PEABODY — The first five minutes of Wednesday night’s Division 1 Round of 32 game between the No. 15 Peabody/Lynnfield and No. 18 Whitman-Hanson girls hockey teams looked like it would be any other classic tournament bout. But after the Tanners went on a run of four goals in the final eight minutes of the period, Peabody/Lynnfield was able to run away with a 9-2 victory at McVann-O’Keefe Memorial Rink.
“I think the girls came out motivated to prove that they really belong in the conversation when it comes to a State title run,” said Peabody/Lynnfield coach Michelle Roach. “It’s always great when we score early and we’re able to ride that momentum, and I think we did a similar thing (Wednesday).
Sarah Powers led the offensive attack for the Tanners with two goals and two assists, while Shirley Whitmore and Hannah Gromko each scored two goals. Catie Kampersal added one goal and two assists, while Penny Spack had one goal and one assist and Lauryn Millar scored one goal. Jenna DiNapoli and Catherine Sweeney each had two assists, while Ava Buckley, Abi Travers and Chloe Gromko each had one assist. Goalies Alyse Mutti (nine saves) and Audrey Buckley (seven saves) combined to earn the win in net.
As has been the case for much of the season, the Tanners jumped out to an early lead after scoring within the first two minutes of play thanks to a goal from Kampersal. Whitman-Hanson quickly answered back when Shea Kelleher found the back of the net to tie the score two minutes later, but that was as close as things would get.
Peabody/Lynnfield went on to score the next seven goals in a row, with four of them coming over the final eight minutes of the first period to stretch the lead to 5-1. Powers scored two goals and Whitmore and Spack each scored a goal over that stretch.
Gromko went on to score two goals in the second period, sandwiched around Whitmore’s tally to push the lead all the way to 8-1 heading into the final frame.
The third period saw Whitman-Hanson stop the unanswered goal streak with Kelleher’s second of the game; then Millar capped off the scoring for the Tanners when she scored in the final seconds of the game.
Another key to Wednesday’s victory for the Tanners was them staying out of the penalty box — something they’ve had trouble with at times during the regular season.
“It was a clean game for the most part, and we really like when the refs let us play good competitive hockey with a bit of physicality,” said Roach. “We’re going to have to stay out of the penalty box, because good teams will be able to capitalize when they have the advantage like that.”
Peabody/Lynnfield (16-4-1) moves on to the Round of 16, where it will face the winner of No. 2 Arlington and No. 31 Marblehead at a date and time to be determined.
“It’ll be a tough test either way because both are very good teams,” said Roach. “We’re going to hit the ice for practice over the next couple of days, and then we’re going to watch the game Friday, so we’re just trying to be as prepared as we can for whoever we’re going to face.”
