The Bishops blanked Stoneham 3-0 on Wednesday.
RANDOLPH – The Archbishop Williams High girls hockey team dominated Stoneham in the first and third periods Wednesday night at Zapustas Arena, but had to survive a rocky middle period when the Spartans took advantage of two power plays to jump-start their offense.
The Bishops nurtured a tight 1-0 lead for most of the game and then pumped home two insurance goals in the third frame to take a 3-0 victory.
Williams (8-2, 1-1) now gears up for Saturday’s Catholic Central League showdown at St. Mary’s-Lynn (7-2, 2-1).
“Stoneham has (star forward Jenna) Bragalone, their goaltender is very good, and they were definitely a test for us, so this win is a really good one,” Williams coach Mark McHale noted.
“But we have St. Mary’s on Saturday, so we’ve got to keep pulling on the throttle and play hard every night. These girls know that, and they are working hard. We’re happy to be at 8-2, but the schedule from here on in is not easy, and nothing is guaranteed.”
The Bishops’ lineup is a mixture of players from different classes – from the five seniors led by captain and high-scorer Hannah Bell of Quincy; to a trio of freshmen; to precocious seventh-grade defenseman Melanie McClay of Plymouth, who plays a regular shift and, 10 games into her first varsity season, just keeps getting better.
Williams looked dominant at the start against Stoneham (4-4-1), but goaltender Kasey Libby kept the hosts at bay until the 13-minute mark, when defenseman Abby DaCosta (Milton) and forward Chelsea Taxter (Hyde Park) set up Mackenzie Heath (West Bridgewater) for the opening goal.
A Williams penalty late in the first period changed the momentum entirely, leading to a busy second stanza for Bishops goalie Allison Delmonte (Bridgewater). The hosts had to kill off another penalty at the 9:09 mark and wound up being outshot 11-4 for the period.
“Stoneham started to get some bodies in front of our net in that second period,” McHale said. “My goalie played awesome during that second period, and I’ll tell anyone, there’s no one else I’d rather have in my net; Allison is as good as it gets.”
Williams restored order in the third period (13-2 edge in shots) and got goals from DaCosta (92 seconds in) and Marguerite Leonard (at 13:38). Leonard connected on a sweeping backhander with the puck deflecting up in the air and over Libby’s head.
“I think one of the keys tonight, and to our success this season, has been the play of Abby DaCosta, and our defense in general,” said McHale, noting that his junior defenseman had notched a goal and assist. “Abby is just the epitome of the offensive -defenseman, and any time she gets the puck on the defensive end, she can turn it into instant offense for us. But our overall defense is doing a great job, and one of the key contributors there is Tory Bellew (of Carver).”
Williams’ top line of Bell (climbing the program’s career scoring list) flanked by Taxter and Heath has been “a dominant line against everyone we play,” McHale said.
“But tonight, I’d also say our third line really chipped in, too. Knowing Stoneham didn’t have a deep bench, our philosophy was to wear them down in that final period, so our third line got out there a lot, and they did an excellent job tonight.”