DEDHAM, Mass. — Ashley Loeber (Weston, Mass.) had a goal and assist for Nobles in their 3-0 win over Loomis Chaffee on Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs also got a pair of goals from Calleigh Brown (Foxboro, Mass.). Goaltender Anya Zupkofska (Braintree, Mass.) was strong when she needed to be for the shutout. It was their first win of the season after tying New Hampton, 2-2, Wednesday.
It was a physical game from the start with the Pelicans controlling the first few shifts. But Nobles found a groove and began to assert their will on the forecheck.
Loeber opened the scoring with 30 seconds remaining in the first. She buried a loose puck in the slot on the power play after the Bulldogs had sustained offensive zone pressure.
Brown extended the lead to 2-0 about a minute into the second period. Loeber won a battle below the goal line before the puck worked into space in the slot, where Brown was waiting to one-time it by Loomis' Leila Fournier (West Kingston, R.I.).
Just over a minute into the third, Zupkofska made her best save of the day. The puck burst free to a Pelicans skater in the slot, and Zupkofska made a strong push to the top of her crease. Square to the shot, she cut off the angle and made a blocker save.
Nobles took a 3-0 advantage when Brown potted her second of the game with seven minutes left in regulation. She made a strong backcheck to strip the puck and prevent Loomis from exiting the zone before burying a shot inside the left post.
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Here are five takeaways from the game:
1. Nobles will make life miserable on the forecheck for their opponents. Their best answer for Loomis' physicality was a relentless forecheck, coming at defenders in waves. The Pelicans didn't give up a ton of chances in Grade A areas, but Nobles did a good job of hemming them in to wear the defense down and get them running around. The Bulldogs were content to keep cycling the puck and firing shots from range, creating rebounds and finding seams. Their relentless puck pursuit is what led to both of Brown's goals.
2. Oliva Maffeo (Canton, Mass.) can do it all on the back end. A natural defender, she's played forward the last two seasons for Nobles, finishing as the team's leading scorer last year. Committed to Boston College as a defender and a Jr. Eagles standout on the blue line, the transition during the prep season seems to be no issue, as expected.
The game slowed down for Maffeo when she had the puck on her stick. She's a smooth skater with tons of patience. Her head is always up, scanning the ice, when she has the puck. She generated shots from the point, and she was one of a few Bulldogs blue-liners to have a couple of nice keep-ins to maintain forechecking pressure.
3. Brown was an impact player for Nobles from the start on Saturday. She made things happen each time she was on the ice, whether it were in the first period with her relentless effort or in the second and third when she got rewarded with her goals. In the first, she set up a chance in front, making a pass from her knees as she fell to the ice. She seemed to always be in the right spots, especially on her first tally, and never took a shift off. Her second goal was a result of a slick pick-pocket, tracking down the puck-carrier before a quick stick-lift.
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Brown's up to three goals in two games after potting one against New Hampton Wednesday. If she keeps this level of play up, she could have a big year in store.
4. It was a noticeably hard and physical game, especially on the defensive end of things for Loomis. As I previously wrote, Nobles didn't generate a whole lot in the dangerous areas of the ice. They were very opportunistic, though. Most of that was the result of the Pelicans' physicality forcing the Bulldogs to keep to the perimeter. They had to earn every inch of ice, especially around the net and the slot. Nobles has Loomis' top pair of Megan Hosman and Catie Collins (South Burlington, Vt.), a Princeton commit, to thank for that in part. The two ate minutes for Loomis, bringing size and well-rounded defensive games to the blue line.
5. Annie Schwarz (Fairfield, Conn.), Lindsay Stepnowski (South Glastonbury, Conn.) and Ellie Lachance (West Hartford, Conn.) made up Loomis' best line, particularly in the second period. The Pelicans failed to sustain much offensive zone pressure for extended periods of time. To Nobles' credit, they did a good job of keeping pucks to the outside and quickly clearing the zone, either with possession or off the glass at every opportunity.
Still, Schwarz, Stepnowski and Lachance seemed to have things going for Loomis. They were able to generate clean offensive zone entries with possession and maintain some attacking zone pressure whenever they were together. They helped start a sequence early in the third where the Pelicans had the Bulldogs hemmed in for an extended period at the end of a long shift. Loomis couldn't get break through before Brown made it 3-0, though.
