, right shot, 5-6
Hometown: Darien, Conn.
Austen did a good job of using her size and physicality on the forecheck, and she frequently provided good outlets on breakouts. Her goal was a result of being in the right place at the right time. No one was there to pick her up all alone at the left post, and she had the entire net to put home Corrieri's rebound off the boards.
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Molly Bardol
Cushing, 1/20/2009, F, left shot, 5-7
Hometown: Walpole, Mass.
Bardol was excellent complementing Freitas and Lambert. The freshman had some strong sequences driving the play up ice, especially early on. She had a good stick to poke the puck free in the defensive zone before heading off to the races with a quick burst of speed. She fed Lambert for a nice look on the 2-on-1. On her next shift, Bardol took her time with the puck on the breakout, popping off the half wall and letting things open up. Deerfield gave her plenty of space, and she took it, leading the rush with speed.
Violet Dittman
Cushing, 08/2008, F, right shot
Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.
Dittman came through with a heck of a play to seal the game on the empty net. With Deerfield regrouping at the red line, Dittman pounced on a D-to-D pass from Corrieri to Cleaves, coming out of nowhere to intercept it. She flew in alone and slid it into the empty net. It proved to be critical insurance (and the eventual game-winner) as Deerfield got on the board again moments later.
Gia Thompson
Deerfield, 11/12/2006, F, right shot, 5-4
Hometown: Sun Prairie, Wisc.
Thompson had a high motor, played with a lot of speed and created problems as a disturber on the forecheck and in the neutral zone. One of her best sequences came in the third. She didn't have a clear lane for an entry, so she softly chipped it into the corner and won the race. It set up a good forechecking shift and time in the attacking zone for the Big Green.
Ava Giroux
Deerfield, 9/7/2007, F, right shot, 5-8
Hometown: St. Albans, Vt.
Giroux was a powerful presence up front for Deerfield. She also generated offense in transition. She had a great look on a 2-on-1 with Sophie Frost in the second, opting to put a heavy wrister on net and forcing Bellissimo to make a tough save. Giroux and Deerfield stuck with it, eventually working it back to the slot for another chance. She and Frost were at the center of Deerfield's dominant shift to start the third, which led to Keira Austen's equalizer. Giroux fed Frost for a great look on a 2-on-1. After Bellissimo made a huge save, their line went to work in the offensive zone. They had Cushing scrambling before working the puck to the point and providing traffic in front for the goal.
