RallyNorth.net

Sat, Dec 15, 2007 06:00 PM @ Peabody

Team	Final
Masconomet	8
Peabody	2

Balanced scoring leads Masconomet past Peabody

Monday, December, 17 By Matt Williams
Staff writer

Scoring depth can be hard to come by for a hockey team. Whether it's a diversity of talents or the natural hot-and-cold ebb-and-flow of a season, a squad with a multitude of players putting the puck in the back of the net is rare and typically fearsome.

The Masconomet girls' team laid claim to that billing Saturday night as a quartet of Chieftains scored two goals apiece to best host Peabody, 8-2, at McVann-O'Keefe Rink. "We have two lines that I consider top lines and we're not far from having two stacked lines," said Masco coach Bill Haines as the Chieftains improved to 1-1-0 on the season. "We have a lot of young girls and some new girls who are still getting a feel for each other."

It was mostly experienced veterans leading the way against the Tanners. Masco junior captain Hannah Koenig and sophomore Meg Twomey each had two goals and two assists. Senior Danielle Hall also scored a pair, as did junior Jen Pino, a newcomer to the team as a result of Masco's cooperative program with North Andover.

The Tanners fell to 0-3-0 without top defender Tori Konovalchik, who didn't play due to a concussion. The Chieftains controlled the puck throughout the contest, keeping it in Peabody's end and racking up a 29-13 edge in shots on goal as they built their lead.

"Being down to three defensemen, we did the best that we could," said Peabody coach Larry Minehan. "We were disappointed with the first period because our experience players have to get the puck and win the one-on-one battles."

Koenig got the Chieftains on the board in less than a minute at :52 of the first by knocking a Twomey rebound by Tanner goalie Brittany Costa. Hall added to the lead at 9:03 with an unassisted, extra-attacker goal on a delayed penalty call, and Pino notched the eventual game-winner just 30 seconds later.

The Tanners' Colby Amor, a Bishop Fenwick senior with the team on a co-op program, gave her team some life with perhaps the most impressive of the night's 10 goals. The senior co-captain gathered the puck at center ice and streaked to the right circle before sniping a shot to the top-left corner to make it 3-1 with 15 seconds left in the first.

Any momentum Peabody gathered from Amor's tally was short lived because Twomey lit the lamp with six seconds left in the opening period as the Chieftains regained their three-goal edge.

It was more of the same in the second as Koenig scored :58 seconds into the frame. Shannon Dunn drew the Tanners closer at 5-2 with a beautiful backhand shot at the 5:28 mark, but Masco wouldn't be denied. Hall and Pino found the net again late in the period to make it 7-2 and Twomey scored the only goal in a third period that saw both squads empty their benches.

"It was a game where we could play everybody and get some of the girls who are learning to skate on the ice," said Haines, whose sentiments were echoed by Minehan.

Costa showed flashes of brilliance in the Peabody net, collecting 20 saves, including a pair of eye-popping glove stops in the second period. A field hockey goalie by trait, it's Costa's first year on the ice and while her inexperience shows it's clear that she'll improve with every game.

"She's terrific," said Minehan. "She doesn't drop down much and we're trying to teach her that but she swallows up almost all the rebounds. For a kid that's never played before she's done a super job."

Masco had a first-time starter of their own between the pipes in freshman Stephanie Twomey. Though she didn't face nearly the pressure that Costa did, Twomey was impressive in her own right with 11 saves and her first varsity victory.