PEABODY — The Peabody/Lynnfield girls hockey team ended its regular season on a high note Wednesday, notching a 1-0 win over Haverhill in a non-league game at McVann-O’Keefe Memorial Rink.
The lone goal in the win came from Penelope Spack, with the assist coming courtesy of Jenna DiNapoli. The biggest factor that gave the Tanners the win over the Hillies, though, was none other than Peabody goalie Alyse Mutti and her stellar performance.
Throughout the game, both teams went back and forth with possession of the puck, but neither team wanted to give the other to open the game up. It wasn’t until an early tripping penalty by the Hillies’ Gabby Harty that the Tanners were able to sail the power-play goal past Haverhill goalie Julianna Taylor and gain the lead.
After the first period, both teams were pretty evenly matched throughout the remainder of the game. The biggest factor, though, was Mutti. She stopped every shot that came her way.
The moment never seemed too big for Mutti either. In the final period, the Hillies offense came alive and managed to control the puck. But no matter what they threw at her, she wasn’t letting the puck into the net.
Mutti said that there was no point in stressing about the end of the game. Just continuing to make the next save was the only thing on her mind.
“I just told myself to rise to the moment, not to set too high of expectations,” Mutti said about her performance.
The team put together a phenomenal season, and head coach Michelle Roach was at the forefront. While the team is excited for the upcoming tournament, they’re just ready to get back to the drawing board. The Tanners know that the competition they’re going to face is going to be tough.
“I think that the biggest theme we tried to work on, when something happens like we give up a goal or we lose a game, how do we respond and how do we recover,” said Roach. “We lost to Fenwick on Monday, and that one really stung. But we were able to focus and get together and realize how important this game was.”
Peabody/Lynnfield closes the regular season at 15-4-1 and awaits its seeding in the upcoming state tournament.
