Woburn foils English girls hockey in shootout

SALEM ? English’s girls hockey team’s exciting ride through the Division 1 tournament came to an end after a valiant effort against second-ranked Woburn, 2-1, in a shootout.”We couldn’t have given any more (effort),” English coach Anthony Martucci said. “We have that ‘never say die’ attitude. Woburn’s a very good team, though. They deserve to move on.”Sixth-grader Katie Burt had another amazing performance. She turned away 40 shots, several of which were sensational breakups on odd-man rushes, against one of the state’s highest-scoring teams.”We have the best sixth-grade hockey player in the world,” Martucci said.English got into a little penalty trouble in the second period. Burt and the penalty kill combined to keep the Tanners off the scoreboard. However, the Bulldogs were shorthanded as the third period started.”We tried to work on our discipline all year (penalty-wise),” said Martucci. “There were a couple of calls that could have gone either way. But you can’t give them (Woburn) that many chances.”The Tanners finally put the puck past Burt 13 seconds into the third period on the power play.Colleen Callahan gained control of the puck about 15 feet away from the crease. Her shot was blocked, but the puck found its way to Lindsey Downie, who cashed in from point-blank range. It was the first goal of the tournament that Burt allowed, and it would be the last one in regulation or overtime.After the goal, Woburn seemed to gain its second wind and controlled the flow of the game.”I didn’t think we played particularly well today,” Tanners coach Bob MacCurtain said. “I think we got a little desperate down the stretch.”After a couple of failed rushes by the Bulldogs, senior captain Ashley Fiandaca decided to take things into her own hands. Playing like a senior who wasn’t ready to end her high school career, Fiandaca skated around every Tanner on the ice. She fired a laser beam from about 30 feet out that found the top of the net; it would force the game into overtime.Perhaps the most amazing part of Burt’s performance was her stellar play in overtime. Woburn completely dominated the play, outshooting the Bulldogs 11-1 in the extra period, and maintained possession in the offensive zone for virtually the entire eight minutes. However, Burt was unfazed by the attack.In the shootout, the Tanners’ playmakers couldn’t be contained any longer. Colleen Callahan and Colleen Martell were able to get the puck between the pipes. Only Mackenzie Clark, who was English’s first participant, scored for the Bulldogs in the shootout.The Bulldogs made a leap from Division 2 to Division 1 earlier this season.