Big shots score W’s
Woburn, Wellesley move on to Garden
GIRLS HOCKEY
Woburn will be back to defend its state title at the Garden on Sunday.
The second-seeded Tanners were right at home at O’Brien Rink and scored a goal each in the second and third periods to knock off No. 3 Austin Prep, 2-1, in the Division 1 semifinals.
“It’s not easy to win,” Woburn coach Bob MacCurtain said. “If it was, then everybody would do it. We knew we would have to play our best, and our kids just battled.”
Georgie Santullo scored the game-winning goal on a 5-on-3 power play. The captain finished from the crease off a pass from fellow senior Kaitlyn Delaney with less than five minutes remaining in regulation. Both players drew penalties to create the two-man advantage.
“(Santullo) wants the puck on her stick in those moments,” MacCurtain said. “When it’s down there and she’s jabbing, there is a good chance it is going to go in.”
Santullo assisted on the first tally for Woburn (230-2), setting up Marissa Gregory for the tying goal just 13 seconds into the second.
Sophomore Amanda Essigmann made eight of her 23 saves in the third for the Tanners.
Austin Prep (21-1-2) had all the momentum in the early going and broke through at 5:54 of the first period. Eighth-grader Maeve Carey wristed home a shot right inside the blue line off a crossice pass from sophomore Francesca Frelick.
Junior Hannah Aveni made 15 saves for the Cougars.
Methuen/Tewksbury Masconomet 2 — In their first visit to the Div. 1 playoffs, the fourth-seeded Red Rangers (22-1-2) earned a berth in the state 4, final by doubling up the No. 9 Chieftains (18-4-2) at O’Brien Rink.
“We knew we were getting opportunities in the first, but we weren’t burying them,” M/T coach Sarah Oteri said. “So, in the second and third, we really had to bear down to get them in (the back of the net).”
Senior captain Kelly Golini (two goal, assist) put her team in front 3-2 with a breakaway goal 4:23 into the third.
Junior Casssidy Gruning added an empty-netter to put this one away with 32 seconds on the clock.
In the second period, the Red Rangers tallied twice to take a 2-1 advantage. The first goal came off the stick of senior captain Golini and made it 1-1 with 3:19 gone in the period, and less than three minutes later, freshman Kaylen Taddia potted a power-play goal off passes from Golini and sophomore Brenna Greene (two assists).
Freshman Erin Irons scored both goals for Masconomet.
Division 2
Wellesley 5, Algonquin 0 — The top-seeded Raiders (18-2-3) earned a Garden bid for Sunday by cruising past the No. 13 Tomahawks (14-10) at Warrior Ice Arena.
“It’s been pretty special” Raiders coach P.T. Donato said of his team’s postseason run. “We have a good balance of underclassmen and seniors, and they’ve really committed to team hockey.”
Right from the get-go, Wellesley was sending shots early and often at Algonquin goalie Angela Ferro. The Raiders dominated possession and ended the period with a 1-0 lead courtesy of Isabelle Kressy, who managed to beat Ferro on a wraparound attempt.
Little changed for Algonquin in the second. Wellesley held the puck in the offensive zone for the majority of the period and added to the lead on Erin Fleming’s wrister from the top of the zone through traffic.
Goals from Bridget Noonan and Mackenzie O’Neil in the opening 24 seconds of the third, followed by Kressy’s second strike later in the period, sealed the finals berth for the Raiders.
Canton 1, Archbishop Williams 0 — In the second semifinal at Warrior Ice Arena, the secondseeded Bulldogs (18-3-3) defeated the No. 3 Bishops (16-5-2), with Maggie Malloy tallying the lone goal in the second period and Colleen Kelleher posting the shutout.
“She deserves everything she gets because she’s the hardest-working person on our team,” Canton coach Dennis Aldrich said of Malloy, who scored twice in the quarterfinal round, before adding with a smile, “We’re little bit afraid of her. She’s a little crazy.”
With 8:24 left in the second, Malloy blew through the Archies defense and beat goalie Allison Delmonte on a top-shelf effort. Canton continued its assault throughout the second period, launching 12 shots, but the Bulldogscould not beat Delmonte again.
Despite facing two Bishops power plays in the third, the Bulldogs managed to hang on to their lead and book a return trip to the Garden, hoping to avenge last year’s loss to Notre Dame (Hingham).
“Last year we snuck up on a lot of people,” Aldrich said, “but to do it this year with a target on our back . . . this is a bigger accomplishment.”