Mosca Shines in Net as Dedham Girls Hockey Knots Needham

The and Needham girls' hockey teams penned a new chapter in their legendary Bay State Conference rivalry when they battled to a 1-1 tie Wednesday night at .

Dedham freshman Colleen Downing lit the lamp for the Marauders (0-0-1) at the 5:11 mark of the second period on a deflection. Junior Emily McKenna took the puck across center ice and found senior Meaghan Dwan who blasted a shot on net that was redirected by Downing, who waited on the doorstep for the tip-in.

"I got the puck from the point and just shot it on net and it went in. We played really well tonight," Downing said. "Our backchecking was good and we just kept trying to get shots on net."

Trailing 1-0, the Rockets (0-1-1) picked up their intensity and delivered a flurry of shots on Dedham's junior goalie Emily Mosca. Needham's Jackie Condon, a junior, raced down the left side of the ice and cut across the middle just inside the blue line and blasted a belt-high slap shot that was deflected away at the last second by Mosca.

The Rockets continued to attack the Dedham defense and drew a hooking penalty to go on the power play at the end of the second period but were only able to muster a handful of harmless shots.

That all changed with 11 seconds remaining in the third period, when Needham freshman Cathy Phalen found freshman Annie O'Connor for the equalizer.

With time expiring, Phalen took the puck behind the net and found a streaking O'Connor who one-timed a wrist shot into the back of the net to finish the scoring for the evening.

"For two freshman to show that kind of composure and get their sticks on the puck was great," said Needham coach Allisyn Furano. "It was a great way to end the game."

Dedham's Mosca finished the night with 33 saves while her counterpart, Cotton finished with 32.

"Every time we play Needham it is always an unbelievable game and always up and down. One of our best strengths out there on the ice is our conditioning. We play with a short bench, really only using two lines out there. These girls know what is expected of them," said Marauders coach Joe Huff.