Winthrop High Girls Hockey Team Defeats Masco, Acton-Boxboro

 The Winthrop High School girls hockey team was undefeated and ranked as high as No. 3 in Massachusetts heading into a rematch with Masconomet Wednesday night at Larsen Rink.

The Vikings defeated Masco, 2-1, in an overtime thriller Saturday and returned to the ice Monday for a 5-1 victory over Acton-Boxborough.

Julia Holmes netted the game-winner in the five-minute extra session against Masco, with her sister, Emma, drawing an assist on the play. Emma scored the other goal 24 seconds into the contest.

Interestingly, Winthrop’s league (Northeast Hockey League) is in the second year of overtime for regular-season games. In the past, a game would end in a tie if it were deadlocked following the three periods of regulation time.

“We’ve adopted overtime for the league, it started last year – five minutes of 4-on-4 hockey,” reported Winthrop head coach Butch Martucci. “It’s a cool format. I didn’t really want to have overtime at first because the two teams would get a point [in the standings] for their hard work. The game does end in a tie if neither team scores in the five-minute overtime.”

Martucci said he deployed an all-Holmes (triplets Emma, Julia, and Abby) strategy in overtime, “and the sisters got the job done.”

In the strong 5-1 win over Acton-Boxborough (which, like Masco, is a regional high school drawing students from the towns of Acton, Boxborough, and Stow), sophomores Izzy Cash and Talia Martucci each had two goals, while Emma Holmes stayed red hot with another tally.

Winthrop goaltender Riley Towse continues to excel, picking up where former standout Summer Tallent left off last year for the Vikings.

“Riley is playing fantastic in net, and we’re wicked proud of her because she is not seeing a ton of shots, but she’s staying very focused and dialed in,” said Coach Martucci.