Marblehead girls hockey ties Winthrop/English

WINTHROP – With both squads trailing first-place Beverly/Gloucester by only a handful of points in the North Cape League, both the Marblehead and Winthrop/English girls hockey teams were hoping for a win over one another – not only to keep pace, but also to inch closer to a possible playoff berth.The Headers and Lady Bulldogs, who had deadlocked each other 1-1 back in December, settled for the same result on Saturday evening – a 1-1 tie.This one occurred when Marblehead’s Lexie Laing netted the tying score with only 36.1 seconds left to go in the contest at Larsen Arena.Trailing 1-0 with 2:02 left, Marblehead, which had been frustrated by a very solid performance by Lady Bulldogs goalie Katie Burt, got a break when a pair of Winthrop/English players were each assessed a penalty, giving the Headers a 5-on-3 power play advantage. Burt continued to hold Marblehead at bay, particularly on several point-blank opportunities from up close.The Headers pulled goalie Molly Depew for an extra skater with 1:15 remaining and a 6-on-3 skater advantage. Burt came up with several big stops, as Marblehead continued to attack the net. It looked as though the Lady Bulldogs would emerge unscathed, yet with five seconds left on the power play (and 36 seconds left on the clock), Laing, who was positioned less than 10 feet in front of the net, took a pass from the left side from teammate Ally Healy, and she one-timed the puck past Burt for the game-tying score.”We were able to move (Burt) laterally (on the goal), and Lexie (Laing) saw the open part of the net,” said Marblehead coach Emily Hudak, whose club goes to 3-2-4 in the league (5-4-4 overall). “We played very well, and had our chances (throughout the game), but Katie’s a great goalie, and made some great saves.”Marblehead carried the early play once the puck was dropped, but it would be Winthrop/English that took the early lead, just five minutes in. Forward Amanda Cordes picked up a loose puck in the Headers zone, and poked it past Depew for the game’s first score.”We moved Amanda to forward (from defense), and we were throwing the puck to the net for a chance,” said Winthrop/English coach Anthony Martucci. “It was good to get that first goal, especially playing at home, as it creates a hill for the other team.”Cordes had another opportunity later in the period to add to the lead, stealing a puck at mid-ice and going in for a breakaway, but was stonewalled by Depew.Marblehead’s Kelsey Maguire had several chances to tie the game in the second period, but was thwarted by Burt each time. Maguire fired a point-blank slap from 15 feet away midway in the stanza, but Burt gloved the shot. A half-minute later, Burt again halted Maguire’s slap to keep the 1-0 lead for the Lady Bulldogs.Depew also came up big to keep the margin to one goal. She robbed center MacKenzie Clark and winger Lindsey Barker on back-to-back opportunities later in the period, with the Lady Bulldogs storming the net.Burt was busiest late in the period, stopping Laing at point-blank range on a wrist shot, and then holding strong when Laing came in on a breakaway after stealing the puck at the Marblehead blue line. Burt also stuffed forward Keelin Fallon’s opportunity near the end of the period when she tried to jam the puck past the sprawling goalie.”Katie was incredible tonight,” said Martucci of his netminder. “She’s such a strong goalie, and she makes the hard saves look easy.”Both teams traded numerous scoring opportunities in the third, but Depew and Burt held strong to keep the 1-0 score intact until Laing’s game-tying goal in the last minute.