PEABODY — Despite giving up the first goal of the game, the Winthrop girls hockey team battled back to score three unanswered goals in a 3-1 win over Peabody/Lynnfield on the road at McVann-O’Keefe Memorial Rink Saturday afternoon.
“It was a great high school hockey game with a lot of action between two good teams,” said Winthrop coach Anthony Martucci. “I was impressed with the way we battled back after falling behind early and I was really happy with our performance as a team.”
Sophomore Emma Holmes paced the offensive attack for Winthrop with two goals, while eighth grader Amelia Spencer — the only player on the Vikings who hails from Lynn — scored one goal. Junior Mia Martucci notched two assists in the win, while sophomore Julia Holmes had one assist. Freshman goalie Summer Tallent made 20 saves to earn the win between the pipes.
Senior Paige Thibedeau scored the lone goal for Peabody/Lynnfield, while sophomore Jenna DiNapoli notched one assist. Freshman Catie Kampersal played well on defense, while junior goalie Audrey Buckley played well in net.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game, and Winthrop was able to capitalize every time we made a mistake out there,” said Peabody/Lynnfield coach Michelle Roach. “Even though it’s always tough to take a loss, I was pleased with our effort overall.”
Peabody/Lynnfield was able to jump out to a 1-0 lead in the first period, getting a goal from Thibedeau with just over six minutes to play in the frame.
But in the second period, everything shifted. Winthrop came out hot and pushed the pace for much of the period, getting a number of scoring opportunities. The Vikings finally cashed in with just under 12 minutes to play, when Emma Holmes found the back of the net for the first time to tie it at 1-1. Three minutes later, Spencer took a pass from the right side and buried it in the back of the net to put Winthrop ahead. Eleven seconds after that, Emma Holmes scored again to make it 3-1 Winthrop.
“I think we were really able to take advantage of our opportunities when they came up,” Martucci said. “We had that three-minute stretch where things kind of fell apart for Peabody, and we were able to score three times in that span.”
The Tanners were never quite able to respond from that point on, despite pushing until the end of the game for scoring opportunities. Behind a strong performance in the net from Tallent, Winthrop was able to skate away with the victory.
Peabody/Lynnfield (2-1) travels to Gloucester for a late game Wednesday night (8).
“We know we have plenty of things to work on, and we know that Gloucester is going to be another tough test for us,” said Roach. “We’re going to get back out on the ice for practice and prepare as much as we can to be ready to go on Wednesday.”
Winthrop (2-0) hosts Newburyport Wednesday evening (6:10) at Larsen Arena.
“We know it’s going to be another tough game Wednesday, and we’re going to have to be ready to go once again,” said Martucci. “At this point, we’re just taking things one day at a time and we’re happy to be playing every day we get out there.”
