WATERTOWN, Conn. – New Hampton needed a bounce.
The No. 1 Huskies were up 1-0 late in the second period of Sunday’s Small School tournament final, with No. 6 St. Mark’s senior goalie Jackie Wright (Walpole, Mass.) doing all she could to prevent the Huskies from building on their lead.
Wright had Kelsey Baker’s (Concord, Mass.) number all game to that point, but the junior forward finally broke through in a critical spot. Baker sent a shot-pass in front from the right dot, looking for a tip, and she got it. The puck ricocheted off a defender’s stick and in to make it 2-0.
New Hampton finally capitalized on its strong offensive pressure against the Lions, who had been playing bend-but-don’t-break defense as Wright came up with big save after big save.
From there the Huskies never looked back, despite a back-and-forth finish to the third period.
Sophomore forward Emma MacPherson (Sandwich, Mass.) picked the top left corner on a 2-on-1 to make it 3-0 midway through the third. It was critical insurance as St. Mark’s made one last-ditch push when junior forward Hannah Macron cut it to 3-1 on a shorthanded breakaway with two minutes to go.
Senior defender Reese Luber (Norwood, Mass.) answered for New Hampton just seconds later, though, blasting a one-timer on the power play to make it 4-1.
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For New Hampton and coach Craig Churchill, the win marked their third straight Small School championship in their fourth straight appearance in the title game. It put the finishing touches on a 22-6-4 season, winning 12 straight games en route to the title.
Senior forward Trinity Walsh was among the four skaters who got on the board for the Huskies. She opened the scoring six minutes into the game on a shorthanded 2-on-1, backhanding a feed from senior forward Kennedy Walker (Middleton, Mass.). Sophomore goalie Elizabeth Vincent earned the win.
Senior forward Caroline Thomas earned Most Valuable Player honors.
Quick takeaways…
- St. Mark’s executed its gameplan at the start of the game. The Lions had strong forechecking layers and gave New Hampton trouble navigating the pressure on breakouts. St. Mark’s caused turnovers and forced New Hampton to regroup several times. Caroline Kreuz (Worcester, Mass.) had a golden opportunity to open the scoring, pouncing on a giveaway up the middle and walking in alone for a chance in the slot, but Vincent made a key glove save. The Lions had ample power play opportunities, too, but couldn’t break through.
- It was a matter of time until New Hampton’s depth and experience broke through on the scoresheet. The Huskies got to their game after Walsh’s shorthanded goal and started coming at St. Mark’s in waves. Despite some penalty trouble at times, New Hampton hounded pucks, made quick decisions and piled up pressure in chances. Wright did all she could, but the pressure became too much for the Lions.
