PEABODY — The Peabody/Lynnfield/North Reading girls hockey team (4-6-1) needed overtime to put Medford/Malden (5-7-1) away in the first game of the season a little more than a month ago.
In last week’s matchup, PLNR left nothing to chance, defeating the gritty Mustangs 4-0 at McVann-O’Keefe Skating Rink.
Lynnfield Middle School eighth-grader Melania DiVirgilio and North Reading junior Ava Louanis led the charge with a goal and an assist each. Higgins Middle School seventh-grader Sophia Downing (8 saves) picked up her second shutout of the season.
Senior captain Eleni Spack (Peabody) and junior Sarah Mitchell (Lynnfield) also scored.
“We had two great practices this week and worked on certain concepts that carried over to tonight’s game,” said first-year PLNR coach Guy Angiuoni. “It was a complete team effort. We played from start to finish. We didn’t take Medford lightly as we knew they would come back and try to take a revenge win, so the girls were super focused and came out with a great effort.”
“Peabody is a very good team. They cycle the puck well and hustled to every puck on every shift,” said Medford coach Brittany Lanzilli. “I think our girls maybe didn’t match that momentum. We had moments and flashes of opportunities. We just couldn’t get it behind the net. It just wasn’t our night.”
PLNR came out flying, launching 29 shots on goal in the first period alone. Spack finally broke through at the 6:43 mark with a blistering slap shot (unassisted) to put PLNR on top 1-0.
The second period was more of the same with PLNR on the attack in the offensive zone for much of the period. Mitchell made it a 2-0 game, flicking a wrist shot under the crossbar just four seconds into a power play. Grace Allen picked up the assist.
Four minutes later, DiVirgilio was in the right place at the right time on the left crease, backhanding a rebound off a shot by Louanis from the right slot.
Louanis capped the scoring with 44 seconds remaining in the final period, tucking a backhander home from the left crease. Sophomore defenseman Sydney Zizza picked up the helper.
Angiuoni said Allen and Mitchell “were terrific tonight” and that DiVirgilio “really stepped it up.
“Grace had a great game. She does a lot of the little things. She might not always hit the scoresheet, but she is always backchecking and forechecking, setting up her teammates,” Angiuoni said. “Sarah, the center of the second line, did a great job as well. She’s very coachable and has great leadership, even though she’s not a captain.
“Melania is young, but now has goals in two straight games. She is really making some leaps and bounds in practice and in games.”
Angiuoni also credited Downing and the defense.
“Sophia played tremendously in net and got a nice job in front of her from the defense. Our defense is also an important part of our offense. Not only are Eleni and Sydney great defensemen; they are also such an important part of what we are trying to do offensively.”
Truth to be told, PLNR was dominant, launching 60 shots on goal. Lanzilli credited goaltender Erin Alves for keeping the Mustangs in the game and Downing for keeping Medford off the board.
“She (Alves) had a great game, as did Sophia, who made some high-quality saves tonight at key times,” she said.
Lanzilli said forward Isabel Taddia and defenseman Sarah Aborn delivered solid games.
