WATERTOWN, Conn. — Championship day is finally here in NEPSAC girls hockey.
Three games were played Sunday to decide the titles at Taft's School Odden Arena.
The schedule:
- Dorothy Howard Small School Tournament: No. 3 New Hampton 3, No. 1 Groton School 1
- Patsy Odden Large School Tournament: No. 1 St. Paul's School 2, No. 3 Taft 0
- Chuck Vernon Elite 8 Tournament: No. 1 Williston Northampton 4, No. 2 Phillips Andover
Below we have full recaps of each game.
St. Paul's School eliminates Taft
Allyson Martiniello could not be beaten Sunday. She delivered a 2-0 shutout for St. Paul's against Taft in the Large School championship game.
The Rhinos had early goal-scoring opportunities but could not capitalize despite some hectic moments for St. Paul's in their own defensive end.
Big Red took an early lead after Maude Niemann buried a shot from the slot midway through the first period. A great pass from Skyler Sharman opened up the goal-scoring opportunity for St. Paul's, which went to the locker room with a 1-0 lead.
The second frame was packed with penalty minutes. Big Red went to the box four times, but Taft couldn't convert. Both teams struggled to adjust to the flow of the game as stoppages dominated the period.
Tessa Demain and Kate Pura did an admirable job keeping the ice clean in front of Martiniello. The netminder was able to track pucks without traffic in front, enabling her to swallow the puck up and limit Taft's second-chance opportunities.
Outside of some sloppy penalties, St. Paul's was the better team in all phases. Great penalty-kill work from forwards like Cami Bell kept Taft off the scoresheet.
St. Paul's scored another goal late in the third period after Bree Ricker found a Niemann deflection that went off the crossbar and buried it in the net. The tally gave St. Paul's its two-goal lead with 8 minutes left in regulation.
Taft pulled its goalie late and Martiniello stood tall and maintained her shutout through the final whistle.
No. 3 New Hampton upsets No. 1 Groton
New Hampton upset top seed Groton to win the Dorothy Howard Tournament Small School title Sunday afternoon, 3-1, led by tournament MVP Julia Pellerin (Windham, N.H.) and strong goaltending by Yejin “Vera” Lee.
Pellerin put home the eventual game-winner at 15:54 of the third, sending in a rebound off a Jansen Lucas shot just as New Hampton’s power play expired. Pellerin was a concern all game for Groton as she had three great chances in the first period alone only to be turned away by Groton goalie Veronika Hadamovsky (Groton, Mass.).
Both goalies were sharp in the first period with New Hampton having the better chances. On a Groton power play midway through the first, Lee came up with some key saves to keep Groton off the board. Not to be outdone, Hadamovsky robbed Julia Loughlin (Scituate, Mass.) in the final minute of the first with a great glove save.
The game's first goal came late in the second period as Averi Curran (Westborough, Mass.) took a pass from behind the net by Kayleigh Michaud-Nolan and beat Hadamovsky short side. Hadamovsky made a great breakaway save with 29 seconds left in the period but Groton was called for a slash and that led to Pellerin’s goal early in the third to give New Hampton a 2-0 lead.
A New Hampton holding call at 9:55 was just what Groton needed as it cashed in just 12 seconds later on a great passing play. Keira Ley (Wayland, Mass.) came from the point and put it down low to Jaylen Trudell (Andover, Mass.), who then zipped it across the top of the crease to Christina Scalese (West Boylston, Mass,) and into the open side, which gave Groton life.
Groton continued to pressure New Hampton and pulled the goalie with 1:52 left. They kept the puck in the zone for long stretches but Lee stood tall, giving no rebounds and frustrating Groton. Off of a defensive zone faceoff, New Hampton got control and Lucie Legro (Brentwood, N.H.) put it up to Jansen Lucas, who skated down and snapped a wrist shot into the empty net with 16 seconds left, which sealed the championship for New Hampton.
Williston Northampton goes back to back
Williston Northampton took home the Chuck Vernon Trophy after a dominant 4-1 victory over Phillips Andover in the girls' Elite 8 Championship game on Sunday.
The early minutes were even and entertaining as both teams traded goal-scoring chances.
Alyssa Frazier and Nora Curtis were buzzing for Williston early on, displaying phenomenal chemistry and nearly awarding the Wildcats an early lead.
But Andover senior netminder Avery Rodeheffer stood tall between the pipes while facing plenty of rubber and action in her own end. Mounting offensive pressure from Williston put Big Blue firmly on their heels, but Rodeheffer kept the game scoreless through the end of the first period. MORE ON WILLISTON'S WIN
