The Crimson Tide is at its best when everybody touches puck, but the biggest touch of the game came from goaltender Abby Corbett, who turned away a potential game-tying penalty shot with 1:58 remaining in the third period.
The Tide will need all hands on deck with three games in three consecutive nights, but the Concord girls’ hockey team (9-0-0) passed its first test of the week, and toughest of the season so far, defeating third-place Berlin-Gorham, 2-1, in Monday’s home game at Everett Arena.
“We knew coming into this week having three games and three days we needed to have a good start to have a little confidence throughout it and I thought this was the perfect way to start,” Concord head coach Patrick McDonough said. “It’s tough we couldn’t get one in the third to make it a little easier on ourselves, but the drama is always fun to get through, especially when we’re coming out on the better side of it.”
The victory, against the toughest opponent the Tide has faced this year, keeps Concord in a tie for first place in the Division I with Oyster River-Portsmouth. Concord plays on the road at St. Thomas-Winnacunnet (3-4) on Tuesday and hosts fifth-place Exeter (5-3-1) on Wednesday.
Berlin-Gorham dropped to 8-2-1.
Thanks to the puck movement of sophomore defenseman Maria Armaganian and senior defenseman and captain Emily Forward, the Tide was able to keep the puck in the Mountaineers’ end for longer shifts and outshot Berlin-Gorham, 9-5, in the first period.
Despite the strong puck movement out of the back, it wasn’t until 5:29 remained in the first when junior winger Ella Doherty won the puck in the corner and fired it towards the crease, where junior Nicole Jones was there to tip it past Berlin-Gorham goalie Lauren Frenette (20 saves).
“(Ella) is the one who did all of the work in the corner, I just tipped it in,” Jones said of her goal. “It’s all a team thing.”
That team-first mentality and puck movement allowed Concord to build momentum in the second period, and was aided by a Mountaineers’ hooking penalty with 8:25 remaining. Although the Tide didn’t convert during the two-minute advantage, Armaganian picked up the puck alone in the high slot and fired home a wrist shot with 6:04 left, shortly after the power play expired, to give Concord a 2-0 lead.
“I thought we built momentum (on the power play), but we always like to capitalize on those chances,” McDonough said. “To finally get one after time had already expired felt like it was a continuation of (the power play) because it was the momentum that we built up.”
Armaganian was previously called for a tripping penalty with less than a minute to go in the second and put Concord down a skater for the first 1:18 of the third, but the Tide didn’t allow a single Berlin-Gorham shot to reach Corbett on the penalty kill and played strong defense for most of the third.
“It started on the penalty kill to start that third period,” McDonough said. “I thought we did a great job getting those loose pucks and sending them down the ice when we could and from there its just a matter of going back to what we know makes us successful: covering the sticks in front, making sure that we’re rushing those point shots if they’re there and then getting the rebounds and trying to get up ice as quickly as possible.”
The Mountaineers kept up the offensive pressure for the duration of the third period – the only period where Berlin-Gorham outshot the Tide (Concord outshot the Mountainers, 22-18, in total). Berlin-Gorham hit the upper post with 12:05 remaining and Mickailey Walsh fanned on an open shot off a feed from Jill Hallee on an odd-man rush with 10 minutes to go, but a Hallee pass found Haley Hamilton in the slot with 8:34 to go. Hamilton rifled home a wrist shot to cut Concord’s lead to 2-1.
Berlin-Gorham nearly tied the game with just over two minutes left when Walsh sent a shot off a breakaway just high and wide, setting up a battle for the puck behind the net. The puck eventually made it to the crease following a scrap, and following a short battle for the puck in the crease, the referee ruled that a Tide skater had covered the puck with her hand in the crease, setting up a penalty shot with 1:58 remaining.
Corbett (17 saves) covered the net well, giving Berlin-Gorham’s Becca Pouilot a small target, and the slightest of touches redirected Pouilot’s shot wide. The junior netminder also made an outstanding glove safe with 1:05 left.
“When we didn’t (have the 2-0 lead) we got a little frantic, but we brought it right back and calmed back down and got our heads in it,” Jones said. “We focused on moving the puck around the zone and not getting frantic. Frantic is not the way we like to play.”
The Mountaineers pulled Frenette with 51 seconds left, but the Tide defense didn’t let Berlin-Gorham get the puck anywhere near the net in the final minute.
“It was a good test for us,” said McDonough, referring to the third period offensive surge by the Mountaineers. “We prefer not to play to in our own end, but we’ve got Abby Corbett back there.”
Freshman forward-turned-defenseman Amy Cohen was also a key player for the Tide, rotating in with the defensive pairing of Forward and Armaganian, giving them some important recovery time off the ice.
“We asked her to jump back there and she’s done a great job so far. We’ve got the utmost trust in her back there,” McDonough said. “Recovery is the big thing. It’s just making sure that we’re ready for tomorrow. Today was an emotional win for us, tomorrow is a tough battle, Wednesday is going to be a tough game for us. It would be nice to sit back and enjoy this one today, but we know if we put in the right recovery now then we can really enjoy all three of them.”
