BOSTON – The Algonquin girls hockey team’s third straight overtime win came on the biggest of stages on Sunday afternoon in Boston, with the Titans roaring past Canton to win a state championship.
The first such title in program history, this 2-1 win came in dramatic fashion, with a sudden death, game winning goal by Mallory Farrell.
“We knew what we were doing out there,” Farrell told reporters after the win. “You just got to put the puck in the net.”
Farrell scores game winner
Though they ultimately won the game, Algonquin fell behind early, only tying things in the third period when Bryn Domolky shoveled a loose puck over the pad of Canton’s goalie.
Head Coach Mike Hodge credited his team’s resilience and strength for that effort, adding that the squad did adjust its line pairings in the third period to place Domolky, Farrell and Emily Johns together on the ice at the same time.
It’s really hard to stop all three of them,” Hodge said of that star scoring trio. “…That’s what tilted the ice going our way.”
The teams locked down from there, bringing things into overtime.
Once in overtime, Farrell was then able to break free to win the game and put an exclamation point on her team’s season.
“I just pulled the goalie out and saw a wide open net,” Farrell said of her goal. “That’s how that went.”
Knotted in a close game from start to finish, Algonquin goalie Lana Pacific said she was particularly nervous throughout overtime against Canton.
“But I had a great team in front of me all season, so I knew we had it,” she continued.
‘We had such a good run’
The now state-champion Titans, indeed, opened their season strong, jumping out to a 9-0-2 start before weathering their first loss of the year in late January against Longmeadow.
They rumbled through the rest of the season from there, skating into the playoffs, where they defeated Matignon, Westwood, Winchester and Medfield in order to punch their ticket to the TD Garden and the state championship.
The Winchester and Medfield wins each came in overtime.
This co-op program’s success prompted excitement at participating schools as the state finals approached.
Back at Algonquin, the team specifically received a police escort out of town on Sunday morning as community members rallied in support.
In Boston, fans filed into the Garden to watch their team ultimately take the win.
“We had such a good run this year,” Pacific said.
Team embraced underdog identity
The win is a major milestone for Algonquin.
Hodge reflected on that fact on Sunday, noting his experience coaching several of his current players for many years.
“I’m so close with this team and I’m so thrilled for each and every one of them,” he said.
Hodge’s daughter, Taylor, is a captain on the team. That added a dimension to the victory for Hodge, he said.
Likewise, Hodge said, his squad’s 10th overall placement in the MIAA power rankings that set this tournament’s brackets contributed to an underdog identity of sorts.
“There was a feeling that we didn’t belong here,” he said.
The team had confidence, though, Hodge noted, fighting to get to the state finals and battling to erase their initial deficit to force overtime in this game.
“They’ve believed all year that we could do this,” he said.
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