REGION – The Algonquin girls hockey team is headed to a state championship game after a batch of late-game heroics against Medfield on Monday night.
Down 2-1 late in their Division II semifinals, the Titans equalized things on a goal by Mallory Farrell. That forced an overtime period in which Emily Johns snagged the game winner on a long breakaway.
“It was a little touch and go there at the end, but we had some bounces go our way and kept digging,” head coach Mike Hodge told reporters after the victory. “It was a one bounce game and that was our bounce.”
Algonquin took early lead
Farrell opened the scoring for Algonquin in the first period, giving the team a 1-0 lead.
Medfield tied the game in the second period though, before then taking the lead in the third period.
The clock ticked down to leave less than three minutes left in the third period before Farrell struck again with that crucial second goal.
“That was a hard fought game,” Hodge said. “That was fun.”
This continued a prolific playoff stretch for Farrell, who scored a pair of goals in the Round of 16 against Westwood before potting an overtime game winner in Algonquin’s 1-0 triumph over Winchester in the quarterfinals.
Hodge similarly celebrated Johns’ creativity on her goal in the overtime period.
He also highlighted goalie Lana Pacific, who stood tall on Monday night.
“Lana saved our bacon with a couple of point blank changes,” Hodge said.
Algonquin to face Canton
Algonquin will now face Canton on March 20 at the TD Garden with a MIAA Division II title on the line.
For Hodge, that will be another chance for this Titans squad to hopefully shine after showing “tremendous growth” this season.
“They’ve worked hard for years,” he said. “…We knew that we could have a chance this year.”
The game time had not been announced as of Tuesday morning.
As Algonquin already makes its preparations, though, Hodge took pride in his team’s ability to remain in difficult games like this.
“They don’t let the moment get too big for them,” he said. “We talk about stress and pressure a lot and how to deal with it. They deal with it great.”
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