PEABODY — The quick release is a goal scorer’s best friend. Wednesday afternoon, Peabody senior Shirley Whitmore used hers to release the pressure valve that comes with the opening game of the state tournament.
Using a burst of speed to get behind the Waltham defense on a breakaway, Whitmore buried a high glove side shot just 41 seconds into a Division 1 first round contest at McVann-O’Keefe Rink. The dream start allowed the No. 12 seed Tanners to relax, play their game and mostly controls things in a tidy 2-0 win over Hawks.
“Honestly I was a little stressed and figure if I shot top corner, it might go in. I wanted to make the goalie move a little and hit that corner,” said Whitmore. “The whole game was based on that start, because our energy went through the roof.”
Senior goaltender Alyse Mutti stopped all 24 shots to post her 11th shutout of the season, sending the Tanners (16-3-2) to the Round of 16 for the sixth consecutive tournament. They’ll meet No. 5 Archbishop Williams (a 5-1 winner over Brookline Wednesday) on the road sometime this weekend.
No. 21 seed Waltham (13-6-2) put 11 shots on Mutti in the first period with eighth grader Molly Whittier producing the best of those opportunities. Mutti made a number of impressive glove stops to set the tone for Peabody, earning sixth career playoff victory and extending her career best shutout streak to 191:41.
“Alyse … what more can you say about her?” wondered Peabody coach Michelle Roach. “She has 61 career wins and more than half of them are shutouts. She’s just so remarkably consistent.”
The Tanners doubled the lead with 5:29 remaining in the third period thanks to a laser from the blue line by senior Chloe Gromko. After taking a pass from freshman Grace Allen, Gromko held up to allow a defender to move out of her shooting lane … then uncorked a blast for her team-leading 13th goal of the season.
“Chloe was very vocal on that. From the bench, we could hear her ask for the puck back and then the patience she showed to move the girl and take the shot was impressive,” said Roach.
After being outshot in the opening period, the Tanners employed a dump-and-chase style and relied on their backchecking to wear out the visiting Hawks. Peabody successfully killed off three Waltham power plays with good penalty killing work by Mikaela O’Driscoll, Leah Buckley, Mia Lava and Ava Buckley.
Waltham pulled goalie Minaya Bahl (27 saves) for the extra attacker with 4:30 left and the Tanners were whistled for offsides with a chance at the open net. Peabody won the ensuing faceoff, though, and kept the puck hemmed in the Waltham end for nearly two minutes to prevent Bahl from getting off again for the 6-on-5 advantage.
“They were kicking it up a notch and we responded by raising our energy,” said Roach. “I was very happy to see that because overall Waltham was clearly ready for us. They were an impressive team.”
Having ten seniors in the lineup plus the comforts and routines of being in their home rink certainly helped the Tanners on Wednesday. The program is now 7-0 all-time in playoff games at McVann-O’Keefe Rink (with Mutti in net for five of those victories) and remained unbeaten on home ice this season at 10-0-1.
Vanessa Steinmeyer, another senior, caused some important turnovers for Peabody and Gromko showed off her two-way play by laying out to block a shorthanded 2-on-1 bid by Waltham in the second period. Both teams wound up 0-for-3 on the power play.
Junior Eleni Spack had the assist on Whitmore’s initial goal. She gathered a puck pushed aside by Mutti and threaded the needle up ice, hitting Whitmore in stride to split two Hawks and go off to the races.
“We have a lot of speed and Shirley used hers to get us a big, big goal,” Roach said. “We talk a lot about quick transitions, making quick decisions and trying to catch the D off guard. That was a quick pass and Shirley flew down the ice with a beautiful finish.”
Peabody 2, Waltham 0
Division 1 Round of 32
At McVann-O’Keefe Rink, Peabody
Waltham 0 0 0 0 Peabody 1 1 0 2 Scoring summary First period: PLNR, Shirley Whitmore (Eleni Spack), :41.
Second period: PLNR, Chloe Gromko (Grace Allen), 9:31.
Third period: No scoring.
Saves: W, Miyana Bahl 27; PLNR, Alyse Mutti 24.
Records: W, 13-6-2; PLNR, 16-3-2.