STONEHAM — Lydia Barnes watched the film. Malden Catholic boasted a high-octane scoring offense, and Methuen/Tewksbury’s ace netminder was prepared to face a shooting gallery in Thursday’s Elite 8 girls hockey matchup against the Lancers.
Behind a touch of showmanship, Barnes passed the test with flying colors. Making 39 saves in goal, No. 6 Methuen/Tewksbury skated past No. 3 Malden Catholic, 4-1, in front of a raucous crowd at Stoneham Arena to advance to the Div. 1 Final Four.
Methuen/Tewksbury (19-1-3) will draw the winner of No. 15 Bishop Stang (16-5-1) and No. 7 Bishop Feehan (17-5-2) for a trip to Causeway Street.
To set the table for MJ Petisce’s first-period tally, Barnes stopped a barrage of 17 shots in the opening stanza.
“I just got to stick to my fundamentals and support my team the way I can and know that they have my back,” Barnes said.
For a moment, it looked like the Lancers broke the ice. But Malden Catholic’s (16-3-4) net front goal at the 8:03 mark was nixed, and Methuen/Tewksbury took advantage of the reversal.
The Red Rangers lit the lamp on their third shot of the period as Petisce flew into the attacking zone before firing a wrist shot on goal. The puck trickled past the goal line with 4:44 to play in the first.
Petisce said there was an emphasis on putting rubber on the cage, triggering her to shoot as she glided over the blue line.
“So I just flipped it on net and it magically went in,” she said. “It definitely helped with the teammates and getting it in there … I think the first goal was super important.”
Methuen/Tewksbury continued to be under siege in its defensive end. But Barnes protected the 1-0 cushion between the pipes, stopping five shots — including a point-blank kick save in the slot off the tape of Brianna Donegan — to escape the opening stanza unscathed.
“The first period was the whole game,” said Red Rangers head coach Dave O’Hearn. “They’re a good skating team, and they were relentless. They had a lot of horses in the stable and it felt like it was just one wave after the next. Our girls just withheld it.”
The Lancers barraged the Red Rangers with 13 shots in the second, but Barnes kept everything in front of her to nurse Methuen/Tewksbury’s 1-0 lead into the third.
Malden Catholic potted the equalizer with 7:28 left in the period on a shot by Aviana Panacopoulos, but Sarah Marano jammed home a rebound on the power play to retake the lead. Sammy Ryan and Ella Duffy added empty-netters to seal the win.
“We’ve worked so hard to get here, and it feels like honestly a little bit of a relief because it’s been such a great season. I’m so proud of my girls,” Barnes said.