Brown, Burt Pace Lady Bulldogs in Shootout Victory, Advance to Div. 1 Quarterfinals

Taylor Brown scored two goals, including the winning tally in a shootout, and Katie Burt turned aside 40 shots on goal, including all five in the shootout, to lead the Winthrop High Lady Bulldog girls hockey team to a 2-1 triumph over Arlington Saturday in first round play of the MIAA Division 1 State Hockey Tournament in a contest played at Larsen Rink.

Arlington had earned its way into the Saturday encounter with a 2-1 triumph over Barnstable in a preliminary contest that also had gone into overtime.

“It was a great game,” said WHS head coach Anthony Martucci, who noted that both teams fired 41 shots on goal in the up and down contest. “Arlington is an excellent team and played hard the entire way. But we were just a little bit better.”

After a scoreless first period, Brown gave Winthrop a 1-0 lead late in the second frame. Burt made that slim advantage stand up until midway through the final period when Arlington finally broke through Burt’s force field. The teams battled up and down for the remainder of regulation with good scoring chances, but both goalies proved equal to the task to send the game into OT.

Winthrop’s McKenzie Clark appeared to have scored the game winner midway through the 12 minute OT session, but the ref waved off the apparent goal, ruling that the Arlington goalie had tied up the puck and that the whistle had blown before McKenzie had pushed the puck across the line.

That would prove to be the best chance for either team to end the game, thus setting the stage for the dramatic shootout. Brown converted on Winthrop’s second attempt, while Burt, an eighth grader, stymied all five of Arlington’s efforts.

“Katie is one of the best goalies in the state and she really showed it against Arlington,” said Martucci. “And I can’t say enough about Taylor,” added the coach, who noted that Brown unofficially has reached the 100 career point mark (a stat that still should be confirmed this week).

With the Lady Bulldogs alive to fight on for another day, they will take on Braintree in a quarterfinal match tonight (Thursday) at 5:30 in Watertown.