DEDHAM, Mass. — Dexter Southfield saved its best for last on Wednesday.
Trailing 3-1 entering the third period after being outplayed for most of the first 40 minutes, the Shields found another gear, storming back to force overtime en route to a dramatic 4-3 win over defending Elite 8 champion Nobles.
Maggie Lovering (Scituate, Mass.) was the hero, burying the game-winner with 1:01 left in the extra frame. Boston College commit Maddie Murphy (Dorchester, Mass.) got the puck at the right point, pulled to her backhand and drove into the high slot, sliding the puck into open space for Lovering, who jammed it home.
Dexter, one of four undefeated teams in prep at 7-0-2, erased a 3-0 deficit in the win. It marked their first win over the Bulldogs in program history.
Devon Moore (Milton, Mass.), New Hampshire commit Elizabeth Allen (Brookline, Mass.) and Marion Legge (Scituate, Mass.) each scored for the Shields. Murphy and Maggie Chudzinski (Needham, Mass.) each had two assists. Junior goalie Addie Sutherland (West Roxbury, Mass.) earned the win in net.
Alexa Georgantas (Foxboro, Mass.) scored twice for Nobles. Ashley Loeber (Weston, Mass.) scored as well, and Northeastern commit Molly MacCurtain (Reading, Mass.) had two assists. The Bulldogs dropped to 6-3-0.
Georgantas opened the scoring with 9:16 left in the first when MacCurtain found her in the slot for a one-timer. Georgantas doubled the lead moments later finishing a chance in tight when MacCurtain found her again, sending her in alone off the rush.
Loeber made it 3-0 with 1:40 left in the second on a shorthanded breakaway after blocking a shot at the point.
Moore got Dexter on the board with 33 seconds left in the period when Chudzinski set her up with a cross-crease pass in the slot after leading the rush. Allen cut it to 3-2 on the power play with 13:02 left in the third after she tipped in Murphy's wrist shot from the point.
Legge tied it, 3-3, with two minutes remaining in regulation. Chudzinski forced a turnover and put a shot on net, and the rebound bounced right to Legge at the left post.
There's a lot to unpack from this top-five clash. Let's dive into six takeaways from the game.
1. Credit to Dexter for getting it done without two of their best
The Shields were without one of their top shutdown defenders in Boston College commit Alaina Dunn (Walpole, Mass.) as well as their top center in Yale commit Evelyn Doyle (Needham, Mass.). Both are off representing the United States at the IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championships.
Nevertheless, Dexter got it done, especially in the third period. For most of the first 40 minutes, they struggled to generate sustained pressure and navigate Nobles' forecheck. There are plenty of props to go around, be it critical plays by Chudzinski and Murphy (more on them in a second), a strong night in net for Addie Sutherland or other players stepping up in elevated roles.
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Yale commit Sawyer Merrill had a good night on the forecheck and moved the puck well in the neutral zone. Meanwhile, Lovering, Allen, Legge, Maddie Funk (Duxbury, Mass.) and Alex Mitsakis (Winchester, Mass.) used their legs to create plays around the net and below the dots. Moore found a groove creating offense as the game wore on, and it paid off on her goal. Nobody from Nobles picked her up as she trailed Chudzinski's rush, and she was in a perfect spot, all alone in front to bury a wrister.
Defensively, Mackenzie Sutherland (West Roxbury, Mass.) and Emma Peterson (Westwood, Mass.) shouldered big defensive minutes as well. Peterson was excellent on a first-period penalty kill as Nobles had a golden opportunity to further its lead. She closed down passing lanes and used her body to win battles. The senior took Nobles forward Lily Bromley (Carlisle, Mass.) out of the play on a late 2-on-1, taking away her stick and outmuscling her as the pass sailed by. Peterson also had a great keep-in to up the pressure in the run-up to Legge's equalizer.
2. The potential is obvious with Maggie Chudzinski
Chudzinski turned it over to Loeber ahead of the goal that made it 3-0 for Nobles in the second, but she more than made up for it as things wore on.
She made some great reads inside the offensive zone to pinch and hem Nobles in, especially on Legge's goal. Fresh off the bench, Chudzinski read the breakout perfectly, cutting off the Nobles forward at the circle to easily strip the puck. She wasted no time getting a low shot on net for a rebound, which went right to Legge at the left post. Chudzinski also had some good keep-ins in the first, too.
