RANDOLPH – Braintree girls hockey beat Walpole, 4-2, on Saturday to earn a season sweep against the Timberwolves for the first time since the 2021-22 season.
The win was the eighth of the year for Braintree and has the team on the precipice of a state tournament berth after going 2-18-1 last season.
“After last year, we had a really rough season so this year it’s been really fun winning some games and it was fun sweeping (Walpole),” Braintree senior captain Cassidy Gibbons said.
After graduating just one player from last year’s roster, Braintree knew it had to get different results from mostly the same group this season.
“Coming with the same team, everyone just had a better mentality this year and a better attitude towards it,” Braintree senior captain Bridget Walsh said. “We come to the games wanting to win, everyone wants to win, put in their best effort, no matter who we’re playing.”
Saturday’s victory was the third in a row for Kevin Burchill’s squad and the fifth in its last six tries. Over that stretch, Braintree has scored at least four goals four times, and six twice.
“We’ve been putting them in, not pretty ones, a couple good ones tonight,” Burchill said. “But we got to grind, we’re old school. We can’t let them have an easy shot, you got to have active sticks.
“They grind, they’re just good back checkers, they get their stick in the way. I think they’re playing pretty well, I’m pretty happy.”
Recognizing that this year’s team may not be one of the most talented in the state, Braintree has had to adopt that grind-it-out mentality. In year two with essentially the same squad, that attitude is taking hold, as well as a deeper familiarity of the team’s systems.
“We’re not fast, but we grind, we’re gonna grind them into the wall,” Burchill said. “One girl squeeze, the second girl takes the puck and they’re starting to figure it out.
“We play a four plus one for defense when we’re in the zone. Last year, they get sloppy, now they’re understanding it.”
Against Walpole on Saturday, the grinding machine was put to an even greater test. At Braintree’s home arena, Zapustas, the compressor broke, causing the ice to begin to melt away on Friday.
Although the facility’s team was able to get just enough ice on thanks to the cold from the outside air, a Zamboni could not be used between periods, resulting in snow piling up and slowing the skaters down.
Burchill had to remind some of his players that the speed they did have wouldn’t necessarily be as effective due to the conditions.
“Audrey (Shea)’s elusive but she sometimes tries too much. I said, ‘Audrey, it’s not gonna work out there, cause there’s an inch and a half of snow,’” Burchill said. “So I was like, ‘Let’s play smart, over the red line, dump it in, and eat time, eat time.’”
In the first period, Braintree opened the scoring three minutes in off a goal from Gibbons. From there, they did their best to keep the pressure on Walpole.
“I think we knew who we were playing coming into this game,” Walsh said. “Last game was closer so we just knew we had to start off harder and put them on their heels and that’s what we did.
“I think we were making crisp, clean passes this game, and we were breaking out well. We were communicating and we got a couple of shots, some rebounds.”
After struggling to extend its lead in the remainder of the period, Braintree took its 1-0 advantage in the second. There, Burchill’s team once again scored quickly, this time two minutes into the frame off a shot from Meghan Eggers.
Two minutes later, Kayla Graziano found Amelia Choukas who had just jumped on up the ice. The junior then kept the puck herself and added another goal to Braintree’s tally.
Holding control of much of the play up 3-0, Braintree slipped a bit to close the second period. Walpole got a power play with 3:50 to go and just five seconds into it, Caroline Sullivan made it 3-1.
One minute later, Sullivan struck again for the Timberwolves.
Braintree however, never gave up full control and held its lead going into the final frame.
After killing off another penalty immediately to start the third, Braintree recaptured the momentum and didn’t waver.
With 9:17 remaining, Emily McDonough lifted the puck while falling down and managed to get it into the back of the net for Braintree’s fourth and final goal.
The rest of the way the Timberwolves got some looks on freshman goaltender Siena Cadigan but couldn’t get another by her.
Cadigan finished the night with 25 saves and a win for Braintree.
“We’ve just really been taking what we do at practice to the games which really helps,” Gibbons said. “(Burchill) teaches us well at practice.”
Next, Braintree will travel to face Weymouth on Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. After that, Burchill’s squad has a pair of high-end rematches to finish the season.
“We have Milton, if we beat them all of a sudden we get a jump, even a tie, keep it under three goals, it’s a home run for us,” Burchill said. “We got Archie Bills (Archbishop Williams), and it was only 3-0, but we didn’t let them shoot. I’m like, ‘Girls, I know you’re dizzy just watching them going around but that’s OK. They’re not going to score from the wall.’
“We’ve got a couple important games. We’ve got Weymouth, if we can squeeze a point, two points out of that, we’re in the tournament, to me that would be miraculous.”
