SPS made the Wednesday afternoon trek through Keene, NH and down route 91 to Deerfield Academy and the Home of the Green Doors. This one would see two quality clubs play for the full 59 minutes with both teams confident the game would be theirs. Through two periods the game belonged to the goaltenders as they were sharp – on their angles, limiting second chances and dominating play.
Paige MacPhee for the Pelicans made 30 saves on the afternoon.
Kelsey MacPherson had the best chance for SPS in the first and a
Liza Demain pass to
Cadence Crowley was a super opportunity in the second.
The third period saw each team score their lone goal. Deerfield got on the board less than a minute into the final stanza while on the power play. A dangerous pass to the front deflected off a Big Green shin guard and into the net. It would take until the midway point of the period for SPS to equalize.
Kelsey MacPherson picked up a turnover at the defensive blue line and jumped into a two-on-two break with
Chelsea Bell.
Kelsey MacPherson took the Deerfield defense wide as Bell went hard to the net. A crisp pass to the front that was banged into the net, and it was 1- 1 game.
Would the five-minute OT change the outcome? It looked like it would. The Big Red had three great chances in the first two minutes. Then with 2:47 to play, it would be
Kelsey MacPherson again who was sent in on a partial breakaway after a diving tip out of the defensive end by
Erin Flaherty, only to be hauled down for a penalty. Despite several quality looks on the PP, SPS could not finish the game. Deerfield did not quit, and they earned a partial break of their own just as they came out of the box. Penalty called against the Big Red with :46 seconds to play. With the help of
Paige MacPhee in net and some good penalty killing, the Big Red finished the game without allowing the game winning goal. Well-played by both teams playing to a 1 – 1 tie.
The Big Red host the Thayer Academy Tigers on Friday night at the Gordon Rink before they head off on a well-deserved mid-winter long weekend.
Go Big Red.
