Girls Hockey: Masco hands Bulldawgs their first loss

It was the kind of game that Lynn/Winthrop girls? hockey coach Anthony Martucci had hoped his team was past this season. On Saturday night at the Valley Forum in Haverhill, the Bulldawgs suffered their first loss of the season as Masconomet scored twice late in the third to grab a 2-0 victory.
?Maybe the girls were looking ahead a little bit to the big week we have coming up. I don?t know,” Martucci said. “But we just couldn?t get anything going offensively.”
The Bulldawgs (9-1-0) spent most of the opening two periods killing off penalties, including three 5-on-3 disadvantages. Goaltender Gretchen Howard was outstanding as she kept the game scoreless until there were just over five minutes left.
That?s when a Masco player partially fanned on a shot but the puck somehow trickled across the goal line for a 1-0 lead. The Bulldawgs pushed for the equalizer but it backfired as Masco broke out on a 2-on-1 on which Howard made the initial stop before the Chieftains scored on the rebound.
?Gretchen gave us a chance to win as bad as we were playing,” Martucci said.
Martucci also lauded the play of Caroline McKinnon in all three zones.
Austin Prep 3, St. Mary’s 1
The Spartans (2-8) generated plenty of good chances but just couldn?t finish in front of the goal.
?The effort was there. We just didn?t capitalize,” St. Mary?s coach Frank Pagliuca said.
Austin led, 1-0, after the first period before extending the lead to 3-0 with third-period goals by Kylie Currier and Caroline Benson. Vanessa VanBuskirk netted a power-play goal for S. Mary?s with 26 seconds left to break the shutout.
Brittany McPherson made 21 stops in goal for the Spartans.
Bishop Fenwick 5, Oakmont 1
The Crusaders (5-5-1) put a halt to a four-game losing skid in style as they ripped off the game’s final four goals to break a 1-1 tie. Defenseman Lauren Coccoluto led the way with two goals and an assist.
Amanda Blanchette added a goal and two assists while Aly Giguere had two assists. Maddie Williams also scored a goal for Fenwick.
?It was nice to get back on the winning track,” Fenwick coach Doug Anderson said. “We are going on the right track and it’s nice to see the kids compete and have a chance to win.”
Wilmington 5, Marblehead 2
Marblehead (5-5) outshot Wilmington, 38-26, but wasn?t able to cash in on some golden scoring opportunities. The Magicians had no answer for Wildcats forward Olivia Wingate, who was a part of every Wilmington goal thanks to a hat trick and two assists.
Marblehead trailed, 1-0, after one when Danielle Silva scored with one second left. Brooke Keough tied the game early in the second, assisted by Sydney Cresta. Silva scored again 40 seconds later before Hadley Woodfin’s unassisted goal tied the game, 2-2.Wingate took over from there, scoring twice late in the second period and again with 1:02 left in the third to put the game away.