DEDHAM, Mass. — Make it two straight close calls for Nobles.
The Bulldogs (19-0-3) remain undefeated after tying BB&N (10-7-4), 1-1, on Friday. Groton took Nobles to a scoreless tie on Wednesday, too, ending the latter's 19-game win streak.
Nobles had some chances to take the lead in the first, but couldn't solve BB&N senior Aleksa Caron (Dracut, Mass.) nor eighth-grader Marie Lee, who came in when Caron went down with an injury.
Caron stymied Calleigh Brown (Foxboro, Mass.) on a Grade-A rebound chance in front after Sophia Levering (Westwood, Mass.) led the rush. Caron came up big again on a dangerous look for Levering in the slot before her injury.
Lee made a massive kick save with her left pad against Maddie Krepelka (Arlington, Mass.) on the doorstep in the final minutes of the frame.
Brenna O'Reilly (Burlington, Mass.) gave BB&N a 1-0 lead with seven minutes left in the second. The Knights hemmed Nobles in on the forecheck before the puck broke loose to O'Reilly at the top of the right circle. She uncorked a slap shot through traffic that Anya Zupkofska (Braintree, Mass.) never saw.
The Bulldogs began to push for an equalizer, but Lee had every answer until Olivia Maffeo (Canton, Mass.) tied it at one apiece with two minutes left in the period. Gretta Hulbig (Foxboro, Mass.) found Maffeo at the point amid an extended offensive zone sequence for Nobles. The latter sent in a quick, low wrister that found a way through traffic and in.
Caron returned in the third for the Knights as the Bulldogs continued to apply heavy pressure, but she and Zupkofska stood tall through the end of regulation and overtime.
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BB&N's five-game win streak came to an end with the tie, but the Knights remain unbeaten in six straight.
Let's dive into eight standouts from the game:
Marie Lee
BB&N, 3/6/2010, G, catches left, 5-7
With Annabelle Najarian (Duxbury, Mass.) unavailable, it was up to Lee when Caron went down. The eighth-grader did a commendable job in relief. In the first, Lee had the huge save on Krepelka in addition to another strong save on Hulbig in the slot. She stayed hot in the second, smothering Francie Ames' (Brookline, Mass.) redirect in front of the crease. She also denied Maffeo with a pad save on a 1-on-1 before making two more saves on the ensuing rebounds. Lee tracked the play and anticipated well, showing tremendous poise, especially considering the situation.
Alexsa Caron
BB&N, 9/22/2005, G, catches left, 5-9
NCAA: Stonehill
Caron didn't miss a beat at all when she returned in the third. She's arguably the biggest reason BB&N came away with a tie. Caron had Krepelka's number, first making a sprawling pad save to her left on a 2-on-1 with Molly MacCurtain (North Reading, Mass.). She came up with a huge shoulder save on Krepelka from the slot in the final minutes of regulation, too. Caron also made a pair of strong saves against Hulbig, denying her dangerous look in the slot before another big stop after Hulbig deked around a defender for a shot inside the dots. She reacted quickly all game and did a solid job controlling rebounds. Like Lee, she did a commendable job given the situation.
Olivia Maffeo
Nobles, 3/28/2005, D, right shot, 5-4
NCAA; Boston College
Maffeo took over as the game went on, especially after her goal. The senior was terrific in transition, using her legs to gain the zone with possession and create chances for the Bulldogs. She had a chance at a go-ahead goal in the third, walking into the slot for a high-danger shot, but Caron made the save. She also had a few chances in tight in a bang-bang 1-on-1 play against Lee in the second. In overtime, she had a nice chance to end it on a counter-rush, toe-dragging around a defender before getting a shot off from the top of the circle. She's as dynamic and confident as they come on the blue line, tracking to lead Nobles in scoring again.
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Sophia Levering
Nobles, 12/5/2004, D, left shot, 5-7
NCAA: Yale
Speaking of dynamic, Levering was easily Nobles' best player through most of the first two periods before Maffeo got to work. She set up Brown's high-danger chance when she led the rush, exploding through the neutral zone with some powerful strides, before putting on a nice low shot for a rebound. Later in the period, she held the puck in at the blue line, closed into the zone, cut to the slot and got a great look on net. She had a hiccup in the second, coughing the puck up at the blue line on the power play, but easily tracked back to win the puck back in the neutral zone. In the third, she again led the rush, pulled up below the goal line and found Hulbig across the zone for a strong chance, too.
Brenna O'Reilly
BB&N, 4/2007, D, right shot
O'Reilly had a big slap shot from the top of the right circle to put BB&N ahead in the second. I thought, overall, she did a good job of keeping Nobles out of Grade-A ice, particularly in the first and early in the second. She had a big blocked shot on Brown in the slot during the third period, too.
Emi Biotti
BB&N, 1/4/2007, D, right shot, 5-10
NCAA: Harvard
I liked Biotti's game when I saw BB&N at the Harrington Tournament back in December, and it remained the case again on Friday. She's a long, rangy defender who is able to kill plays and keep forwards to the outside because of her reach alone. The Harvard commit isn't afraid to lead jump into the play and lead the rush. Her smooth skating allows her to do so. I also liked how she defended hard and physically in the corners and below the goal line. She did a good job of using her size and strength to separate attackers from the puck.
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Maddie Krepelka
Nobles, 3/2005, F, right shot
Like Hulbig, Krepelka seemed to generate a Grade-A chance on almost every shift. It's no wonder she's been red-hot of late on the top line with Brown and MacCurtain. The power forward is always hovering around the slot and the crease. She made a beeline for the net on the 2-on-1 with MacCurtain getting a heavy shot on Caron that was met with an even better save. Her chance late in regulation was a quick release from the slot, primed to zip in under the crossbar, but Caron had the answer again.
