AUBURN — Yarmouth/Freeport got enough pucks past St. Dom’s goalie Alana Wheeler to win Saturday’s matchup.
The Clippers notched a 3-1 victory over the Saints after putting 41 shots on the net at Norway Savings Bank Arena.
“That’s typically what happens, we get a lot of shots. They have a good goalie,” Yarmouth/Freeport coach David Intraversato said. “Hats off to her; she kept them in the game, basically. We had the puck in their zone most of the game.”
St. Dom’s coach Paul Gosselin said Wheeler has been solid all season.
“She has been coming around pretty well, every week getting better and I think her confidence is growing,” Gosselin said. “She’s starting to show her true colors.”
Yarmouth/Freeport put up 11 unsuccessful shots on goal in the first eight minutes of the first period, but Ella Zur Muhlen put home the 12th shot. It was the lone goal Wheeler let in during the opening frame.
“She’s just coming back from injury. She has only played a few games,” Intraversato said. “For her to get that goal, it probably lifted her confidence up. We had a long day yesterday with a tournament. The girls were pretty gassed coming into this game.”
Avery Buchanan had the assist.
The Clippers finished the period with 18 shots on goal.
Gosselin said he was pleased the Saints were only down 1-0 after the first period against a senior-laden team.
“Their positioning is coming around,” Gosselin said of the team. “The defensive zone coverage is coming up really well. I think their 1-on-1 battles are doing well. I think there was a strength difference with Yarmouth/Freeport having more senior girls versus eighth- and ninth-grade girls. Positioning was good, battling was good, I was happy with it.”
St. Dom’s tied the game early in the second period when Emily Andrews fired a puck past Elle Grondin.
“It built our momentum and stops theirs, and gets us back in the game,” Gosselin said. “It was really good.”
Intraversato said the Clippers got caught trying to make a line change when the Saints notched their goal.
The Saints kept the Clippers at bay for most of the second period, but Rosie Panenka put home a second-chance rebound 6:45 into the stanza. Erin O’Connor had the helper.
“I think Isabel (Peters) clanked one off the post and Rosie picked it up and put it home on the rebound,” Intraversato said. “That was kind of our plan. We spoke after the first to try to jump on those rebounds quicker that (Wheeler) was leaving out for us.”
Panenka nearly got a third goal for Yarmouth/Freeport at the end of the second, but the shot went wide. The Clippers had seven shots in the middle frame.
Avery Buchanan slipped a puck past Wheeler late in the third period. The Clippers had 17 shots on net in the final frame. Sophie Smith chipped in with an assist.
“Avery banked one off the back of the goalie there,” Intraversato said. “…When she came off, I asked her, ‘Did you try to do that?’ She was like, ‘Yeah, I did.’ She knew what she was doing.”
Andrews had a shorthanded opportunity in the final two minutes, but the chance missed the net.
“Emily played well. She had two scoring chances, great scoring opportunities,” Gosselin said. “Two top corner shots, one just missed and one goes in the glove. If those go in, it’s a whole different game.”
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