Nobles gets it done this time
Eliminated by Williston Northampton in each of the last two postseasons, the Noble & Greenough girls’ hockey team wasn’t about to allow the Wildcats to skate away with a third straight title.
Not on its own sheet of ice. Not with an unblemished record on the line.
Galvanized by an announcement earlier in the week that legendary coach Tom Resor wouldn’t be retiring after more than 800 wins and 38 seasons, Nobles put the finishing touches on an unbeaten season with a 3-1 win in Dedham at Omni Rink in the Chuck Vernon Division final.
It was the school’s 11th NEPSAC championship, and first since 2020.
Anya Zupkofska, a Braintree resident who will play at Brown, was named tournament MVP for Nobles (27-0-4) after keeping Williston Northampton (21-4-2) off the scoreboard until the third period.
“It felt great to win at home,” said Zupkofska, who made 30 saves.
Nobles scored its three goals in various ways: a power-play goal from eighth-grader Catherine McCool (Foxborough) in the first, a shorthanded strike from Connecticut College commit Sophia Levering (Westwood) late in the second, and a five-on-five tally from Boston College commit Olivia Maffeo (Canton) in the third.
“I’m looking forward to coming back; it’s such a fun group,” Resor said. “This group was just so determined.”
Riley Stocker had the lone goal for the Wildcats at 10:43 of the third period.
Division Dorothy Howard (Small)
New Hampton 2, Groton 1 — Caroline Thomas wrapped around the winning goal at 14:19 of the third period as the Huskies (17-6-6) secured their second straight Dorothy Howard division title at the expense of the Zebras (17-6-2) at Nobles. Reese Luber (Norwood) scored a power-play goal for New Hampton to open the scoring at 14:19 of the second period before Tina Scalese (West Boylston) tied it 1:59 into the third. New Hampshire commit Julia Loughlin (Scituate) assisted on both goals for the Huskies.
Division Patsy Odden (Large)
BB&N 1, Dexter Southfield 0 —
The fourth-seeded Knights shut out the No. 3 Shields at Omni Rink to claim their second crown in three seasons, after also blanking Dexter Southield in their season opener Dec. 1. Senior Alexsa Caron, a Dracut resident committed to Stonehill, was named the tournament’s MVP after posting a 33-save shutout. Savana Littlewood (Braintree) scored the lone goal, just 4:15 into the first period.
MIAA Division 1 State
Peabody 2, Pope Francis 1 —
Shirley Whitmore scored the winner with 6:10 to go, digging the puck out from a scrum in front of the net to send the ninth-seeded Tanners (18-4) into the quarterfinals. Eleni Spack opened the scoring for Peabody at Smead Arena in Springfield.
MIAA Division 2 State
Canton 2, Westwood 0 — Sophomore Izzy Cusack scored in the first period and added an emptynetter in the third for the No. 7 Bulldogs (19-4-1) in a secondround win against No. 10 Westwood (14-6) at Zapustas Rink in Randolph.
Marshfield 4, Leominster 1 —
Sophomore Sarah McIntyre netted two second-period goals for
the No. 11 Rams (14-8) in the second-round win over No. 27 Leominster (12-9) at The Bog in Kingston. Junior Kayla Leonard and freshman Julia Lemire added goals. Nauset/Monomoy 4, Sandwich
0— Sophomore Julia Kipperman and senior captain Sienna Reeves scored in the first period for No. 4 Nauset/Monomoy (192-1), which got a shorthanded goal from junior forward Sophia Boucher and an empty-netter from sophomore Gaby Bassett in the second-round win over No. 13 Sandwich (11-11-2) at Charles Moore Arena in Orleans. Senior Olivia Avellar (34 saves) made 15 stops in the final period to secure the shutout. Nauset/ Monomoy (19-2-1) clinched its first quarterfinals berth.