WINTHROP — Wednesday’s meeting between the Winthrop and Peabody/Lynnfield girls hockey teams didn’t go quite as smoothly as many may have expected, as the two high-powered offenses combined for just one goal and the normally disciplined squads went to the penalty box more than 10 times between the two of them.
In the end, it was Winthrop’s early goal that stood the test of time and led to a 1-0 victory over the Tanners in a battle for Northeastern Hockey League supremacy at Larsen Rink.
“What a great game between two great, well-coached hockey teams,” said Winthrop coach Anthony Martucci. “Peabody/Lynnfield came as advertised — they were fast, skilled and relentless. We were able to get that early goal and then hold on the rest of the way.”
The win put the Vikings in the driver’s seat as the chase for the NEHL title comes down to the wire; the two teams are tied at the top of the league standings and Winthrop now owns the tiebreaker.
“It’s obviously important because there are no easy games in the NEHL and every night is a true test,” said Martucci. “To pull out a win like this and put ourselves in a great position going forward is a real boost for us.”
The lone goal of the game was scored by Talia Martucci early in the first period, but the real star of the game was Vikings goalie Summer Tallent. The senior netminder not only made 35 saves and kept a high-powered Peabody/Lynnfield team off the scoreboard, but she also earned her 50th career victory.
“We’ve been blessed with great goalies ever since I’ve been here, and Summer is just the latest in that line of greatness,” said Martucci. “We always feel confident with her back there, and she proves us right every single night.”
For Peabody/Lynnfield, the story of the game will be that it couldn’t cash in on any of its eight powerplay opportunities.
“It’s definitely tough to lose 1-0 when you have that many opportunities, but at the same time I can’t be mad with the effort we put forth,” said Peabody/Lynnfield coach Michelle Roach. “Overall we probably need to put more shots on net and we definitely need to get to more rebounds, but sometimes you just have to chalk it up to not having a good night on the offensive end.”
The fireworks got going early in this one, as Martucci was able to flip a backhanded shot that found its way into the back of the net just three minutes into the game to put the Vikings ahead 1-0.
From there, things got ugly. The Vikings and Tanners took four penalties each over the course of the first period, and Peabody/Lynnfield got two separate 5-on-3 opportunities by the end of the second period. The Tanners put 21 shots on net in those two periods, but Tallent turned them all aside.
Winthrop’s penalty issues continued into the third period, and Peabody/Lynnfield tried to use that to its advantage by peppering the net with shots. But after putting 14 of them on the net in the frame, Tallent walked away unscathed and secured the win for Winthrop.
Peabody/Lynnfield (9-3-1) hosts Shawsheen Saturday (4).
Winthrop (9-0-1) travels to Newburyport Saturday afternoon (12).