Shrewbury girls rally past Notre Dame Academy

FRAMINGHAM >> Down two scores after a rough opening frame, junior goalie Risa Montoya and the rest of the Shrewsbury girls hockey team knew they needed to play their best period of the season in order to get back in their Div. 1 state semifinal matchup Saturday night at Loring Arena.

They got two of those periods to spark a furious comeback instead, and now the Colonials are headed to TD Garden for the first time in program history.

With four straight goals amid a complete reversal of energy and composure, third-seeded Shrewsbury stormed back to beat No. 2 Notre Dame Academy of Hingham, 4-3, and avenge its loss in the state semifinal round last season. All four scores came from different players over the second and third periods, while Montoya (22 saves) dialed up her game several notches to hold off a vicious Cougars attack in the final frame.

That included a pair of clutch stops right in front of the net less than a minute before Rachel Bunsick buried the go-ahead goal for a 3-2 lead with 10:22 to go, as well as a couple of stops in the waning minutes while special teams killed off a penalty. Freshman Lauren Albertson netted the eventual game winner with 6:15 to play.

Shrewsbury now awaits the winner of No. 1 St. Mary’s (L) vs. No. 13 Billerica/Chelmsford in the final.

“I’m going to be replaying this game in my head for a long time,” Montoya said. “Our coaches told us that we weren’t down yet, we still had a lot of hockey left and I think that was really important going into the second period. … My D does a lot for me, they’re unreal. I love being able to have their back because a lot of the time they have mine. Those two goals that went in, I was a little frustrated. But coming into the second, I knew I couldn’t do it again.”

Shrewsbury had a tough time cleanly advancing past the neutral zone early, and then struggled to find many clear lanes for shots on net when it did. Montoya played well with 11 saves as NDA peppered her in the first period, but two got through. Caroline Hartnett finished off a rebound saved from the left circle, and Lauren White’s goal off a 2-on-1 pass from Maggie Donahue gave the Cougars all the momentum with a 2-0 lead.

But once the first period ended, so did the Colonials’ offensive struggles.

After the Shrewsbury defense blocked most shots to give Montoya a long breather, Mia Ryder took advantage of a power play to cut the deficit in half by scoring on a knocked down puck in front. Sadie Cusson’s goal on a rebound less than a minute later tied the score at 2-2 with 5:51 left in the second, pumping life into a subdued crowd to only fuel the Colonials more.

“I told the girls, ‘Settle down,’” said Shrewsbury coach Frank Panarelli. “We moved the puck well and were just fortunate to score.”

The momentum looked like it would swing back in NDA’s favor in the opening minutes of the third when it fired off a wide-open shot and rebound attempt in front, but Montoya stopped both to preserve the tie. A fortunate bounce off an initial Ava Larkin save then found its way into the net 40 seconds later for Bunsick, erupting the Shrewsbury crowd even louder. Once Albertson finished off a rebound with 6:15 to go for an insurance goal, it was the Colonials’ game to lose.

White scored her second goal of the game not too long after to challenge Shrewsbury, and a late flurry looked like it would tie the score. Montoya held strong, though, and a penalty kill within the last three minutes of action punched the Colonials’ ticket to the final.

“It was a great game, a great hockey game,” said Panarelli. “Last year was a big thing to get (here), but I (said), ‘Getting here is not enough this year, I want to go to the Garden.’ Again, no quit in this team.”