WATERTOWN — No. 9 Peabody/Lynnfield/North Reading (PLNR) and No. 1 Notre Dame (Hingham) squared off in a highly-intense showdown Wednesday night. Three periods later, Notre Dame prevailed, 2-0, in Division 1 girls hockey action at John A. Ryan Arena. 

The game started with both teams having opportunities to test the opposing goalies. The best chance of the period came with 6:46 left on a Notre Dame breakaway, but Alyse Mutti stood tall in goal to deny. 

Mutti made 16 saves in the opening period, drawing plaudits from both coaches. 

“That goalie was fantastic. She made a lot of saves,” said Notre Dame coach John Findley. 

PLNR coach Michelle Roach went a step further, declaring Mutti one of the best in the state. 

“She’s amazing,” Roach said. “She’s so poised and calm. She’s the backbone of the team and sets the tone.” 

In the second period, the Cougars took their chance. Just less than three minutes into the frame, Sarah White one-timed a puck from Devon Moore for a 1-0 lead. 

Then, they finished the period the way they started – with a goal. This time, after an initial save from Mutti, the puck fell right into the path of Caroline Hartnett who poked home Notre Dame’s second (2-0). 

“They’re big, fast, physical, and they didn’t give us time and space,” Roach said. “They made us work for everything. We were going in spurts. We had some good shots on the net, we just couldn’t get anything past. We needed a little more chaos up front.” 

The third period was a deadlock between the two sides. PLNR had quality shots on net, but failed to find twine.

Once the final buzzer sounded, Roach spoke highly of her team after back-to-back Elite 8 appearances. 

“I have a very talented, strong, fierce group of kids. I am so proud to be their coach. I’m so grateful that I can come back each day, each year, and work with them,” she said. “The seniors helped put this program where it is. This is our second trip in two years to the Elite 8, and that’s not an easy thing to do and the kids make it look easy. They’re an amazing group.” 

PLNR has built a force of a program in just eight years. Roach touched upon the changing expectations.

“Eight years ago, we were playing our last game of the season needing one point to make the tournament for the first time ever,” Roach said. “Now, here we are after our third trip to the Elite 8. Back then, it was, ‘We want to make the tournament,’ then, it was ‘We want to win a game,’ then, ‘We want to win the league,’ and now, we want to go further. These kids are talented and the sky’s the limit for them.”  

For those who don’t think PLNR will be back, Roach remembers the noise after last season’s knockout.

“We will be back. Last year, a lot of people questioned whether we’ll be back because we lost four 20-point scorers,” Roach said. “People counted us out and we rebuilt within a season. We won a league and we got to the Elite 8. I think those are amazing accomplishments.”