WEST LEBANON — It was a not-so-super Tuesday for the Lebanon-Stevens-Kearsarge girls hockey team, which had its season end with a 6-4 loss to St. Thomas-Winnacunnet-Dover at Campion Rink.
LSK senior forward Marissa Pickman had two goals and two assists during the NHIAA Division I first-round playoff contest. The hosts narrowed the score to 5-4 with 6 minutes, 36 seconds to play before surrendering an empty-net goal with 26 seconds remaining. The Raiders were outshot, 32-7, through two periods and 40-20 overall.
“We could have rolled over down two goals, and we didn’t,” said LSK coach Mike Sheehan, whose team finished 9-7-2. “But we made defensive mistakes we hadn’t made in a long time. There was just too much puck-watching in our own end, and it crept up and bit us in the backside.”
Jaeda Fuller, the Saint Warriors’ goaltender, hadn’t played hockey before this season. The sophomore’s outstanding effort and athleticism allowed her to make 12 saves, seven of them during the final stanza, but she dropped to her knees and planted her stick at an angle on most shots.
“We talked about that yesterday, and we talked about it before the game, and we talked about it before the third period,” Sheehan said. “That was a point of emphasis, but for whatever reason, we weren’t touching many pucks and creating many chances for the first two periods.”
Lebanon-Stevens-Kearsarge finally took advantage of Fuller’s inexperience during the last 15 minutes. Entering the period down, 3-1, the seventh-seeded Raiders threw caution to the wind. However, the offensive payoff came with continued defensive missteps.
St. Thomas-Winnacunnet-Dover scored the first period’s lone goal when it rushed into the Lebanon end. A trailing wing was unmarked in the slot and assisted on a shot into a wide-open net.
The 10th-seeded Saint Warriors (10-9-0) doubled their lead four minutes into the second period. A centering pass out of the corner went in off an LSK defender’s skate. The Raiders pulled within 2-1 just 20 seconds later, Makayla Macciolli firing into the net’s open right side.
St. Thomas-Winnacunnet-Dover went up, 3-1, on a power play created by a Maya Barnett interference penalty. A pass from behind the net was stuffed in at the right post. LSK finished the period shorthanded when Pickman was penalized for a slash.
The Raiders made the score 3-2 after only 51 seconds of the third period. Pickman skated through the right circle and fired over Fuller’s blocker and under the crossbar at the far post. The hosts had been outshot, 33-10, to that point.
The Saint Warriors answered less than a minute later on another pass from behind the net that led to a quick shot and score. Slightly more than a minute later, it was the Raiders again, clawing back to within 4-3 on a Pickman breakaway.
Momentum wore maroon and gold at that point, but St. Thomas-Winnacunnet-Dover went right back to what worked, a forward bursting up the left side, swinging behind the cage and feeding the puck out front for the visitors’ fifth tally with nine minutes to play.
Macciolli made the score 5-4 when her soft shot eluded Fuller at the left post. By that point, it felt that almost any Lebanon attempt might find the twine, but the Saint Warriors were steadfast in limiting those chances during the late going.
“The pressure just released at some point, and we started going,” said Sheehan. “I just wish it had happened sooner. Until then, we were caught chasing the puck. I don’t think they had a goal from farther out than five feet from our net.”
Notes: Paige Hoegler made 23 saves for the Raiders … Lebanon lost to St. Thomas-Winnacunnet-Dover on the road, 4-1, on Jan. 2. … The Saint Warriors advance to play at second-seeded Berlin-Gorham in the second round. … The Raiders were 9-10 last season and lost to Exeter in the second round. … LSK played without injured forward Lily Gogan and moved defender Greta Barber up to fill her slot. That left the Raiders playing with only three skaters on the blue line, something Sheehan said they’d done several times earlier in the season.
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com.