PHOTO BY BOB ROCHE
Bulldogs’ McKayla Morris carries the puck away from the boards.
By GORDON VINCENT
WINTHROP — After nine minutes of its game with Marblehead, it looked like the Lynn/Winthrop girls’ hockey team was headed for an easy win. The Magicians didn’t let that happen, though.
The Bulldogs (7-4-1) scored all three of their goals in a span of 2:52 in the first period and then held on for a 3-2 win over Marblehead in a well-played, exciting game, Saturday night at Larsen Rink.
Mia Price, Kelsie Griffiths and Olivia Shkliew scored for the Bulldogs. Katelyn Clarke pulled one back for the Magicians (4-6-3) in the first period, while Sydney Vautour scored in the second period for Marblehead.
“We’ve struggled all year to put together three solid periods,” Bulldogs coach Anthony Martucci said. “Tonight, we played well in the first period, but then I think the girls hung back a little bit because they thought they had the game won.
“You always know Marblehead is going to come back at you because they have good players and they’re well-coached,” Martucci added.
Price gave the Bulldogs a lead at 5:52 when she slipped a backhander from the slot under Marblehead goalie Sarah Ryan. Less than two minutes later, with the Bulldogs on a power play, Shkliew tipped in a shot from the left point by Bella Perotti that snuck through Ryan’s pads to double the lead.
Less than a minute after the second goal, Griffiths picked up a pass at center ice and scored on a partial breakaway, with her shot beating Ryan high on her stick side.
The Magicians answered in the final minute of the first period. On a 2-on-2 break, Bella Peters made a nifty drop pass to Clarke, whose wrist shot through a screen beat Bulldogs’ goalie Gretchen Howard.
The goal seemed to give the Magicians some momentum in the second period, as Marblehead out-shot the Bulldogs, 10-2. Howard turned everything aside, though, until the Magicians had a 5-on-3 power play in the final minute of the period. Brynne O’Connor fired a shot from the point that was tipped on the way though by Vautour.
The third period was evenly-played, with few scoring chances for either team. The Magicians’ best opportunity came in the first minute of the period, on a 5-on-4 power play that carried over from the second period. Peters had a backhander from the slot, but the puck was blocked at the defense and never made it through to Howard.
Marblehead pulled Ryan with 70 seconds left, but couldn’t get a shot on net with an extra skater on the ice.