The fifth-seeded Wellesley girls’ hockey team started off its Division 2 state title defense in strong fashion on Monday night in Watertown, shutting out 12th-seeded Canton, 5-0.
The Raiders, who advance to face fourth-seeded Norwell in the quarterfinals, had five goal scorers. Freshman Lulu Rourke, junior defense Erin Fleming and junior Emily Rourke each had a goal and an assist for Wellesley (14-4-3).
The Raiders had not played in two weeks, but stayed sharp from the opening drop, with Emily Rourke and junior Bridget Noonan scoring in the opening 5:31.
“We’re balanced across the board and that’s where we’ve been the last couple of years,” said Wellesley coach PT Donato.
Advertisement
“Last year we rolled three lines and had some success. We’re trying to do that again this year. We hope we can wear down teams.”
Matignon 3, Pembroke 2 — Trailing, 2-0, heading into the third period, the Warriors needed a turning point. Alaina Aiello’s shorthanded goal early in the frame tilted the ice, sparking a comeback victory for Matignon (15-5-2) in the first round of the Division 2 tournament at Canton Ice House.
Junior Lexie Turner finished off the victory with a tally three minutes into overtime.
“We’ve been down to good teams all year,” said Matignon coach Anthony Cornacchia. “It speaks volumes to the resiliency and the comeback, all the credit goes to the kids for not giving up.”
During a partial change, Turner entered the zone, picking up a loose puck before firing from the top of the right circle to end it.
“I just beared down, took a snap shot top left corner,” said Turner. “We were saying, ‘throw pucks to the net, your chances will come,’ and I think that gave us a boost of confidence.”
Pembroke (14-6-2) started off as the aggressor, scoring twice in the opening period and carrying play over the first half of the game. Nikki Rinkus opened the scoring for the Titans four minutes into the game. Jade Sullivan scored shortly before the end of the frame to make it 2-0.
Advertisement
“I think we needed to try to establish ourselves,” said Pembroke coach Bill Flynn. “We had a couple of chances in the second to extend it and we didn’t come through and it came back to bite us.”
Matignon began producing more chances late in the second period. An early third-period penalty to Turner threatened to derail the Warriors before Aiello struck on the kill.
Senior captain Carolyn Mahoney knotted the game at 2-2 with five minutes left in the game.
Dana Smullen made 26 saves for Matignon, which will take on top seed Walpole in the D2 quarterfinals.
“I think this win will hopefully snowball into just a good game, that’s all you can ask for this time of year,” said Cornacchia. “Let’s see what we can do.”
Peabody 4, St. Mary’s 0 — Senior Jessica Robert scored two goals in the second period, and junior Sammie Mirasolo scored twice in the third to lead the 11th-seeded Tanners (16-4-2) over the sixth-seeded Spartans (17-3-2) in a Division 1 first-round game in Watertown.
Peabody stood tall against a strong St. Mary’s team, and got some key stops from senior Abby Buckley, who made 28 saves to post the shutout.
“They gave it everything they had. I told them to leave everything on the ice. St. Mary’s is a great club, and we showcased that,” said Peabody coach Michelle Roach. “I think a lot of people underestimate us, and we’re looking to send a message.”
Advertisement
Dan Shulman reported from Canton.