WOBURN — Even down seven goals, the Longmeadow girls hockey team couldn’t wait to get back on the ice. The Lancers lined up at the rink door while the O’Brien Rink staff finished resurfacing the ice for the second intermission of Monday’s state Division 1 girls semifinal against Methuen/Tewksbury.
“For a lot of us seniors, we know this could be our last game,” said Northampton High senior Brigitte Goeler-Slough, who plays center for the Lancers. “We wanted to give it all we had and work until the final whistle.”
That whistle sounded for a 9-1 victory for the third-seeded Red Rangers. They’ll face unbeaten No. 1 Austin Prep in the state championship at a time and date to be determined. The loss ended the most successful season in Longmeadow’s four-year history.
“They believe in each other, trust each other and work hard for each other,” Longmeadow coach Melissa Vandermyn said. “Getting them to come together in such a short amount of time is pretty incredible.”
Methuen/Tewksbury (21-1-1) established itself early. Cassidy Gruning put the Red Rangers ahead 1 minute, 56 seconds into the game when she finished a backdoor rebound for the opening goal. She made it 2-0 with 8:36 left in the first period on a similar play, taking advantage of Longmeadow goalie Kayla Brown when she was sprawled out on the ice following a save.
No. 7 Longmeadow went to the locker room for the first intermission down 2-0 and with a chance to find a way back into the game. But Gruning snuck in the backdoor off a rebound again for a hat trick 10 seconds into the second period.
“They definitely worked hard to get there. We didn’t get back to the basics. We were a little manic,” Vandermyn said. “They worked hard, they deserved it.”
That goal started a flood. Methuen/Tewksbury scored six goals in the second period to put the game out of reach. Karalyn Jones put Longmeadow on the board when she intercepted a pass and beat Methuen/Tewksbury’s goalie on a breakaway 12:49 into the second.
It was Goeler-Slough’s final game for the Lancers. She joined a Longmeadow program in its infancy after playing goalie her freshman year for Easthampton.
“That was a great decision for me. The coaching here is amazing, the players are amazing,” she said. “It’s been an amazing group and I’m lucky to be a part of it.”
She led the Lancers with 24 goals and 10 assists in her senior season. No other player cracked double digits in either category.
“She is the leader on this team. Nobody looks to her as a puck hog. Nobody looks to her like ‘we have to give the puck to Brigitte to score.’ They look to her because she works the hardest,” Vandermyn said. “To be a motivator like that is hard to do. She’s the epitome of it. She’s gonna do great things in her life.”
Goeler-Slough will play collegiate hockey for Wesleyan next season. She bought into the idea of Longmeadow hockey early and became one of the faces of the amalgamation program. There are 10 schools involved in the cooperative program, but they all coexist on the ice.
“Right now it definitely stings, but we have a lot to be proud of this year and what we accomplished,” Goeler-Slough said. “We have a lot to look forward to with this program. We’ve taken a lot of big steps in the few years I’ve been here, but I know it’s just going to go up and up from here.”
There are only four seniors on Longmeadow’s roster. Freshmen Chloe Cutting of Frontier Regional and Gateway Regional’s Kaitlyn Quinn will be a part of the Lancers’ future.
“The girls, the wins, everything was great,” Cutting said. “I love the game, and it was great to meet all the girls.”
Pope Francis 3, BC High 2 — South Deerfield resident Ben Zaranek made 19 saves to help the Cardinals return to the Super 8 championship game.
Pope Francis (18-2-2) lost to the Eagles in overtime in last year’s championship game.
John Tavella scored his second goal of the game with 2:21 left to put Pope Francis ahead. The Cardinals took the lead three times, but BC High only answered twice.
The championship will be held Sunday at TD Garden in Boston. Pope Francis will face the winner between BC High and Xaverian in Wednesday’s losers’ bracket final.
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com.