WATERTOWN, Conn. – New Hampton needed a bounce.
The No. 1 Huskies were up 1-0 late in the second period of Sunday’s Small School tournament final, with No. 6 St. Mark’s senior goalie Jackie Wright (Walpole, Mass.) doing all she can to prevent the Huskies from building on their lead.
Wright had Kelsey Baker’s (Concord, Mass.) number all game to that point, but the junior forward finally broke through in a critical spot. Baker sent a shot-pass in front from the right dot, looking for a tip, and she got it. The puck ricocheted in off a defender’s stick and in to make it 2-0.
New Hampton finally capitalized on its strong offensive pressure against the Lions, who had been playing bend-but-don’t-break defense as Wright came up with big save after big save.
From there the Huskies never looked back, despite a back-and-forth finish to the third period.
