This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
03/12/2014 12:00 AMPlaying on the biggest stage, the Indians' girls' ice hockey team certainly didn't succumb to the big-game pressure, even in defeat.
After scoring thrilling State Tournament wins over New Canaan and Darien, Guilford reached the championship round with Simsbury on March 9 at Ingalls Rink and took a 3-1 defeat. Despite being outshot 37-16, the Indians were able to turn away multiple opportunities thanks to a strong defense and junior netminder Edy Moritz.
"I just wanted to deflect the rebounds in the corners, square up to every shot, and not let in any rebounds," said Moritz, who notched 34 saves. "They capitalized on one rebound, but our defense did a nice job of clearing rebounds out. The Darien win brought a lot of momentum to our team today. It was an unbelievable win and we used that momentum today."
While the Trojans won the shot battle through two periods by a margin of 29-6, Guilford's penalty killing unit stopped three Simsbury man-advantages in that timeframe. In addition on offense, the Indians outshot the Trojans 10-8 in the final period.
"On defense, we were just trying to get the puck out of the zone, keep it from the back of the net, and just help Edy out," said freshman Catherine Lawrence, who scored the Indians' lone tally. "This team worked hard and never gave up and that's what put us here in this final game. We worked hard and it was one big family."
Guilford (14-8) grabbed the contest's first shot on net, but Simsbury (22-2) countered by testing Moritz with multiple shots before junior Maggie Grigely scored 2:57 into the game on a puck to the right side of the goal to put Simsbury ahead 1-0.
Lawrence took a checking call at 10:20 prior to Grigely being penalized for slashing at 7:50, but neither side came away with a power play tally. During the Guilford man-advantage, freshman Lexi Cafiero tried to connect with fellow freshman Alexa Petritz on a cross-ice feed, but it was deflected away.
The Indians started the second stanza by killing off a roughing penalty on Cafiero that overlapped the two frames and then they nearly had the equalizer when Petritz shot a puck that hit the crossbar at 7:17. Guilford began to put on offensive pressure with about five minutes remaining in the period on a flurry of shots in a scrum, although it was held off the scoreboard. The Trojans then gained some breathing room when Grigely lit the lamp again with 69 ticks before the break as Guilford saw itself down a pair after 30 minutes.
"We could've stayed out of the penalty box a little bit more. That would've given us some help, but again, Simsbury is a tough team and, when you are playing with a short bench, players get tired and penalties happen," said Head Coach Gil Schaper. "I wouldn't say that that's what cost us the game, but playing down a man is playing down a man and, given the circumstances, I'm proud of the girls."
Simsbury started the third down a player thanks to a penalty, yet Guilford came away empty. Sophomore Annie Deliso then made it a three-score edge on her goal with 8:52 remaining, but Lawrence stopped the Trojans' shutout bid on a shot that hit off junior netminder MacKenzie DuBois and rolled its way into the back of the net. The Indians then went on power plays with 4:14 and 1:58 left in the matchup, yet the Trojans were able to prevent any more scores in winning the state crown.
On its thrilling way to the final, Guilford entered the State Tournament as the No. 5 seed and scored a 3-2 win over No. 4 New Canaan in the quarterfinal round on March 4 at Darien before a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory over top-seeded Darien on March 7 at the Milford Ice Pavilion.
In the New Canaan contest, after a 2-2 tie following two periods, Cafiero netted the game-winner 3:12 into the third off an assist from junior Nicole Raccuia. The other pair of Guilford scores came by way of Cafiero and senior Angelica Hurteau with helpers from Raccuia and Cafiero. Moritz stopped 20 shots.
Against Darien, Petritz put the Indians on the board first before the Blue Wave tied the score. In the extra session, Cafiero netted the game-winner with 5:12 left.
Schaper is proud of his runner-up squad, feeling his team was clutch down the stretch and put in 100 percent heart 24-7 during the long campaign.
"Overall, if you had asked me at the beginning of the season if we'd be playing in the state final, I'd say that I doubt it, but everything came together toward the end of the season," said Schaper, who guided Guilford to the state final in his second season. "Credit the girls for sticking through it all in a long winter season. We don't have a rink in the town so we are always on the bus either going to or from the [DiLungo] rink. We all spent time away from our families and were committed to the team so it was a lot of time and effort involved on everyone's part."