BRAINTREE, Mass. — Groton had to have it, and they got it.
Fighting for their Elite 8 hopes, the No. 9 Zebras marched into No. 6 Thayer and left with a strong 4-1 win.
Tina Scalese (West Boylston, Mass.) scored twice for Groton, while Ella Nannene (Acton, Mass.) had a goal and an assist. Hazel Hughes (Lancaster, Mass.) also scored, and Tatum Friedholm (Sudbury, Mass.) and Maddie Cronan (Ashland, Mass.) had two assists each. Nora Wilson (Weybridge, Vt.) earned the win in net.
The Zebras improved to 16-4-2 and vaulted themselves into the Elite 8 picture. Currently, they're No. 7 in the field. USHR projects them to finish seventh.
Maddy Call (Dedham, Mass.) scored for Thayer, who dropped to 19-4-2 on the year. The Tigers currently hold and are projected to finish with the No. 8 seed in the Elite 8.
Nannene opened the scoring early in the first when she redirected Friedholm's feed from the point to the right of the crease. Scalese doubled the lead on a breakaway with four minutes left in the first. Friedholm broke up a rush at the blue line and shoveled the puck forward for Scalese, who went forehand-backhand.
Hughes made it 3-0 three minutes into the second, scoring five-hole from the right dot off a dish from Nannene. Scalese made it 4-0 on a fast break with Cronan, roofing a backhand to the left of the crease with three minutes left in the period.
Call got Thayer on the board with a minute to go in the frame, deking to her backhand on a shorthanded breakaway.
Let's dive into three quick takeaways before getting into 10 standouts from the game.
Takeaways
1. That was a hell of an effort in an absolute must-win for Groton. The Zebras started well, got a critical early goal and played a detailed, thorough game. They made life miserable for Thayer on the forecheck and in the neutral zone. Groton was quick on pucks, got into lanes, had active sticks and retrieved pucks on the back check. All of it gave the Tigers fits trying to move the puck cleanly.
RANKINGS: The final girls prep top 10 of the regular season
Look no further than a shift that felt like an eternity in the second period when Groton's top three lines hemmed Thayer in for three-plus minutes. It all started with strong work by Nannene and Hughes along the boards before Dani Shyjan's (Westford, Mass.) line kept the pressure up. Thayer got it out for a moment, but the Zebras broke it up and got it back in deep. Call eventually skated it out, but Scalese tracked her down at the red line and won it back with a stick lift. It stifled any momentum the Tigers might've had in the second period.
2. Thayer generated some great looks offensively in the first period, and things might've gone differently if they had found a way to crack Wilson. Morgan McGathey (Braintree, Mass.) and her line with Call and Kate Sullivan (Hingham, Mass.) had several strong scoring chances, and the same went for Wren Abboud's (Weymouth, Mass.) line with Lydia Kealty (Norfolk, Mass.) and Veronica Taylor (Hingham, Mass.) Taylor had several excellent looks around the net. Wilson answered the bell every time. Even after Scalese made it 2-0, Thayer had a late power play to seize momentum but couldn't cash in. Hughes' early goal in the second felt like the back-breaker.
3. Thayer's home game on Friday against BB&N just became do-or-die for both sides for their Elite 8 hopes. Wednesday's chaos not only included Groton's win over Thayer, but No. 10 Deerfield handed No. 1 Williston its first loss of the season. Unfortunately for the Big Green, none of it changed a whole lot for them as they're still No. 1 in the Large School field. It did, however, push BB&N out of the Elite 8 picture on top of dropping Thayer to the bottom of the field. The Knights are currently No. 2 in the Large School bracket and are projected to stay there.
Even though BB&N has one extra game against Williston on Saturday, you'd imagine a head-to-head win for Thayer over BB&N keeps them in the Elite 8. A loss to BB&N might just drop them to the Large School tournament, although I'm not privy to the exact ins and outs of the JSPR algorithm.
MIAA BRACKETS: Division 1 girls | Division 2 girls | Division 1 boys | Division 2 boys | Division 3 boys | Division 4 boys
Now, let's get into 10 standouts.
Tina Scalese
Groton, 1/17/2008, F, right shot, 5-3
Hometown: West Boylston, Mass.
NCAA: Princeton
Scalese was a fantastic two-way presence once again for Groton. She gained separation on her breakaway before scoring with a slick finish. Her second goal was a thing of beauty on a flawlessly executed breakout. Scalese sent Cronan ahead to cap off a pretty tic-tac-toe passing sequence with Jaelyn Trudell (Andover, Mass.) for the exit. Scalese then made a beeline to get open for Cronan on the fast break, pulling to her backhand with quick hands and roofing the shot. It was a highlight-reel sequence from start to finish.
The junior also had some strong efforts on the back check. She first stripped the puck from Call in the second to keep the pressure up during a dominant sequence for Groton. In the third, Scalese got back to break up a shooting chance for Kealty at the right dot.
Nora Wilson
Groton, 7/21/2009, G, catches left
Hometown: Weybridge, Vt.
This was the first time I had seen Groton since before Christmas, and Wilson looked much more confident and sharper compared to earlier in the season. Her positioning was strong, and she did a great job of exploding to the top of her crease to cut down angles and take up a lot of net. She had McGathey's number all night, and she made a ton of key saves, especially in the first. It started with a good glove save on Sullivan's wrister, trying to pick the top corner on a quick re-entry. One of Wilson's best saves of the night came on McGathey's breakaway coming out of the box. McGathey dangled, trying to deke to her backhand, and Wilson stoned her.