Despite strong games from the likes of Corbett, Jones, Armaganian, Forward, Doherty and Cohen, there are plenty of other players on the Tide who did not find the scoresheet in Monday’s contest who have contributed offensively in earlier games in the Tide’s run. Assistant captains Joanna Dustin and Chantelle Levasseur, Erin Doherty, Kaitlyn McKinnon and Jaelyn Kelleher are all dependable forwards who could also be major contributors later in this three-game stretch.
“Making sure everyone gets to touch the puck, I think that’s a really big reason why we keep winning,” Armaganian said. “Spreading the ice, making sure the puck gets up there to the net is super important. It’s a big reason why we have been so successful this year. We’re using out teammates and using what we’ve got.”
“It’s a great group of kids,” McDonough said. “They’re all hockey players. We don’t have any cliques. We’re one team with one goal. I think that gives us the best shot right off the bat, knowing that we have teammates behind us.”
Although McDonough and the players admitted that this win is a confidence boost and a good measuring stick for where the team stands, it doesn’t change too much of their game plan moving forward.
“We go into every game with the same mindset of just trying to win each period and we know if we can do that, more often than not, we’re going to come out with the victory,” McDonough said. “We know if we play our game and take care of the things we need to take care of we can always make it a competition.”
“We’re never comfortable,” Jones said. “We’re always going for the next goal. This was the hardest team that we faced.”
Bishop Brady-Trinity-West 5,
Keene-Monadnock-Fall Mtn. 1
Key players: Brady-Trinity-West – Lauren Trippiedi (2G), Chevy Irizarri (G, A), Haley Hildreth (G), Kate Shoemaker (G), Courtney Ingham (2A), Annabelle Watson (A), Rae Roberts (A), Bella Payne (A), Emily Senko (5 saves)
Highlights: Brady-Trinity-West tried out some new line combinations and it resulted in a 2-1 first-period load. Brady extended it to 3-1 through two periods and netted two more goals in the third.
Coach’s quote: “We started to move the puck better. Both lines did a better job passing and shooting today. Our defense also played well.” – Brady-Trinity-West’s Dan Earley
Records: Brady-Trinity-West 6-3; Keene-Monadnock 1-8
Concord 8,
Nashua South-Pelham 1
Key players: Concord – Joey Ala (2G), Matt Hauschild (G, A), Evan Makris (G,A), Parker Frederickson (2A), Ryan Doherty (G), Shane Riley (G), Tyler Coskren (G), Graham Lewis (A), Noah Drew (A), Ryan Philbrick (A), Anders Norton (A), Alex Forward (A), Parker Taylor and Will Pegnam (combined 12 saves)
Highlights: South scored 7:46 into the first to take 1-0 lead, but Doherty tied it at 9:57 and Ala put the Tide ahead for good at 13:56. Concord potted four goals in the second to put the game away and netted two more in the third.
Coach’s quote: “It was a complete team effort. We got scoring from all four lines. We moved the puck well tonight.” – Concord’s Dunc Walsh
Records: Concord 9-1; South-Pelham 3-6
Belmont-Gilford 4,
Monadnock-Fall Mountain 0
Key players: Belmont-Gilford – Colin McGreevy (shutout)
Highlights: The Bulldogs earned its seventh straight victory, this time knocking off second-place Monadnock-Fall Mountain.
Records: Belmont-Gilford 7-4; Monadnock-Fall Mtn. 6-2
Kennett 71, Bishop Brady 60
Key players: Bishop Brady – Kaylee Smith (22 points), Libbey Hicks (15 points), Ami Rivera (11 points), Riley Marsh (defense)
Highlights: The Green Giants battled back from a first-half deficit and forced multiple lead changes in the second half, but the first-place Eagles came away with the victory.
Coach’s quote: “These are the types of games you want midseason to battle test you for postseason play in March. In these games you take all the learning moments and grow. Proud of our competitive no quit play today.” – Bishop Brady’s Annie Alosa
Records: Kennett 10-0; Bishop Brady 6-3
Pembroke girls’ 4th slalom, 5th GS; boys’ 6th
Key players: Girls – Jessica Boyajian (7th GS, 14th slalom), Molly Keyes (12th slalom, 18th GS), Katherine Muise (35th slalom), Hannah Brown (38th GS), Alyssa Merill (38th GS, 42nd slalom); Boys – Jackson Frazier (3rd slalom, 4th GS), Harry Army (33rd slalom), Ben Sporcic (39th GS), Owen Thomas (39th slalom, 44th GS), Ryan Sporcic (46th GS, 47th slalom)
Highlights: The Spartan Alpine ski teams had some strong individual finishes, especially from Frazier on the boys’ side, in Friday’s meet hosted by Kennett.