Wed. 3/4/26
NEPSAC Elite 8 Quarterfinals
SPS at Nobles   L 4 – 5 OT

Big Red Falls in OT to Nobles

As everyone knows, "great moments come from great opportunities."  After a bite of lunch and an inspirational video from Coach Mackey, the Big Red hopped on a Concord Coach and headed to the Noble and Greenough School for one of those great opportunities.  A strong Nobles side had earned the #1 seed of the NEPSAC Elite 8 Tournament with but one loss this season.  The #8 seeded underdogs from Millville had earned the right to compete for this special title and felt it was time for the Bulldogs to get their second loss.  Error free playoff hockey is a challenge and the Big Red knew they would need everyone's buy in to make it happen.

The opening of the game was fast with very few whistles.  Both teams taking care to keep the opponent to the outside in their defensive zone and doing their best to make sure pucks were in deep whenever possession was in question.  Pucks to the net would be the difference in the game today.  Nobles proved that be the case at 8:31 of the first period when they fired the puck towards the goal as their winger crashed the weak side of the net.  The puck deflected off an SPS defensemen's skate and into the net for the 1 – 0 lead.  Four minutes later Nobles increased their lead to two with a sharp shot from the top of the right circle as SPS was unable to clear the zone.

The second period was a lively one.  Erin Flaherty finally got the Big Red on the board giving SPS the spark they needed at 12:50. The helper was from line-mates Chelsea Bella nd Kelsey MaccPherson. Nobles response was strong and immediate as the host side scored a pair of goals in the next two shifts to quickly jump to a three goal lead.  The Big Red was shaken and suddenly nervous.  What had happened?  Was Nobles just too good?  An SPS time out was called to settle the side and co-captain Maggie Berlith emphatically reminded the group that there was a lot of time left to play, and they were better than this.  There was and they were.  The answer came three minutes later as Flaherty made it 4 – 2 with a power play goal after moving the puck quickly at the top between Madelyn Humber and Malin Wilde.  The action was not over yet as the Big Red then had to kill off a pair penalties.  They did this very well and even were able to score a shorthanded goal.  This time it would be the speed of Kelsey MacPherson who would make the difference going coast to coast followed by an eruption of the Big Red bench. As the second stanza ended it was a 4 – 3 game, and the momentum had swung in the Big Red favor.  SPS believed they could win this game.

The third period was another exciting one.  Playing like it was their last, SPS peppered the Nobles net to find the equalizer.  At 10:40 it would be Flaherty again, completing her hat-trick, burying a rebound of a MacPherson shot.  More eruption!   With ten minutes to play, the game was even.  Both teams had their chances to end the contest, but excellent goaltending by Paige MacPhee and smart defending kept the game even. 

To overtime the teams would go – 18 minutes, sudden death; all to play for.  Nobles would get the elusive puck luck necessary to win games like this as a puck to the net found its way across the goal line three minutes into overtime.