On Senior Day, four of Loomis Chaffee’s stole the show as the No. 4 Pelicans cruised to a 3-0 win over No. 3 Williston Northampton.
Annie Schwarz (Fairfield, Conn.), Lindsay Stepnowski (South Glastonbury, Conn.) and Carly Dann (Hanover, N.H.) each had a goal and an assist for Loomis Chaffee (21-2-0). Adeline Roper (Kennebunkport, Maine) earned the shutout in net. Williston fell to 17-3-0.
Stepnowski broke the stalemate with 5:22 to go in the second period with a sensational coast-to-coast rush for a power-play goal.
Dann doubled the lead six minutes into the third with a shot from the slot on a rush with Stepnowski. Schwarz added another two minutes later for the 3-0 final when Dann's backhand banked off her skate and in.
Let's dive into six takeaways from the clash.
The stars were out for Loomis Chaffee
Loomis needed its best players to lead the charge against a team like Williston, and they did. The Stepnowski-Schwarz-Dann line controlled play whenever it was on the ice. It was no surprise, considering it's a line made up of three game-breakers.
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Stepnowski pushed the pace in transition and put Williston's defenders on their heels, which led to open space in the slot for Dann to make it 2-0. The defense had to give Stepnowski that kind of respect after a tremendous individual effort on her goal. She got the puck in her own end on a regroup on the power play and motored the other way, dancing into the slot alone before burying a shot in tight.
Meanwhile, Dann took advantage of open space in the offensive zone, including in the first when she cut middle off the rush and rang the post. Schwarz made plays in all three zones. She kick-started the rush ahead of Dann's goal with a quick outlet for Stepnowski. Earlier in the second, she had a big blocked shot on the penalty kill.
Loomis' defense pushed the pace
We know Loomis likes its defense to be quick and assertive at the offensive blue line and in the neutral zone. It's what leads to such efficient regroups and keeps the opposition on its heels. That was the case on Saturday, as Williston often had hardly any chance to breathe after exiting the zone.
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Even with Dann playing forward, the Pelicans' defenders did a terrific job of getting the play going back up ice quickly. Even outside of the usual suspects like seniors Megan Hosman and Hattie Willard, others like juniors Alexine Beaulieu (Hudson, N.H.) and Lizzie Orszulak (Longmeadow, Mass.), plus sophomores Mia Lynch and Amaya McNeil (Fairfield, Conn.), executed on regroups. Schwarz's goal was all thanks to Orszulak and Beaulieu quickly finding Stepnowski up the left wing for a reentry.
Williston's penalty kill got the job done
Save for one highlight-reel effort by Stepnowski, one of the biggest bright spots for Williston was its penalty kill, especially with Mia Daley (Lynnfield, Mass.)and Nina Coffee (Old Lyme, Conn.) on the ice.
Daley broke up plays out high with an active stick and even laid out to block a bomb from Hosman early in the second. Coffee's reach and strength were effective in killing plays to the middle. The kill gave the Wildcats a boost early in the second and led to some sustained pressure for a stretch.
Roper does her part
Roper wasn't tested a ton but came through with big saves and key spots. She kept things scoreless when she made a good save on Ashley Anderson's (Wilmington, Mass.) shot from the right dot on a 2-on-1 with Catie Putt (Norfolk, Mass.) in the first period.
In the second, she made a handful of key stops as Williston pushed for offense following an early penalty kill. She denied Brooke Schlutter driving to the slot before shutting the door on Schlutter again in a 2-on-0 with Riley Stocker after Loomis got caught up ice. Roper came through again with a strong kick save on Stocker’s one-timer in the slot off the rush. It kept the Wildcats at bay before Stepnowski opened the scoring moments later.
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It's a different game if a couple of bounces go the other way
I mentioned those chances Roper saved before Loomis opened the scoring. Anderson's chance in the first was a golden chance for Williston to flip the momentum. After the Wildcats killed the remainder of a penalty to begin the second period, they began to dictate play and get quality chances in the slot. River Grady (Bedford, N.H.) made a huge save on Dann, and the rebound trickled past everybody as Schlutter and Stocker sped the other way all alone. If Williston had cashed in there or on Stocker’s bang-bang one-timer off the rush, it would have been deflating for Loomis after carrying the pressure to that point in the game.
Loomis grabs hold of a top-three seed... for now
With the win, Loomis grabbed hold of the third spot in the JSPR at the time of writing, while Williston fell to fourth.
The Pelicans are far from out of the woods yet, though. The remaining schedule includes Phillips Andover and Deerfield. As far as projections go, USHR projects Loomis to split its remaining games and settle into the fifth seed in the Elite 8.
But this is why you play the games. The Pelicans could have a chance to do wonders for their seeding with two wins, or even, perhaps, just an upset over Andover.
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As for the Wildcats, they're projected to move back up to third come this time next week. The remaining games are against Deerfield and BB&N, which they are projected to win, according to USHR.
As we know, anything can happen. You may even come away from this thinking more of the opportunity Deerfield has ahead. The Big Green are currently at No. 6. USHR projects them to finish at No. 7.
