PEABODY — Saturday was quite a day for the Peabody/Lynnfield/North Reading girls hockey team.
The team picked up its first home win of the season in a defensive gem, defeating Northeastern Hockey League rival Marblehead 2-0 at McVann-O’Keefe Skating Rink.
Senior captain Julia Guzzo scored the game-winning goal midway through the second period, the first of her varsity career.
And goaltender Sophia Downing, a 7th grader at the Higgins Middle School, posted her first varsity shutout, stopping 17 Headers’ shots.
“It was a great effort by the girls,” said PLNR coach Guy Angiuoni. “We had probably our two best practices of the year this week, so we were ready to come in against Marblehead. We knew the Marblehead team was going to be tough, even though they were 2-4-1, but they played all their competition tough. The girls knew we needed to come out and play and we did for three periods.”
Trailing 1-0 in the third period, Marblehead ramped up its attack, putting sustained pressure on PLNR’s defense and generating several promising scoring opportunities.
But the Headers shot themselves in the foot with two penalties for interference just 20 seconds apart with less than five minutes to go, giving PLNR a two-man up advantage for 1:40. PLNR junior defenseman Sydney Zizza needed just 29 seconds to cash in with an insurance goal to put Marblehead in a 2-0 hole with four minutes to go. Senior captain and defenseman Eleni Spack, who also assisted Guzzo’s goal along with Zizza, picked up the lone assist.
“Their defense is a strong point for them,” said Marblehead coach Jon Strzempek. “Their No. 25 (Spack) has a rocket of a shot. I think for us, a lot of our miscues today were about not being in the right spots. We didn’t do ourselves any favors. We certainly earned ourselves several penalties in areas when we absolutely needed to stay out of the box. It’s hard to generate any offense when you’re down a man or two.”
Despite the loss, Strzempek saw several positive takeaways. He cited the strong play of his defensive unit, starting with senior captain Paige Waldman, junior assistant captain Emilia Russo, senior Ava Baughn, and sophomores Grace Robinson and Vera Conley.
“Paige Waldman is always going to be an anchor for us. Emelia and Ava played consistently for us. All of our defensive corps, I think that, overall, they all played well tonight,” Strzempek said. “It was just a matter of one: not being able to play enough five-on-five time, and two: when we did have offensive chances, we didn’t seem to be able to find that sustained pressure that helps lighten the load on what we’re doing here.
“That being said, our penalty kill and our goaltender (Nola Ferraresso, 32 saves) kept us in it with that many penalties and opportunities for them. Our defensive corps is wonderful for us to be able to lean on … but we can’t lean on them as much as we did today. We’re not going to be able to find success like that long-term.”
Angiuoni and Spack highlighted the play of Downing.
“That was a well-earned shutout,” Angiuoni said. “There were about six or seven quality (Marblehead) shots on net, especially in the third period, and that game could easily have gone the other way.”
“She’s amazing,” Spack said. “She’s meant so much this year. She played an amazing game against Methuen and she brought the same energy to this game. I’m proud of how she’s stepped up for us.”
Angiuoni had shoutouts for several other players.
“Senior captain Mikaela O’Driscoll was sick all week, but played and had a great game,” Angiuoni said. “Grace Allen always hustles out there. Sydney and Eleni hit the scoresheet and Julia, senior captain Ella Donovan and freshman center Audrey Curley on the purple line played very, very well. I’m proud of Julia for getting her first goal. We rolled all four lines tonight. Every girl got ice time and contributed.”
Marblehead, which includes players from Swampscott, Salem, and Hamilton-Wenham, is back in action Wednesday at Gloucester. Strzempek said the Headers need to step it up.
“There are certainly things we need to adjust going into our next games,” he said. “We’ve got Gloucester and Masco up the road and they’re going to be tough games.”
PLNR’s next game is Wednesday at Winthrop. Angiuoni said the team needs to put the Marblehead win in the rearview mirror.
“Now, we can put that behind us because we have a very tough week with a game at Winthrop,” he said. “It’s always big and it’s always physical. We always want to win the penalty battle, which we’ve done in almost every game. The key we impress on the girls is no retaliation. Put the team in front of self. Never retaliate, as they did tonight.”
