HINGHAM — The Hingham Hockey Showcase has served as the perfect launchpad to the postseason for a handpicked selection of the state’s premier girls programs.
More often than not, the grouping has included the town in which the tournament is hosted — Hingham. On Thursday, the Harborwomen showed why.
Junior Caroline Doherty sniped a pair of goals, including the clinching tally with 9:28 left in regulation, as Hingham upended one of the state’s best teams with an epic 3-2 victory over St. Mary’s (Lynn).
“Every single team is here to compete,” said Hingham coach Courtney Turner. “It’s a nice way to end the season on a competitive note.”
The Harborwomen (16-5-1) faced the top-ranked school in the MIAA girls hockey field, and opened play with an aggressive tempo.
After knocking on the door throughout the opening stanza, Hingham finally broke through as senior captain Reese Pompeo buried a rebound with 4:14 to play in the period.
The Spartans (19-2-1) countered, and relied on a familiar face to do so. Isabella Freitas scored consecutive goals in a span of just 1:10, as St. Mary’s rallied to seize a 2-1 lead at the conclusion of the first.
With about 11 minutes to play in the second, Doherty potted her 22nd goal of the year, tying the game while setting the stage for a dramatic final period.
As she skated in transition in the third, junior Addy Garrity spotted Doherty to her right. She fed a pass to her classmate, only to watch Doherty fire a bullet off the crossbar.
Or so both thought. A nearby referee saw the puck hit the corner of the cage, and awarded the junior her second goal. 3-2, Hingham.
“I didn’t even realize it went in,” laughed Doherty. “When I saw the ref put her hand down, me, Reese Pompeo and Addy Garrity went insane. I was jumping up, crazy. It was really hype, really fun.”
Meanwhile, the Harborwomen saw their neighbors from a few miles up Route 3A defend Pilgrim Arena in their own fashion. Sophomore star Devon Moore erupted for four goals, as Notre Dame (Hingham) pulled away late for a 5-2 victory over Needham.
“I think our girls just played very hard, very well,” said Notre Dame (Hingham) coach John Findley. “The first period was iffy. This is our third game in three days, so it was kind of tough. I was happy that we finished strong.”
Both teams exchanged goals through one period, but it didn’t take long for Notre Dame (13-4-2) to make a statement in the second. Just 1:00 in, Moore registered her second goal to put the Cougars ahead for good at 2-1.
With 4:47 to play in the second, Moore fired a missile into the net off a faceoff win to complete the hat trick. She would tack on one more goal off a loose rebound minutes later, as the Cougars took a 4-1 lead into the final period. From there, they were able to skate to a victory.
Chase Harmon put a cherry on top by tallying a goal with 59.2 seconds remaining for the Cougars. Sarah White added a trio of assists in the win for Notre Dame.
“That’s a great, great win,” Moore said. “Getting momentum going into the playoffs is a big thing for us. Coming out of the first period, we were tied 1-1. So the captains and everybody in the locker room got fired up. That’s where it all starts. Without that, we wouldn’t have really had the momentum to come back and win that game.”