Izzi Puleo said she is going to take two laps around the ice before the game. Just like she always does.
Brenna Doherty’s plan is to seek out the best spot in the locker room, put on her headphones, and “dial it” in for the game.
Caroline Doherty said the first thing she’ll do is “take it all in with my teammates” and remember to be grateful for the opportunity to do something she’ll remember for the rest of her life.
All these teammates on the Hingham High girls hockey team have dreamed about what they’d do if ever given the chance to play at the TD Garden. That dream is now a reality.
Hingham (23-1-1) cleared the final hurdle to playing for the Division 1 state championship Saturday night with a 5-3 win over HPNA. The Harborwomen will make the trip to the Garden on Sunday, March 16 to play No. 15 Bishop Stang (time TBA).
The top seed in the Division 1 bracket, Hingham is seeking its third state championship. They captured the Div. 2 title in 2008 and the Div. 1 crown in 2011.
The journey to get to the top of the mountain is never easy. After picking up wins over Wellesley (7-0) and Shrewsbury (4-2), Hingham was tied 1-1 with Belmont in the quarterfinals until Callie Crean scored off a rebound with :58 left to secure the win.
Saturday against HPNA, a co-op team consisting of students from Haverhill, Pentucket, and North Andover, Hingham scored the first four goals of the game but had to fight off a furious comeback by the Hillies.
HPNA had all the momentum when senior Paige Nottingham scored :19 into the third period to cut the lead down to 4-3. The search for the tying goal was derailed midway into the final period thanks to two minor penalties in quick succession. Hingham would not let the opportunity for some breathing room pass, scoring during the 5-on-3 situation with 7:53 left to play on a wrist shot from the slot by senior captain Addy Garrity.
“We took our foot off the gas a little bit and lost that competitive edge,” said Hingham head coach Courtney Turner. “It’s good to know we could still compete after that, but we need to play a complete 45 minute game.”
Sophomore goaltender Izzy Puleo stopped everything the rest of the way to send her team to the state title game.
“I’m so excited we are going to the Garden,” Puleo said. “We’ve felt we could do this from the beginning of the season if we worked hard. Everyone has confidence in each other and we never doubted that we had the talent” to play for a state championship.
Crean and Caroline Doherty got the Gallo Rink crowd rocking early with goals for Hingham just 5:16 into the game. Garrity added a short-handed score later in the period for a 3-0 Harborwomen lead.
HPNA’s Charlotte Woodford hit the post with less than :10 left in the period, showing that her team was not ready to pack it in.
Caroline Doherty scored her second of the game 1:09 into the middle period for a 4-0 lead, but that’s where things got interesting.
Quinn Bennett first got HPNA on the scoreboard. Then Mia Kmiec connected on the power play with 6:36 to play in the second. HPNA did cut the lead down to one goal, but Hingham eventually found what they needed in the third period to keep the dream alive.
“Honestly this feels amazing,” said Garrity. “We’ve worked so hard this entire season and over the past four years to build up this program to the place where we wanted it to be.”
Caroline Doherty’s made some incredible memories this season. Not the least of them has been sharing the ride with her sister, junior forward Brenna Doherty.
“This still feels so unimaginable right now that we are actually going to play at the Garden,” said Brenna Doherty. “This is the best team to be a part of because we are all close friends and it’s amazing that I’m getting the chance to play there with Caroline.”
