MALDEN, Mass. — There was no shortage of drama as Malden Catholic took down Peabody/Lynnfield/North Reading, 2-1, in a goalie duel on Senior Night.
Junior co-captain Nevin Mustone (Medford, Mass.) had a goal and an assist for the Lancers, and sophomore forward Avery White (Medford, Mass.) also scored. Senior goalie Megan Mullarkey (Wilmington, Mass.) made 18 saves.
Senior goalie Alyse Mutti (North Reading, Mass.) made 39 saves for PLNR, and freshman Sydney Zizza (Peabody, Mass.) scored.
After both goalies kept things scoreless through most of the first two periods, White finally opened the scoring when she got MC on the board with 11 seconds left in the second. Mustone worked the puck to the front of the net, and White buried it in front.
Mustone doubled the lead with 6:45 left in regulation. Mutti made the initial save before getting taken down as Mustone crashed the net and chipped the rebound over the pile.
Zizza got the Tanners on the board with four minutes left in regulation, putting it home from the left dot as she fell.
From there, the Lancers stifled PLNR's bid to complete the comeback.
Let's dive into nine standouts from the top-10 girls MIAA matchup.
Abbie Poole
Malden Catholic, 2007, F, left shot
Hometown: Wakefield, Mass.
Poole was all over the ice for the Lancers, making things happen in transition and giving PLNR issues on the forecheck and in the neutral zone. Poole has quick strides and can generate speed quickly. She had an excellent scoring chance in the first after stripping the puck from Chloe Gromko (Lynnfield, Mass.) before motoring back in alone for a good short-side shot from the bottom of the left circle. She nearly did it again a few minutes later.
One of her best chances of the night came 20 seconds into the second on a breakaway, and she got another great look on a 2-on-1 with White on her next shift. In the third, Poole made a great play to track back and win the puck back with a stick lift before going the other way and getting an attacking zone draw. She also helped get the initial bid that started the scramble before Mustone's goal.
TOURNAMENT FORECAST: Favorites, contenders and sleepers in girls MIAA hockey
Nevin Mustone
Malden Catholic, Class of 2026, F, right shot
Hometown: Medford, Mass.
Mustone's line was MC's best on the night, and she was at the center of it all, generating chances for herself and others, thanks to her good instincts and good hands in tight areas. She got a great look late in the first off a breakdown on a face-off, getting in alone for a great look that Mutti stoned. She set up White's goal in the second when she worked the puck to her in the slot. Mustone provided critical insurance in the third, crashing the net and playing to the whistle as she put home the loose puck amid chaos in front. She helped set up another great sequence a few shifts later, chipping a slick backhand pass to White inside the right dot, who fed Poole down low for multiple chances.
Alyse Mutti
PLNR, Class of 2026, G, catches left
Hometown: North Reading, Mass.
Mutti was sensational for the Tanners and the biggest reason they were in the game, despite the lopsided shot totals and time of possession. She was square to shots, quick and sound in her movements and did a good job sealing posts. One of her best sequences came in the second period when she made a big shoulder save on Poole trying to go top shelf on a 2-on-1 before recovering and denying White's bid on the rebound. It came after she made it look easy on Poole's breakaway, reading it the whole way and turning it aside with the pad.
Late in the second, she and Mullarkey traded clutch saves as she denied MC's partial break before another big sequence around her crease ahead of White's opening goal. After she had no chance on Mustone's goal, Mutti got right back to it, denying Poole after she danced around multiple defenders on the rush late in regulation.
Avery White
Malden Catholic, Class of 2027, F, left shot
Hometown: Medford, Mass.
White did a good job of feeding off Poole and Mustone, putting herself in spots to get chances and create them for teammates. She drove the net on a 2-on-1 with Poole in the second, getting a great bid at the rebound. Later, she nearly opened the scoring on a partial break. On her goal, White found soft space around the slot, getting to the puck in front from Mustone and burying it. She also made a nice heads-up dish to Poole down low late in the third after coming off the boards in the cycle with Mustone, setting up two strong scoring chances for the Lancers.
RIVALRY WIN: 8 standouts from Methuen/Tewksbury’s dramatic win over HPNA
Chloe Gromko
PLNR, Class of 2025, D, left shot, 5-7
Hometown: Lynnfield, Mass.
Gromko consistently moved the puck up ice for PLNR. The former Middlesex defender is rangy and used her length to her advantage to shield pucks from defenders as she skated it up ice. She did a good job of recognizing skating lanes and taking advantage in transition, although there were times when she could have cleaned up her decision-making and simplified things. Gromko got a nice chance in the second on a quick-up after she led an initial rush, walking in 1-on-1 and ripping a hard slap shot at the left dot.
Megan Mullarkey
Malden Catholic, Class of 2025, G, catches left
Hometown: Wilmington, Mass.
Mullarkey wasn't tested as much as Mutti, but she still made high-quality saves of her own when called upon. She took good angles and challenged shooters at the top of her crease. The senior came up big late in the second as things opened up, first denying Shirley Whitmore (North Reading, Mass.) on a breakaway before squeezing five-hole on a 2-on-0 for PLNR to keep it scoreless at that point. In the third, she made a positional save on a long-range wrister from Eleni Spack (Peabody, Mass.) that she never saw through traffic before staying with it and stoning the rebound bid on the doorstep.
Ava Baker
Malden Catholic, Class of 2025, D, right shot, 5-3
Hometown: North Reading, Mass.
Baker impresses every time I watch MC play. She's a smart, confident puck-mover who generates power and speed with long strides and impacts the game in all three zones. She can bait forecheckers and make them miss when she leads the rush, and she knows when to make the simple play. In the first, she led a good rush as she drove neutral ice before motoring wide around a defender to get a shooting chance. Later, she made a slick move behind the net to shake a forechecker before reversing around the other side, giving herself all day to skate it out. Baker also got a nice look at the left dot after taking a cross-ice pass from Avi Panacopoulos (Danvers, Mass.), closing on a shooting lane and putting a hard snap shot on net.
ED BURNS COFFEE POT: 7 standouts, takeaways from Belmont's championship win over Arlington
Eleni Spack
PLNR, Class of 2026, D, right shot, 5-3
Hometown: Peabody, Mass.
Spack got it done at both ends of the ice for PLNR. In the first, she prevented what could have been a dangerous chance with a poke check on Baker to prevent her from cutting middle off a turnover. In the second, she got a fantastic look shorthanded when she stole the puck from Poole and broke in alone. She tried to roof the backhand and barely missed high. Later in the period, Spack had a great effort to recover and break up Baker again as MC had numbers on a quick up. Moments later at the other end, Spack put a quality wrister on net for an offensive zone draw at the end of a long shift. She also set up Zizza's goal when she fed her at the left dot.
Shirley Whitmore
PLNR, Class of 2025, F, right shot, 5-4
Hometown: North Reading, Mass.
Whitmore created some of PLNR's best looks of the night with her instincts and speed. After the Tanners had been under siege in the early going, Whitmore jumped a seam into the neutral zone for a partial break, getting a quick wrist shot off that hit Mullarkey in the mask. She set up another great look a few shifts later on a give-and-go with Ava Buckley (Peabody, Mass.) coming over the blue line. Whitmore put a shot on net for a rebound that went right to Buckley on the net-drive, but it wouldn't go.
