In the blink of an eye, Amanda Abromson ruined any hopes of an upset by the Marblehead-Swampscott High girls’ hockey team.
The senior quad captain led the way, recording a hat trick as Braintree handed the Magicians a tough 5-2 season ending defeat win over Marblehead-Swampscott in Wednesday night’s Division 1 first round action at Zapustas Rink.
With the loss, the Magicians finished the season at 11-8-2 overall.
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Even in defeat, assistant coach Erik Hudak was quite pleased with his team’s performance.
“We’re a very young team with only three seniors,’’ said Hudak. “We have (seven) middle school girls on the varsity team and they all saw some quality playing time throughout the season. We went up against a very strong Braintree team, who’s played some really tough opponents, so we knew we had our work cut out for us.”
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In the game’s opening seconds, the Magicians grabbed the early 1-0 lead. On a breakaway opportunity, Rachel Ulian weaved through a defender and whisked a shot past Wamp goaltender Nikki O’Brien for the 1-0 lead with just :49 expired.
“We came out and we were able to capitalize on our opportunities,’’ said Hudak. “We got that early lead, and things were looking great for us. We were able to pressure the puck down on their end, we battled with them right in the first period.”
After creating several scoring opportunities, the Wamps tied the contest at 1-1 with 6:24 remaining in the first. On a three-on-one opportunity, Caroline Casey dished off a pass to Perdios, who one-timed a shot past freshman goaltender Molly Depew.
Through the end of the first period, both teams were mired in a 1-1 tie until the Wamps erupted early in the second.
Controlling the puck in the attack zone, Abromson increased the lead to 2-1 with just 1:04 expired. Off a centering pass from Perdios, Abromson whistled a shot from between the face-off circles that eluded a screened Depew short side.
Within a span of just 2:02, the Wamps manufactured two goals, transforming a 2-1 lead into a 4-1 cushion. On another three-on-one, Perdios deked a defender, wheeled around and dished off a centering pass to Abromson.
Abromson maneuvered around a pair of Magician defenders in the crease, and unloaded a blistering slap shot that landed just inside the inner right post for the 3-1 lead with 8:44 remaining.
Capitalizing on another odd-player rush, Abromson increased the lead to 4-1 just minutes later. Following a clear by Michaela Collins, Tori Machado whisked through the neutral zone and centered a pass to Abromson.
Abromson weaved through a pair of defenders and whistled a shot past a stunned Depew with 6:42 left.
Capping the four goal second period surge, the Machado increased the lead to 5-1 with 4:53 left. Off a slap shot from Madison Kingston from the point, Machado, positioned outside of the goal crease on the right side, redirected the puck past a stunned Depew top corner.
“They came out in the second period and really took it to us,’’ said Hudak. “They got a couple of quick goals on us, and that put us on our heels a bit. Once they got to that three goal lead, it was just too much of a hole for us to climb out of.”
Shell shocked after a second goal explosion by the Wamps, the Magicians nearly capitalized on several power play opportunities.
On a two-on-one, Keelin Fallon maneuvered through several defenders and fired a shot from close range, but O’Brien delivered the diving save. Minutes later, Eliza Quigley unloaded a shot from just between the face-off circles as O’Brien snatched the puck in midair.
With 10:55 remaining in the contest, the Magicians cut the deficit to 5-2. Off a pass from Casey MacDonald, Quigley rifled a shot that eluded a screened O’Brien.
“The girls never gave up, and they came out hard in that third period,’’ said Hudak. “They left everything out there and as a coaching staff, that’s all you can really ask for in your players.”
In the closing minutes, the Magicians continued to apply pressure in the attack zone, but O’Brien held ground, stopping 28 shots, including 12 in the third period as the Wamps secured the victory.
