Dignazio comes through in OT for PennHaven
A three-goal lead and only five minutes remaining is usually cause for excitement. In this instance though, the PennHaven girls’ ice hockey team was better described as wary.
“Although we were up, everyone was like, ‘They can still get like seven goals. We still have to push hard,’” said PennHaven senior captain Fiona Ackroyd. “We all knew we had to keep going.”
Rightfully, too, with senior Ava Rinker and high-scoring Boyertown/Owen J. Roberts on the other side of the ice.
After being held scoreless for 40-plus minutes, the Bearcats finally broke through and used a furious rally fueled by three goals from Rinker to tie the game and force overtime.
Yet PennHaven held their poise, got on top early in the extra period and gave themselves a happy ending to claim the Inter-County Scholastic Hockey League National Division championship with 4-3 overtime victory over twotime defending champion Boyertown/OJR Wednesday night at Ice Line in West Chester on a goal by eighth-grader Annie Dignazio 6:46 into the extra session.
“It was really cool,” Ackroyd said. “I was confident in my team’s ability to win, but it was a crazy comeback they had.”
No. 2 seed PennHaven, which features players from Penncrest and Strath Haven, fell to Boyertown/OJR twice in the regular season, 7-5 on Feb. 22 and 6-2 on March 21.
PennHaven goalie Fiona Walker, an eighth grader at Penncrest, was the story of much of the game, stoning shot after shot from a Bearcats team that featured the division’s top three scorers.
“Our goalie was doing an amazing job,” said Ackroyd.
Sophomore Annika Sullivan’s lofted shot was assisted by eighth grader and leading scorer Annie Dignazio (11 goals, 13 assists) and opened the scoring eight minutes into the first period. PennHaven doubled its lead on a breakaway by freshman Sophie Grant with four minutes left in the second period.
Bonnie Mundy set up Morgan Daly’s slapshot from the right side for a 3-0 lead with 6:34 to play.
But the Bearcats came to life in stunning fashion with senior Payton Hansen assisting UConn recruit Rinker off a pair of faceoffs in the PH zone for two goals in a 20-second span.
Rinker’s excellence - she has 29 goals and 20 assists on the season - was then on display with a twisting setup from the point to level the game with 40 seconds remaining in regulation.
“It was more about keeping my head up and just keep looking for the little things,” Rinker said.. By the end they might have been on their heels a bit with those faceoffs in their zone. My D partner Payton out there, she made awesome passes to me and it just allowed me to get quick shots off.”
PennHaven, led by seniors Ackroyd and defenseman Annie Atsaves, elevated its record to 10-3.
“I feel like the team really came together this year, our passing, working together more. Especially towards the end, we’re all really cheering for each other,” Ackroyd said,