BURLINGTON — In the end there was little to separate the Division II Middlebury and Hartford union high school girls’ hockey teams this winter.

The Tigers finished 12-8-2, and Hurricanes at 11-9-3 against similar schedules that included a number of Division I opponents.

Both defeated higher seeds on the road to reach Sunday’s championship game. The Tigers knocked off No. 2 Missisquoi, 4-3 in overtime two days earlier, while at the same time the Hurricanes ousted No. 1 Burr & Burton, 3-2. The Tigers had defeated Burr & Burton in the regular season.

And after Sunday’s game the Tigers and Hurricanes had met three times this winter, and each team won once with one tie.

But it was the Hurricanes who came out on top, 2-0, in the statistically close game that mattered the most to both teams, Sunday’s showdown for the D-II championship at UVM’s Gutterson Arena.

Hartford probably earned the win. The shots favored the Hurricanes by just 21-19, but they created slightly more dangerous chances and cashed in two of them. After allowing nine goals combined in two regular-season games, Hartford blanked the Tigers. Their defense often limited MUHS to shots from longer range, and the Hurricanes did a good job of clearing pucks from in front of goalie Nella Bowen, who worked the 19-save shutout.

HARTFORD GOALIE NELLA Bowen makes a save from Tiger forward Kate Kozak during Sunday’s D-II girls’ hockey final at UVM.`
Independent photo/Steve James

“Credit to them. They played a really solid game,” said MUHS Coach PJ Lalonde.

He pointed to Hartford’s defensive work in the slot.

“They did do a good job of clearing out. I did think we had quite a few chances in there, but they weren’t long-lived. When we had them, it was cleared out pretty quickly,” Lalonde said. “We had a lot of shots from the point.”

But the Tigers did manufacture opportunities, he added.

“We had our chances,” Lalonde said. “We were super proud of our girls. They played extremely well, and we were in the game all the way through.”

The Tigers had a golden chances to take the lead with 4:30 gone in the first period. Sophomore Julia Morrissey won the puck in the left corner and slid a pass to charging junior Lia Calzini just outside the Hartford crease, but Bowen slid to her left to take Calzini’s one-timer off her chest.

But soon the Hurricanes began to press. Three minutes later Tiger senior goalie Ruby Hubbell made a blocker stop on a Zoe Zanleoni blast from the right circle, and MUHS was fortunate when Emma Bazin fired wide left from the slot soon afterward.

Bazin then made no mistake when she gave Hartford the lead at 7:57. Aubree Vail picked up the puck behind the net and came out on the left side and fed Bazin for a one-timer into the net’s right side.

The Hurricanes earned an 11-6 edge in shots in the first period, and Hubbell and Tiger defenders Quinn Doria, Sedona Carrara, Ireland Hanley and Becka Seeley did well to keep them at bay. Doria dove across the crease to knock the puck away from a Hurricane in the final seconds, and earlier she challenged Bowen with a shot from the high slot.

TIGER JUNIOR FORWARD Sawyer Witscher sees her attempt to poke home a loose puck thwarted by the Hartford defense during Sunday’s D-II girls’ hockey final at UVM.
Independent photo/Steve James

The Tigers outshot the Hurricanes in the second period, 9-5, with many of those shots coming during a mid-period power play. Early on Bowen denied Morrissey from the left side, and McKenna Raymond was in position for the rebound, but the puck took a bad bounce.

The power play came at 6:01, and the Tigers peppered Bowen with three shots from Raymond, and one each from Calzini and Hanley, but Bowen handled them all. As the penalty expired, the Hurricanes were whistled for another infraction, but the Tigers took an ill-advised penalty 12 seconds later and lost a chance for another power play.

While skating four-on-four Calzini had a look from the inner edge of the right circle, but the puck slid inches wide of the left post.

The Tigers mustered only four shots in the third period, and the most dangerous probably came in the first minute. Raymond fired a wrister from between the circles, but Bowen blockered it away.

At 5:15 the Tigers were whistled for tripping, and at 6:03 Hurricane Flynn Moreno netted the insurance goal, skating out front from the left corner and tucking the puck home. Bazin got the assist.

Bowen made saves on Calzini and Carrara as time wound down on the Tigers’ season, and soon the Hurricanes were celebrating.

TIGER FORWARD LIA Calzini and Hartford defender Grace Hayes battle for the puck along the boards during Sunday’s D-II girls’ hockey final at UVM.
Independent photo/Steve James

ROAD TO FINAL

In the semifinal on March 7 the Tigers knocked off No. 2 Missisquoi in overtime, 4-3. Calzini scored the game-winner 4:03 into OT with an assist set up by Raymond. Calzini’s strike gave her a hat trick.

The T-Birds three times took one-goal leads in regulation. After Rory Schreindorfer put Missisquoi on the board 4:26 into the second period, Calzini, from Raymond and Kenyon Connors, knotted the score at 5:44. T-Bird Abigail Wilcox made it 2-1 before the end of the period, but Kate Kozak’s unassisted goal at 2:19 of the third tied the game at 2-2. However, Wilcox restored the T-Bird lead 16 seconds later.

The flurry of offense continued as the Calzini struck just 20 seconds after that goal at 3:15 of the third, with an assist from Carrara, and that 3-3 score held until overtime. Hubbell made 25 saves for the Tigers, and T-Bird netminder Jadyn Lapan made 30 saves.

FANS BROUGHT THEIR enthusiasm (and face paint) to the game.
Independent photo/Steve James

Graduating from the team will be Hubbell, fellow goalie Michaela Charbonneau, and Raymond.

Lalonde said a winning record against a challenging schedule and the kind of efforts from the Tigers like they put forth those two final games made for a successful season.

“We actually just highlighted that for them in the locker room, how they had a very tough schedule, and we battled through,” he said. “They have a lot to be proud about. It’s a great group, and it wasn’t the result we had hoped for for them today, but that’s the way it goes. They had a great season regardless of the outcome today.”