BROOKLINE, Mass. — Phillips Exeter’s first line was inevitable.
The No. 1 Big Red’s dynamic trio powered a 4-2 win over No. 2 Choate for the Patsy Odden girls Large School tournament championship at Dexter Southfield on Sunday.
Junior Yale commit Paisley Meyer (Greenland, N.H.) scored twice for Exeter (19-7-2), while senior Vermont commit Maria Gray had a goal and an assist. Gray earned Most Valuable Player honors after posting six points (three goals) in six postseason games.
Junior Northeastern commit Erin Sears also scored, while postgrad Connecticut College commit Eva Mai Whyte (Natick, Mass.) earned the win in net.
MORE CHAMPIONS: Boys Elite 8 — Avon Old Farms beats St. Mark's | Boys Large School — Cushing beats Berwick | Boys Small School — Winchendon beats Holderness | Girls Elite 8 — Loomis Chaffee beats Deerfield | Girls Small School — Groton beats New Hampton
Senior Assumption commit Annie Forker (Stratford, Conn.) and sophomore Katie Millett (Hampton, N.H.) each scored for Choate, which finished with a 14-10-1 record.
Forker opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal with 8:52 left in the first period when she backhanded a loose puck to the right of the net. Gray answered on the power play nearly three minutes later, driving to the slot off the rush and scoring with a backhand as she fell to the ice.
Exeter never looked back.
Meyer made it 2-1 with 11:45 to go into the second when she jammed in a loose puck off the face-off. She made it 4-1 just 31 seconds into the third, cutting into the slot and chipping a shot over the blocker.
Millet got one back for Choate midway through the third with a seeing-eye wrister from the left point, but Sears delivered the knockout punch with 1:39 to go, putting home a feed in front.
The win marked Exeter’s first title under head coach Sally Komarek and the program's first since 2000.
QUICK TAKEAWAYS …
- Give a lot of credit to Exeter for weathering an early storm from Choate. The Wild Boars had the Big Red on their heels with quick ups and regroups in the neutral zone. Forwards like Maggie Swanson (Fairfield, Conn.) made life difficult on Exeter exiting the zone, too. But Forker’s goal was a wake-up call, and the Big Red got to their game shortly after.
- What more can you say about that first line of Gray-Meyer-Sears? Three of the top scorers in the NEPSAC throughout the season, they were the difference once again in the postseason, leading a miraculous comeback against Middlesex in the quarterfinals before powering a big win over BB&N in the semis. It was a fitting ending for the trio in its final run together, as Gray is set to graduate in the spring. Exeter will remain in good hands with Sears and Meyer.
- What a defensive stand at the end for the Big Red between a late penalty kill and the 6-on-5 empty-net situation. The Big Red went with three forwards and one defender (star UConn commit Grace Riley) on the kill, and it more than paid off. Gray and Sears made big plays out high, and Riley had a few blocked shots. They mostly held Choate to the perimeter with the extra attacker as well. It wasn’t all about the big names for Exeter, though. Other experienced skaters like Mia Griffith and Emma Shu made impacts with their details.
- Props to Choate for playing hard all game, particularly defender Kate Tortorella (Westport, Conn.), who’s committed to Ohio State for rowing. The senior was a menace in all three zones, walking the line physically, coming up big on several penalty kills, and leading transition along with Julianna Iannace and Harvard commit Sophia Lind (Madison, Conn.). Senior Hamilton commit Noel Schaab (Sherman, Conn.) was excellent in net as well, but Exeter just kept coming. It was an emotional and physical game from start to finish.
