Girls’ hockey puts scare into top-ranked Falmouth

Freshman goaltender Lindsey Nolte is 6-1 this season with an .884 save percentage.

Riding a seven-game winning streak and sitting comfortably atop the standings in the SEMGHL West Division, the Canton High girls’ ice hockey team welcomed two of the area’s toughest teams to Metropolis Rink last week and went toe to toe with both — beating Walpole before being narrowly edged by the undefeated Falmouth Clippers.

Although they certainly would have liked to win both games, the Bulldogs had to be pleased with the way they stood up to Falmouth — currently the top-ranked team in all of Division 2 south — and outplayed them for long stretches of the game. In fact, Wednesday’s game marked the first time all season that the Clippers had allowed more than two goals in a single contest, and they were outshot by Canton in the process 35-20.

“We were all over them,” noted head coach Dennis Aldrich. “Going into the game I felt it was important to prove that we belong in the elite of Division 2, and in my opinion we more than proved that.”

Aldrich said he was especially pleased to see how the girls responded after falling into an early 1-0 hole, and he thought the Bulldogs looked like the better team for much of the first two periods — highlighted by a “beautiful” game-tying goal in the second period off the stick of senior captain Meaghan McKenna.

Unfortunately for Canton, the game started to slip away in the third period owing to a combination of Falmouth’s play, a questionable call by the referee, and a double penalty on the Bulldogs that gave the Clippers a five-on-three advantage. However, the Bulldogs roared back and eventually got it to within two before time expired.

Senior captain Meghan Lennon and freshman standout Emily Lanci paced the Canton offense with one goal and one assist apiece, while senior captain Bethany Kelly and junior Katie Kelleher each finished with one assist.

Two days earlier against Walpole, the Bulldogs combined balanced scoring with solid defense to earn a hard-fought 4-3 victory.

“It was a very physical game for both of us and a very well-played hockey game,” said Aldrich. “It was nice to get a big win like that against a quality opponent.”

Canton was able to contain the Rebels’ best player, junior Brooke Matherson, for most of the game before she broke through with a couple of goals late in the third period. However, the Bulldogs never trailed and were “pretty much in control” from start to finish, according to Aldrich.

Canton got one goal each from Lennon, Lanci, McKenna, and Jackie Martin, with assists going to Lennon, Martin, and junior Jill Eckler.

Meanwhile, later in the week, it was the McKenna and Lanci show as both girls finished with a hat trick to lead the squad to a 6-3 win over Dover-Sherborn at Boch Ice Center in Dedham.

Aldrich said the flow of the game was interrupted by several penalties; however, the result was “never in question,” and he was able to find playing time for the majority of his backups.

Several different players had assists in the win, including Julie Nagel (2), Casey Considine, and Kelsey Trerice.

The Bulldogs also got solid goaltending in all three games last week, with junior Emily Buckley getting the start against Falmouth and Dover-Sherborn and freshman Lindsey Nolte getting the nod against Walpole. Both goalies are 6-1 on the season, while Nolte holds a slight advantage in save percentage (.884) and goals against average (1.57).

Now 9-0 in their division and 12-2 overall, the girls were due to host Mansfield/Oliver Ames on Wednesday, followed by a tough divisional matchup this Saturday against second-place Westwood. The team will then hit the road for two games next week against Medway/Ashland and D1 powerhouse Hingham.

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