Alex Graziano's three-point game Thursday lifted the Cougars over Boston Latin.
ROCKLAND – Junior forward Alexa Graziano had a strong showing in Wednesday’s 3-2 win over Westwood, scoring a goal.
Just 24 hours later, Graziano surpassed what she had done a day prior with a superior encore performance that led the Cougars to another victory.
Graziano netted two goals and collected an assist Thursday night to fuel the Notre Dame Academy hockey team to its fourth straight victory, 4-0 over Boston Latin at Rockland Ice Rink.
“Alexa’s a power forward to the nth degree,” said NDA coach Chris Marshall. “She brings it every night. She always gets a lot of chances and gives us a chance to win. We just want to get her to start shooting the puck a little bit more. As many chances that she gets, she probably should have three (goals) a night, but she played fantastic again.”
Graziano started off not by finding the back of the net, but first setting up her teammates.
After several scoring chances in the opening minutes didn’t yield a goal, Graziano made a perfect pass to classmate Kelly Morrissey, who was alone in front of the net and scored for a 1-0 lead with 10:26 left in the first period.
“We work well as a team with good passes,” Graziano said. “We just kept going with rebounds and just keep trying to crash the net.”
NDA (6-2) kept the pressure on through the remainder of the opening period, but couldn’t get any more shots past Latin goaltender Ellen Linso (18 saves).
In the second period, Graziano helped the Cougars break loose and take total command of the contest.
With 10:29 left in the second frame, Graziano won a puck in the corner before splitting two defenders and beating Linso for a 2-0 lead.
Graziano wasn’t done as just over two minutes later she forced a turnover in the defensive zone with NDA shorthanded. She corralled the puck and took off, leaving Latin defenders behind her and depositing a breakaway goal for a 3-0 lead.
Graziano elevating her offensive game is a welcomed sight for the Cougars after Katherine Pyne, who scored 40 goals as a freshman last season in NDA’s run to a second straight Division 2 state title, transferred to Noble & Greenough.
“She plays a simple, straight-ahead game,” Marshall said of Graziano. “She’s got two linemates who support the puck really well, so they get their chances. I think she realizes that she’s got to take on more of a goal-scorer’s role this year and she’s certainly stepped up so far.”
Even with the wide margin, NDA didn’t let up and received another shorthanded tally just nine seconds into the third period. This time, Caelan Stewart fought off several defenders along the boards before firing a shot into the back of the net.
“It’s unbelievable. You never expect that to happen,” Marshall said of the shorthanded goals. “With such great players out there, they’re creating offense from defense. They’re a threat whether we’re 5-on-5 or shorthanded. They’re such smart players that I think they take advantage of every opportunity that they get.”
NDA’s all-around dominance was complete with stellar defensive play in front of sophomore goalie Erin Murray, who finished with 17 saves.
The Cougars, who recorded their third shutout in four games, limited the Wolfpack (4-2-3) to just six shots through the first two periods. Hana Bevilacqua, Sarah Leonard, Meredith Stewart, Jillian Lyons and Kelsey Stewart all contributed to the defensive effort.
“I thought it was a great effort all the way around,” Marshall said. “Our ‘D’ stepped up and really didn’t let them penetrate the blue line and we kept them down to a low number of shots, which is great.”