ITEM PHOTO BY KATIE MORRISON
Bulldogs’ Kelsie Griffiths sends a pass towards the center.
By KATIE MORRISON
WINTHROP — With 23 seconds left in the third period and the Lynn/Saugus/Winthrop co-op girls’ hockey team leading the Peabody/Lynnfield team by a goal, the Tanners pulled their goalie. Two seconds later, a Bulldogs penalty gave the Tanners a 6-on-4 power play.
“Absolutely, (I was nervous),” said Bulldogs coach Anthony Martucci. “I’m always nervous in situations like that. But anytime captain Olivia Shkliew is on the ice, she’s a very responsible defender, and having (goalie) Gretchen (Howard) in there doesn’t hurt.”
The Bulldogs (4-2) held off the Tanners (3-5) in that final 20 seconds, with Howard making two saves to lock up the 2-1 victory at Larsen Rink on Wednesday.
Early in the game, it didn’t feel as if the contest would come down to the final seconds. The Bulldogs dominated over the first two periods, outshooting Peabody/Lynnfield 11-4 in the first and recording more than 15 shots on goal in the second. But down, 2-0, after two periods, the Tanners came back and make the game competitive.
“We want to be a team that’s tough to compete with,” said Tanners’ coach Michelle Roach. “We played a great third period. We’re here to show that we can compete and we want to form our identity. We’re not going to put our heads down after two goals. We just had to settle and get back to our game.”
The Bulldogs struck first in the opening period with 1:30 remaining. McKayla Norris fired a slap shot past the net, and Shkliew picked up the puck on the wraparound and sent it past Tanners’ goalie Abigail Buckley’s glove side for the unassisted goal.
The Bulldogs started hot in the second period as well. Norris came within inches of a goal as she hit the post. Gabby Kenniston picked up the rebound and sent a slap shot in that bounced off Buckley’s pads. Norris tried to guide in the rebound, but the Tanners shut down the scoring chance and cleared out the puck.
It wasn’t until 12 minutes into the period that the Bulldogs struck again, despite a flurry of shots. Kenniston sent a pass to Kelsie Griffiths, who found Mia Price in front of the net. Price slid the puck under Buckley, who was lunging across the net, and the Bulldogs went up, 2-0.
“We came out flat, and we really relied on our goaltending and defense,” said Roach. “We had very solid goalkeeping, (Buckley) faced 33 shots, and she was strong. She kept us in the game.”
The Tanners had some momentum in the third, creating some scoring chances. Five minutes into the period, Peabody/Lynnfield’s Caroline Buckley found Elise Murphy in the front of the net, and Murphy buried the puck past Howard. But despite some strong chances at the end of the period, that was all the Tanners could get, and the Bulldogs hung on.
“I felt like we dictated the game, and heavily outshot them,” said Martucci. “We had trouble scoring, and that’s been a problem for us all season. It’s something we’re working on.”
