PEABODY– When you step into the state tournament, you go in knowing that you’re bound to play battle-tested opponents. Thus, Saturday’s 4-3 win over Beverly at McVann/O’Keefe Rink was an important one for the Peabody/Lynnfield girls hockey team.
On the one hand, the Tanners earned a Northeastern League Hockey win and improved their chances at earning a high postseason seed with two more points. On the other hand, Peabody was tested from start to finish by a well-coached Panthers team.
“We needed to be able to challenge Beverly” Tanners coach Michelle Roach said. “We had an Okay first period. We knew we had to have an even better second period because we couldn’t sit back. If we sit back against a team like that, we’re going to regret it.
“Overall I’m happy with the way we’re playing, our response and the way we close things out. I can see where we’ve improved during the season. We’re fighting for league positioning and state tournament positioning, which are both crucial. Getting a home game is ideal for us because we play well at home. We need to continue to challenge ourselves and compete.”
Jennifer Flynn and Sammie Mirasolo guided the Tanners’ offense with two goals each. Flynn also logged two assists.
“I think Jenn’s working fantastic,” Roach said. “If I had to pick one player who has consistently stood out to me over the last couple games, it would be Jenn Flynn. She has come up in crucial situations, whether she’s back checking, penalty killing, (or) putting pucks in net.”
Reilly Ganter, Hannah Gromko, Carolyn Garofoli and Jenna DiNapoli each recorded one assist.
After seven minutes of even play, the Tanners grabbed a 1-0 lead when Flynn collected a free puck in the circle and cashed in. Beverly’s Shea Nemeskal evened the score at 1-1 with five minutes to go in the opening frame, shortly after the Panthers killed off a penalty.
Mirasolo had the last word in the first period, scoring her first goal of the game to give Peabody a 2-1 edge at the first intermission.
Beverly knotted the score at 2-2 on Emma Thibodeau’s goal just 44 seconds into the second period. Peabody recaptured the momentum on Mirasolo’s second tally two minutes later. It remained a 3-2 game for the next 10 minutes until the Tanners closed out the period with a crucial shorthanded goal from Flynn. Beverly goalie Madison Delano made the save on the initial shot but Flynn stuck with the play, cleaned up the rebound and fired it home to give Peabody a 4-2 cushion.
“That pressure on the shorthanded goal that she got, she went in, she worked hard and she pressured,” Roach said of Flynn. “She got the chance, she waited and put the puck in.
“She’s someone that we can use consistently in these high-pressure situations and she comes out on top.”
Beverly’s Amanda Forziati made things interesting by cutting the lead to 4-3 with 30 seconds remaining in the game. But it was too little, too late and the Tanners hung tight for the 4-3 win.
Up next for Peabody (11-5-1) is another league game Wednesday (6) at Winthrop. The Tanners (7-1-1 in league play) hold a slight edge over the Vikings (7-2 in league games) for the top spot in the NHL standings.
“For us, we have to play our game,” Roach said. “We can’t respond to what the other team’s doing. We have to drive that play and make sure that we’re doing what we want, how we want to do it. Wednesday will decide who takes the league so we know they’ll bring their best effort.”