PEABODY — It’s not often a coach is lucky enough to have both youth and experience, but that’s exactly what Peabody/Lynnfield/North Reading girls hockey coach Michelle Roach has been blessed with this year.
“I’m looking forward to a great year again and all of my returning players are in key roles and positions,” said Roach, now in her ninth year as head coach. “The big thing is for them to get comfortable with different roles in some instances and get started to increase our production. It’s great that we have a lot of kids in the system in key roles.”
Last year’s team finished 16-4 in the regular season, earning the No. 8 seed in the MIAA Girls Division 1 tournament. PLNR defeated No. 25 Shawsheen Valley 4-1 in the Round of 32, then shut out No. 9 Methuen 3-0 in the Round of 16. PLNR’s season came to an end in the Elite 8 with a 2-0 loss to No. 1 St. Mary’s. The Spartans went on to lose 4-1 in the championship game to No. 3 Shrewsbury.
This year, however, while the team lost just six seniors to graduation, three of them were key offensive contributors at the top of the stats chart. Assistant captain Penny Spack of Peabody, a forward, scored a team-high 14 goals and notched 10 assists while captain Hannah Gromko of Lynnfield scored 10 goals and had 10 assists. Captain Jenna DiNapoli (North Reading) added eight goals and 12 assists. Head coach Michelle Roach said the team also lost two players who transferred to private schools.
“The silver lining is at least they didn’t go to St. Mary’s or Fenwick,” said Roach, a St. Mary’s alum.
The good news is PLNR is young, with several returning players who logged lots of varsity minutes last year. The team is also in great shape between the pipes with junior goalie Alyse Mutti, who posted a 1.09 goals against average last season.
“She was absolutely fantastic last year and is one of the strongest goalies we have ever had in the program,” Roach said. “I think she had six, maybe seven shutouts, which was a lot, and she now is only a junior.”
Roach said she’ll be running just three lines this season and that all nine forwards are returners. Roach said having the luxury of so many experienced players will allow her to focus on “upper-class development.”
Junior Ava Buckley (Peabody), a Northeastern Hockey League All-Star last year, junior Erin Dee, and sophomore Abby McInerney will man the first line, while junior Alexa Pepper, senior Catie Kampersal (Lynnfield), also an NHL All-Star, and senior Yasmine Giacalone will man the second. Junior Mia Lava, junior Vanessa Steinmeyer, and junior Shirley Whitmore will man the third line.
Defensively, the Tanners are also looking strong with four of five rotation players returning. Back for another season are junior Daniella White, sophomore Elini Spack, sophomore Mikaela O’Driscoll, and junior Leah Buckley (Peabody). Lynnfield freshman Maura Flaws will also see minutes behind the blue line.
PLNR opens its season Saturday against Beverly at Endicott College. The puck drops at 7 p.m.
“Beverly is going to be a battle, so we are really getting ready for that with some kids in new positions that they need to adjust to,” Roach said. “Our team is gritty with a lot of hard-working forwards who backcheck and just don’t stop moving. The kids know they have to have each other’s backs.”
