Winthrop/Lynn girls hockey rolls Tide

EVERETT – It took a while for the Winthrop girls hockey team to find its offensive touch Saturday in Everett, but once it did, it never looked back, cruising to a 6-1 victory over the host Crimson Tide at Allied Veterans Rink.”We came out and played just the way I hoped and expected we would,” said Winthrop coach Anthony Martucci. “Everett’s a tough solid team but I felt we played very well today.”The Lady Bulldogs (5-2-1, 4-0-0) dominated the territorial play and peppered Everett (2-8-0, 1-3-0) goalie Casarra Roderick early in the first without any result.Finally, with just over 2:00 to play, a Caroline McKinnon (Winthrop) shot found its way through traffic giving Winthrop the 1-0 lead. Amanda Cordes (Winthrop) was credited with an assist.Just 25 seconds after the opening goal, Mackenzie Clark (Lynn) fired a low shot on net through net-front traffic giving the visitors the 2-0 lead. Hannah LoPresti (Saugus) and Chelsey Bartlett (Lynn) assisted. The second period would prove no different for Everett as the ‘Dawgs continued their strong play.At 8:16, McKinnon tipped a Kara Donati (Saugus) pass over Roderick’s shoulder for a commanding three-goal lead. LoPresti added another tally at 4:49, banging home a loose puck in the crease. Clark and Bartlett assisted.At the other end of the ice, Winthrop goalie Brittany McPherson faced her first true test with three minutes remaining in the period. Everett’s Gab Ramunno moved in alone but McPherson shut the door.”Brittany did a good job in not losing focus while the puck was down the other end,” said Martucci. “She didn’t see a lot of action, but when she did, she played great.”The ‘Dawgs would tack on two quick goals to start the third. Lopresti from Bartlett and Clark extended the lead to five before defenseman Julianna Kennedy (Winthrop) roofed one top corner to close out the Winthrop scoring.The highlight reel goal from Kennedy was great to see for Martucci, who stresses the usage of defensemen in the offensive zone.”We try to work the puck back there; it’s something we have worked on all year,” he said. “We have some defensemen who can move the puck and take good shots.”McPherson’s shutout bid came to an end at 10:24 as Everett’s Rebecca Westgate intercepted a pass in the slot before beating McPherson with a hard wrist shot. McPherson finished with six saves.Another team asset on display was the Winthrop penalty kill, which fended off three Everett power plays, which allowed the Crimson Tide no chance to gain some confidence.”This is the second year in a row we have had a really good penalty kill,” said Martucci. “Donati and McKinnon work very well together on the kill. We practice it a lot in practice and the girls enjoy killing penalties, which is always good to see.”