HINGHAM, Mass. — Few teams in the MIAA are as hot as Burlington. Fresh off their 2-0 upset win over Malden Catholic, who handed them their only loss of the season last month, the Lady Devils toppled Hingham, 1-0, on the road on Saturday.
The win extends Burlington's (9-1-0) win streak to five in a row and its shutout streak to three. Hingham (8-4-1) has lost two of three.
Seventh-grade forward Sofia Cleary scored the lone goal for Burlington, while sophomore goaltender Isa Fischer had the shutout.
Hingham dominated most of the first period, aided by a pair of early power plays. Fischer kept the Harborwomen at bay though. She first denied Caroline Doherty's grade-A chance in the high slot off a smooth give-and-go. She came through again when she denied a 2-on-0 off a turnover later in the period.
Burlington grabbed some momentum, though, thanks to Chloe Rabazzi forcing a turnover inside the offensive blue line, which hemmed Hingham in for well over 1:30 of elapsed time.
In the second, the Lady Devils continued to come alive as Cleary opened the scoring just over three minutes in. Rabazzi sent a low, tippable shot from the point on goal, where captain Shea McDonald took a swipe at the rebound before Cleary jammed in the loose puck.
From there, Fischer continued to go to work. She stoned Addy Garrity on a shorthanded 2-on-1 with Doherty before another big-time save on Doherty at the doorstep.
Hingham tried to mount a push in the third, throwing everything it had on Fischer. Doherty had one of the Harborwomen's best chances of the night when she nailed the crossbar in the closing moments. Fischer also came up with a pair of huge saves in the final 10 seconds.
Here are eight standouts from the game.
Isa Fischer
Burlington, 5/17/2007, G, catches left
Fischer was fantastic, just as she has been during the Lady Devils' recent hot streak. She made save after save, especially in the first and third periods when Hingham had Burlington on its heels. The sophomore tracked pucks well through traffic and had nice anticipation all game. She saved some of her biggest saves for last, making a lunging save to the left post with seven seconds left before denying Doherty once again with two seconds to go.
Shea McDonald
Burlington, 2006, C, shoots rightÂ
McDonald was in the mix in front of the crease on Cleary's goal, but where she shined was the defensive zone. The junior co-captain was terrific defensively all night for Burlington. In the second, she made a great play to cover for Rabazzi and block a center pass in the defensive zone. Later in the same shift, she picked off a pass in the neutral zone to kickstart a counter rush. McDonald had a big blocked shot in the second during an extended defensive zone sequence, too. She dominated at the face-off dot and her strong instincts and stick positioning came through consistently. It was best on display as the Lady Devils did a great job of keeping Hingham from the slot down the stretch.
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Caroline Doherty
Hingham, 8/23/2006, RW, right shot, 5-6
Doherty again was the Harborwomen's best source of offense. She created several grade-A looks for herself and others throughout the night. Had Fischer not denied her on multiple occasions or if her shot hadn't echoed off the post in the third, the game could have gone completely differently. She did a great job of using her size and strength to succeed in 1-on-1 battles.
Chloe Rabazzi
Burlington, 9/2/2010, D, left shot
Rabazzi was fantastic on the blue line for Burlington. She did a great job picking off a breakout pass in the first before putting on a puck-protection clinic. It all led to an extensive offensive zone shift for the Lady Devils. Rabazzi did a great job of picking her spots to jump into the play, and her skating ability helped her in the defensive zone, too. With Hingham surging in the second, she found the loose puck off a face-off scramble and calmly skated it out of the defensive zone to ease the pressure. You'd never know she's in seventh grade.
Caitlyn Tremblay
Burlington, Junior, F, left shot
Tremblay seemingly made something happen every time she was on the ice for Burlington. An energetic player, she had a nice shorthanded forecheck early, disrupting Hingham's breakout and eating a ton of time off the penalty kill. She had a nice rush later in the first, flashing some quick strides to get up to speed before making a between-the-legs move around the defender. Early in the third, she and Shayla Kocur nearly combined on a 2-0n-1 to double the lead.
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Sofia Cleary
Burlington, 7/10/2011, F, right shot
Even aside from her goal, Cleary had some strong sequences where she drove play, which was impressive for a much younger player earning top-line minutes. Her goal was a result of nice instincts and positioning, parking herself at the front of the net and locating the loose puck to bury the game's only tally.
Shea Richardson
Hingham, 9/5/2008, D, right shot
Richardson was solid on the blue line for the Harborwomen. The freshman ate heavy minutes, made good first passes on breakouts all night and made good decisions to skate the puck out herself when needed. She did a good job of spinning out of pressure to buy herself more time on breakouts, too.
CC Flynn
Hingham, sophomore, D, left shot
Flynn stood out again for the same reasons she stood out at the Tenney Cup earlier this month. She was dangerous inside the offensive blue line, making nice reads to step in front of forwards to hold the blue line and break up zone entries. Flynn's smooth skating ability allowed her to maintain good gap control in transition throughout.
