Shamrocks Advance To Semis at Polar Bears Tourney
January 4th, 2012

Jenna Redford and Kayla Dion celebrate Redford's game winner vs Charles River

Shaking off the rust of a two week holiday layoff, the 19 White team posted a 3-1 record in division play to advance to the playoff rounds of the Polar Bears Tourney for the first time. A 1-0 win over the Alliance Bulldogs in the quarters advanced the Shamrocks to a semi-final match-up with the East Coast Wizards, where a PP tally was enough for the Wizards to gain a 1-0 victory and a spot in the final.

“We were a bit rusty after two weeks off, but we got the ball rolling, got four wins and made the semis,” said head coach Josh Hechter. “We had excellent goaltending throughout the tourney, and with a little bit more finish or puck luck we’d have made the final. Overall, I’m pleased with the progress, as we are 13-5-2 in our last 20 games.”

Despite dominating play and peppering the Charles River goalie with shots, it took a powerplay late in the second before the Shamrocks could get on the board in their first game of the tourney. Jenna Redford (Soldotna, AK) had the game winner. Dakota Woodworth (Carlisle, MA) added a short handed empty netter, and MacKenzie Bruch (Barrie, ON) turned aside 12 shots to pick-up the 2-0 shutout win.

Emily Auerbacher shoots from in close vs. the Wizards

Whatever rust there was going into the first game, was gone by the second, and a match-up with the Connecticut Polar Bears. Once again the Shamrocks dominated play, but had nothing to show for it at the end of two periods. “We played very well during the first two periods, but their goalie made some big saves, and we came up empty,” said Hechter.

A late PP goal in the second sent the Polar Bears into intermission with momentum and a 1-0 lead. In the third the Polar Bears used an aggressive forecheck to knock the Shamrocks off their game, and added a shorthanded tally and a third goal to gain the victory. “They changed things up and we had a few mental breakdowns that resulted in goals. You have to play a full 60 minutes, or in this case 36, or you don’t win the game.”

Hayleah Barbieri celebrates her shorthanded goal that would stand as the game winner vs Alliance Bulldogs

A convincing 4-0 win over the Reston Raiders was the bounce back that Hechter was looking for. Scoring came from Grace Kleinbach (Eustis, FL), Woodworth, Heather Schwarz (Naugatuck, CT) and Mary Donovan (Duxbury, MA) while MacKenzie Bruch had 12 saves for her second shut-out of the tourney. 

Up next was the Troy Albany Ice Cats, winners of the Cranberry Classic Tourney. The Ice Cats provided a solid challenge, but goals Dakotah Clement (Berwick, ME) and Dakota Woodworth, and solid net minding by Madi Litchfield (Williston, VT) secured the 2-0 victory and a spot in the playoffs for the Shamrocks.

Moving on to the playoffs, the Shamrocks faced an Alliance Bulldogs team that had won their division, and had the second best record in the tourney. The Shamrocks took charge early and carried the play to the finish, outshooting Bulldogs 38-10 en-route to a 1-0 win.

“We controlled much of the game, but their goalie made some great saves and kept them in the game,” said Hechter. “They had several D1 level players that are very dangerous, and Madi had to make some big saves too. Fortunately, we got a timely goal and were able to move on to the semis.”

MacKenze Bruch picked up two wins, turning aside all shots she faced at Polar Bears

Hayleah Barbieri (Plainville, MA) was the hero of the game. Sweeping in during a goal mouth scramble, she stopped a PP shot from the Bulldogs that was marked for the back of the net. She raced the puck out of the zone, faked a dump in, and then drove down the right wing boards past a defender. Firing a shot from below the dot, she picked up the rebound and popped it over the netminder's shoulder for the lone goal of the game with just over two minutes left.

The Shamrocks ran into a hot goalie for the second game in a row in the semi match with the East Coast Wizards. While the Wizards had a slight edge in play, the Shamrocks nonetheless had a number of grade A scoring opportunities, but couldn’t cash in.

“They moved the puck well, and tested us and we held, and we moved the puck well, and tested them. They got off a nice shot, through a screen on the powerplay, and that was the difference in the game,” said Hechter. “We’ve got to get better at finishing in games like this, but overall we played well.”

The Shamrocks put 26 shots on net, while Litchfield turned aside 37 shots.