Fontbonne Academy Falls to Duxbury in Division 2 Title Game

All it took was a Hannah Murphy wrist shot to dash the hopes and dreams of a Division 2 state championship by the  girls hockey team.

Murphy’s game winning goal with just 1:02 remaining guided Duxbury to a dramatic 2-1 victory over the Ducks in Sunday morning’s state championship showdown at the TD Garden.

For the Ducks (16-3-5), it marked their third consecutive trip to the state title game, but failed to grab their second crown.

“It was a great game, and the girls have nothing to be ashamed of,’’ said coach Bob Huxley. “Making it to the state championship game for the third straight year is quite an accomplishment and we almost pulled it out. Unfortunately, we came up just a bit short, but it doesn’t take away what we accomplished as a unit.”

Only moments before, the Ducks tied the contest as senior standout Taylor Shepherd emerged on a breakaway goal. Off a pass from Erin McLoughlin in the neutral zone, Shepherd deked a Dragon defender and rifled a shot past Dragon goaltender Rachel Myette, tying the contest at 1-1.

“I was hoping we were going into overtime,’’ said Huxley. “The past couple of games in the tournament, we’ve had some good luck and we were hoping that we had one more shot. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen and they (Duxbury) were able to take advantage of a turnover in the zone, which proved to be the difference.”

Early in the first period, the Dragons created several quality scoring chances. Off a pass in the neutral zone, Lily Connolly fired a shot from close range that Duck goaltender and Milton native Lan Crofton turned aside. Minutes later, Colleen Leddie deked a pair of Duck defenders and emerged all along on a breakaway opportunity, but Crofton snatched the puck in midair.

Crofton, who stopped 29 shots in the losing effort, held the fort while stopping a multitude of Dragon rushes from close range.

“Lan did an outstanding job, and she stood on her head,’’ said Huxley. “She made a lot of key saves for us, and she did a nice job with deflecting the rebounds. She kept us in the game, and she came up huge for us in some key situations.”

Midway through the period, the Ducks generated a five-on-three situation, but only weak shots by McLoughlin and Shepherd were easily turned aside by Myette.

“We had some power play opportunities, and we couldn’t take advantage,’’ said Huxley. “We came out a little tentative, which kind of surprised being how experienced we are in these types of games. We just couldn’t get anything going on the power play, and it’s a credit to their (Duxbury’s) penalty kill.”

Following a scoreless first period, the Dragons struck just: 39 into the second. On a two-on-one, Ally Hammel fired a pass to Briana Connolly, who whistled a shot past a stunned Crofton short side for the 1-0 lead.

Throughout the second period, the Dragons dominated the pace of the game, out shooting the Ducks by a whopping 13-3 margin. Even with some prime opportunities, Crofton stood tall, stopping shots from close range by Brianna Connolly, Lily Connolly, Hannah Murphy and Liz Collins.

With 2:30 remaining, the Dragons nearly grabbed a 2-0 lead as Haley Connolly drove down the right side of the attack zone and lifted a backhander from just outside the goal crease that Crofton calmly turned aside.

“They were firing everything at us,’’ said Huxley. “Lan made some outstanding saves in that second period, and our defense did a nice job clearing the puck out of the zone. With the type of pressure they were putting on us, it could’ve been easily (2-0) or (3-0) after the second.”

As Crofton continued to turn aside key shot after key shot, the Ducks created a pair of scoring opportunities. On a breakaway opportunity, Shepherd fired a shot, but whistled wide off the far post. Minutes later, Shepherd broke free all alone in the attack zone, but was hauled down by a Dragon defender for a penalty.

After several scoring chances, the Ducks tied the contest at 1-1 with 2:40 remaining as Shepherd poked a shot past a stunned Myette short side.

With the potential of overtime looming, the Ducks’ state championship bid came crashing to a halt with 1:02 remaining. Off a turnover in the neutral zone, Murphy broke free and whistled a shot that eluded Crofton top right corner for the 2-1 lead.

“We were trying to push the puck up, and instead we turned it over to them,’’ said Huxley. “We made a little mistake in our own end, and they were right there to capitalize on it. Unfortunately, we paid the price for it and we ended up losing the game.”

In the final seconds, Crofton was pulled for the extra attacker, but Myette stopped several key shots from Shepherd and McLoughlin as the Ducks’ bid for a Division 2 state championship came to an end.

Now the Ducks will look toward next season when they’ll have to overcome some key graduation losses, including Shepherd, Liz Coleman, Paige Frabetti-Merlino, Michelle Barrett, Meg Collins and goaltender Sam Curley.

“We’re definitely going to miss those seniors,’’ said Huxley. “They brought a lot of leadership, and we’re going to have to find a way to replace them. It was a great season and I’m proud of what we accomplished as a team.”