Her setup for Moore in the second period was fantastic as well. Chudzinski led the rush, carving through the neutral zone before driving wide around the defense. She used the full length of her reach to protect the puck from the defense, keeping her head up as she curled around the bottom of the circle. She saw Moore and put it right on her tape for an easy goal from the slot.
Dexter will lose three foundational defenders in Murphy, Dunn and Peterson to graduation at the end of this year, but they'll be in good hands with Chudzinski. Coach Maggie Taverna was excited to bring her in this season, and rightfully so. Chudzinski is a skilled blue-line prospect who makes an impact in all three zones. She has the size, skill and mobility at such a young age, and there's still a ton of room to grow and improve.
3. Alexa Georgantas continues to impress
Speaking of potential, Georgantas is showing plenty of it as she helps lead the next wave of talent among Nobles' forwards. With her two goals, the freshman eclipsed her total from last season (four), sitting at six on the year.
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Her speed and skating have stood out each time I've seen her play over the last few months, whether with Nobles or the Mass. Spitfires U16s. She was tough to handle in transition, earning several opportunities, and she was a strong complement to MacCurtain and Calleigh Brown (Foxboro, Mass.). It was on full display on her second goal when she blew by a defender when MacCurtain laid the puck into open space. She also should have had a breakaway in the third when she got a step on Mackenzie Sutherland and drew a holding penalty. In overtime, she flew down the left wing, cut into the slot and barely missed a backhand that would have given her a heroic hat trick.
Georgantas also had a knack for finding open space in the scoring areas. She smartly rotated from the corner to the slot, getting wide open for MacCurtain's centering feed on the opening goal. She found herself all alone again in the slot for a golden opportunity in the second period.
4. Give it up for Addie Sutherland
Don't let the three goals against fool you, Sutherland was terrific for Dexter. She was a big reason the Shields were only down 3-1 going into the third, facing a heavy shot volume through the first two periods, and she came up big with some strong saves in overtime. The junior was calm, poised and positionally sound all game, which helped her make sequences around the crease look easy.
Early in the second, she made a fantastic save on Georgantas, who was all alone in the slot with a chance to extend the lead. Out at the top of her crease, Sutherland reacted quickly and kicked her left pad to turn the shot aside.
In the third, she made some big saves on an early penalty kill, including a strong stop on a MaCurtain wrist shot from the high slot through traffic. Sutherland was right there to stone McCool's swipe at the rebound, too, before smothering for a whistle. She later made a nice shoulder save on McCool in tight late in regulation.
5. Tough loss for Nobles after they were in control
Any loss stings, but that one will definitely bother Nobles.
The Bulldogs were in complete control of the game before Moore got Dexter on the board in the closing seconds of the middle period. Nobles was having their way on the forecheck, preventing Dexter from generating clean breakouts. They were quick on pucks in the defensive zone, smoothly executing breakouts.
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Each forward line was impactful for most of the game, too. Yale commit Gretta Hulbig (Foxboro, Mass.) and Rachel Zhao (Westwood, Mass.) were excellent cycling the puck, working off each other in the defensive zone and driving to middle ice. Georgantas, Brown and MacCurtain generated offense on most of their shifts and accounted for the first two goals. MacCurtain was especially strong creating chances for both herself and her teammates, be it her assists to Georgantas or some good looks in the third period. Meanwhile, Bromley, McCool and Loeber had strong sequences as well. McCool in particular did well around the net and below the dots. In the third, she won a race for the puck, picked her head up and slipped a great pass to Bromley in the slot for a great look. She had some opportunities on rebounds too, establishing body position in front.
6. Maddie Murphy's super senior season continues
For as much punishment she can doll out in a given game, Murphy took a beating against a physical group of Nobles forwards. She played a ton of minutes and was clearly gassed at times.
Despite it all, there she was as one of the key authors of the comeback for Dexter. It continued what has been a sensational senior season. Her two assists helped her match her previous career high (10) as well as set a new career high for points (20). She reached the mark in just nine games after putting up 16 points in 27 games last season.
Murphy made impactful plays in all three zones, and she was terrific in the late push for the Shields, be it her quick wrister that Legge tipped to cut the deficit to one or her setup on the game-winner. On the latter, Murphy showcased her quick hands, going in-to-out to her backhand as soon as she got the puck at the offensive blue line, driving toward the slot. She knew she had Lovering coming down low, so she left it in space as two Nobles defenders clamped down on her. It was in a perfect spot for Lovering to bury it.