She stoned Taylor several times, too. She got to the top of her crease and made a great save on Taylor's bid alone in the slot. Moments later, Wilson flashed the left pad to absolutely rob Taylor on a rebound in front. Late in the period, she kicked out the right pad to deny her initial bid on Sullivan's rebound. In the third, Wilson stood tall again on Sullivan trying to go forehand-backhand on a breakaway.
Oona Kathan
Groton, Class of 2026, D, right shot, 5-9
Hometown: Arlington, Mass.
Kathan was a beast defending in transition. She was excellent. Her gap control and stick positioning on the rush were strong from start to finish, and she clogged shooting and passing lanes. In the first, she had a great poke check on Abboud trying to cut to the middle, making it look easy. She later prevented a pair of potential shorthanded breaks for Thayer. She got her stick on the puck at the last second to prevent Call from going off to the races, and she broke up a pass from Call to Kealty on a potential 2-on-1. In the second, she stepped up again on Kealty to break up her rush inside the blue line.
Maddy Call
Thayer, Class of 2028, F, left shot, 5-5
Hometown: Dedham, Mass.
Call is a powerful skater with the puck, and she played with a high motor. She anticipated, had good speed and played above her size, using her frame to protect pucks and gain leverage. The freshman was also a menace on the penalty kill. Her pressure in the neutral zone nearly gave her a breakaway in the first before a near 2-on-1 with Kealty. Her shorthanded goal in the second was a thing of beauty. Call recognized a wide-open lane in the neutral zone and busted through center ice as Kealty sent her in alone. Call pump-faked and pulled to her backhand as Wilson had no chance.
COACHING NEWS:Â Tom Resor to return for another season at Nobles
After getting a couple of chances in front early in the third, Call had another great shorthanded sequence. She intercepted a pass high in the offensive zone and set up Kealty in front. Moments later at the other end, Call intercepted a pass at the point and went the other way for a 2-on-1 with Kealty.
Ella Nannene
Groton, 2007, F, right shot
Hometown: Acton, Mass.
Nannene's speed was a difference-maker, and she played with a ton of energy. Before her goal, she helped win a battle along the boards and worked the puck out high. Friedholm eventually sent it in front, where Nannene was with her stick on the ice to redirect it home. She was at the center of Groton's dominant forechecking sequence in the second, raising hell with Hughes along the boards and creating chaos down low. Later, Nannene won a race to beat an icing before working the puck to the middle.
Tatum Friedholm
Groton, 08/2009, D, left shot, 5-9
Hometown: Sudbury, Mass.
Friedholm's decision-making was shaky at the start, but she got a lot better as the game went on. Overall, it might've been the best game I've seen from her. She set up Nannene's goal, hitting her on the tape as she drove to the slot for the redirect. Scalese's first goal came off of Friedholm using her long reach to break up a rush before moving the puck up quickly. She also made a nice play against McGathey 1-on-1, closing her out along the boards in a speed mismatch off the rush. At the end of the first, Friedholm came up with a big block on McGathey on the penalty kill. Early in the second, she made a great play to break up Call's slick feed to Kealty in transition.
Wren Abboud
Thayer, 5/31/2006, F, left shot, 5-2
Hometown: Weymouth, Mass.
NCAA: Delaware
Abboud was at the center of a lot of Thayer's best chances, which usually stemmed from her strong play low in the offensive zone. On one shift in the first, Scalese knocked Abboud off the puck in the corner, and Abboud returned the favor behind the net, giving her a bump and getting inside position to get to a loose puck. She then set up Taylor in the slot for a great chance all alone that wouldn't go. Abboud and Call had a good sequence digging away at the puck in front of the net. Wilson stood tall.
Veronica Taylor
Thayer, 2006, F, right shot, 5-9
Hometown: Hingham, Mass.
NCAA: Sacred Heart
Taylor was fantastic around the net for Thayer, using her size to establish positioning, finding open space in the slot and getting plenty of chances in Grade-A ice. She got alone in the slot for a feed from Abboud before Wilson robbed her bid. On the same shift, Taylor got another great look, crashing the rebound on Abigail DeRoeve's (Charlestown, Mass.) shot from the point. Taylor might have had a shot at a goal, digging away at the puck, but the officials thought it was covered and blew it dead. She had another fantastic look that somehow didn't go in later on the power play. She couldn't beat Wilson's pad on Sullivan's rebound, and the puck barely skittered past the post before Taylor could get a stick on it to steer it home.
MIAA PREDICTIONS: Picking the girls brackets | Picking the Division 1 boys bracket
Hazel Hughes
Groton, 06/2006, F, right shot, 5-2
Hometown: Lancaster, Mass.
NCAA: Hamilton College
Hughes' goal was a major deflator for Thayer, and it was a smart shot by the senior. Nannene got the puck out high and sent it into space for Hughes to skate into it at the circle. Hughes didn't waste any time or get too fancy, and she fired a quick, low shot five-hole right through Madison Hayes (Foxboro, Mass.). The shot seemed to catch Hayes by surprise, and it put Groton in complete control.
Morgan McGathey
Thayer, 8/30/2006, F, right shot, 5-5
Hometown: Braintree, Mass.
NCAA: Harvard
McGathey is just on another level, whether it's the pace she plays with, her lightning-quick and immensely heavy shot and more. The play flowed through her constantly, and she accounted for some of the Tigers' best chances in the first period. In the first, she drove in 1-on-1 and fired a bullet on net, which Wilson saved. Later, she broke in alone coming out of the box, winning the race for the loose before dangling forehand-backhand. Wilson made a great save.
