PEABODY — The art of starting fast – some teams have it, some don’t.
Gloucester’s girls hockey team entered Friday with a 4-0 record and momentum on its side against Peabody-Lynnfield-North Reading, which suffered its first loss of the season Wednesday against Malden Catholic.
But the momentum tables turned in this one, and PLNR showed it was bigger, faster, stronger, and a more cohesive unit in a 4-0 victory.
“We came out of Malden Catholic… we played a great game,” said PLNR coach Michelle Roach, whose team failed to score during Wednesday’s 1-0 loss. “Our focal point today was getting shots to the net and getting to those rebounds. I think we accomplished that.”
That they did. On a partial two-on-one just three minutes in, Catie Kampersal tucked a one-timer from Alexa Pepper (1-0).
“She (Kampersal) is absolutely a tone-setter,” Roach said. “They try to shut her down… but she’s done a great job of breaking through and making sure she’s setting the tone for us.”
A postgame Roach harkened back to “sense of urgency” multiple times. Seemingly uncomfortable with a 1-0 lead, the hosts cashed in again at the 5:32 mark.
As Bruins’ broadcaster Jack Edwards would say, Shirley Whitmore took a tour of the attacking zone before finding Mia Lava for a tap-in goal (2-0).
“Just beautiful. That was beautifully executed,” Roach said. “I can’t wait to watch it on video…. Today, we knew what we were doing and we knew where we were cutting.”
Add a second-period goal from Lava, and PLNR held a 3-0 insurance lead heading into the final period.
“I think these were the best three periods we’ve played in our last four games,” said Roach, whose side sported 41 shots. “They’re settling into their lines.”
But Gloucester was undefeated for a reason, showing it in the third period with its best stretch of play.
“I think they played well, especially in the third period,” Roach said. “We knew they were going to keep pushing us.”
Not on Alyse Mutti’s watch. The home-team goalie saved a two-on-one and breakaway in succession to keep the Fishermen scoreless. Another key stop from the tender came in the first period on a quick redirection.
“She works so hard,” Roach said. “In the offseason, she was working all the time.”
Back to that sense of urgency. PLNR put a lid on any comeback attempt when Leah Buckley potted a rebound against a down-and-out goalie – her first career goal.
“She’s the best,” Roach said of Buckley. “We’re getting bodies to the goal and getting bodies to those rebounds.”
Time expired on Gloucester. PLNR’s forechecking – something that was practiced all week, according to Roach – and speed were too much for the opposition.
“I thought this was a good league win for us,” Roach said. “They came out hard, but I think we controlled a lot of the possession and had a lot of time in their zone.”
When asked what she hopes to accomplish after the holidays, Roach pointed to the name of the game.
“We want to work on the scoring – we’ve got to get those numbers up,” she said. “Not only having possession, but having purpose with that possession.”
That mission begins Wednesday when PLNR welcomes Winthrop at 5:15 p.m.
