Wellesley ices Westwood in Div. 2 girls hockey win

The Wellesley girls hockey team entered the Division 2 tournament as the clear favorite for third consecutive state title, and Wednesday night’s dominant quarterfinal performance against Westwood did nothing to dispel that notion.

Senior Emily Rourke led the way with three goals and an assist as the top-seeded Raiders registered their 20th straight win, moving to 21-1 with a decisive 6-1 decision over the No. 9 Wolverines at Warrior Arena.

The last time the two programs met in the tournament was the 2014 state final. Westwood (14-6-3) came away with the trophy on that day, but it birthed a juggernaut in the Div. 2 bracket as the Raiders have appeared in five of the last six championship games and are steamrolling toward another.

“The experience really helps,” said Wellesley coach PT Donato. “Wellesley came out tough in that first period and we got a couple of good bounces. I think that is a big part of it, our girls have been in these kinds of games the last couple years and it showed tonight that we have been there.”

Wellesley (21-1) will play the winner of Friday’s showdown of Cape Cod squads, No. 4 Dennis-Yarmouth and No. 12 Falmouth, in the semifinals on Sunday.

After getting goals from Rourke and Bridget Noonan in the first period for a 2-0 lead. Wellesley took control with three more in the second, the first from Kaitlin Braun and the next two from Rourke, a wicked wrister then a backhanded flip, giving her hat tricks in back-to-back tournament games.

Westwood freshman defenseman Sophia Levering ruined the shutout early in the third with a fantastic individual play, picking up a loose puck in the neutral zone, skating down the left side and rifling a shot into the far top corner.

Maja Desmond capped the scoring with 3:03 to play.

It was a light night for Wellesley goalie Liddy Schulz, who needed to make just seven saves in moving to 10-0 in her career in the postseason. The Raiders have now held opponents to one goal or less in all but one contest this year.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/39kHg6R