For as much of a rocky ride these girls hockey state tournaments have been for higher-seeded teams, both state finals at TD Garden on Sunday come down to the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in each division.
Grab your popcorn.
It’s no surprise to many for top-seeded Notre Dame Academy of Hingham (18-4-2) to be one game away from its first state title in Div. 1, entering this year as the consensus favorite with a load of returners.
No Div. 1 team has the Cougars’ depth, anchored by a stingy defense that tied for the fourth-fewest goals allowed per game. Senior defenders Sarah Francis and Lucy DelGallo lead a formidable blue line, while Ava Larkin is as reliable as they come in net. Junior Sarah White and sophomore Devon Moore are dangerous scoring threats up front, and that’s only a couple of names from a team that will skate four lines.
Frank Pagliuca’s St. Mary’s of Lynn team waited until after 8 p.m. for its chance at the title last season. Now, the reigning runner-up No. 2 Spartans (22-3-1) get another crack at the big trophy right away at 9 a.m. – in a rubber match with the Cougars, no less.
Their first game was a 2-0 Spartans’ shutout win. St. Mary’s star defender Kasey Litwin was injured for the rest of the year late in the season, but the group still took NDA to overtime in the second game en route to a 2-1 loss. The Spartans are a slight underdog for Round 3, but this is as close of a matchup as any on the day.
Eighth-grader Vanessa Hall has stood out within an impressive blue line that’s allowed more than two goals just four times this year. Goaltending is a major strength, as senior Gianna Tringale saved the Spartans’ season against Archbishop Williams in the state semifinals and Megan Donato excelled as the starter in both prior games against NDA. Pagliuca feels both give them a great chance to win.
As a result, this game could very well finish with only one or two goals. Count St. Mary’s freshman Bella Freitas as the most dangerous threat to get on the board all day.
After the Spartans look to avenge last year’s loss at TD Garden, defending Div. 2 champion No. 1 Duxbury (23-3) goes for the repeat two hours later against No. 2 Falmouth (23-2-1).
One of the many aspects that make this matchup interesting is a battle between the Dragons’ state-leading defense (0.77 goals allowed per game) and the Clippers’ state-leading attack (4.95 goals per game).
Duxbury will have its hand full against a bevy of premier scorers. Juniors Casey Roth and Riley Devlin each had over 40 points in the regular season, complementing senior Avery Johnsen’s team-leading 21 goals. Freshman Maeve Turner is right alongside them as a threat to watch for, as Falmouth has erupted for at least four goals in all but one tournament game.
The Dragons had a target on their backs all year for a reason, though. Anna McGinty is arguably the best goalie in the state behind a strong blue line. Junior forwards Maddie Greenwood, Zoey Madigan and Megan Carney are multi-tool players that impact the game in all three zones. The same can be said about senior forward Reese Porter and sophomore Addy Harrington within a large collection of players to watch out for on the team.
Algonquin gave Duxbury a good fight in the state semifinals, though it couldn’t get enough through the Dragons defense to keep up. Marshfield successfully limited Falmouth, but couldn’t match the two goals the Clippers did get, either.
This should be an incredible set of girls hockey state championships.
Predictions
Div. 1 winner: Notre Dame (H)
Flip a coin. If NDA can control play the way Archbishop Williams did against St. Mary’s in the state semifinal, it’ll be difficult for the Spartans to pull out that kind of a win against the Cougars. Then again, those goalies are darn good, and Freitas is a game-changer.
Div. 2 winner: Duxbury
Falmouth could certainly push Duxbury to the brink behind its potent attack, but the Dragons always seem to have a response for top goal-scorers. Their depth might be too much for the Clippers to overcome.
