PEABODY – With only three Div. 1 girls hockey programs allowing fewer goals per game than Peabody/Lynnf./NR and Methuen/Tewksbury this year, it was no overreaction to have high defensive expectations for when their Div. 1 state tournament second-round matchup arrived on Saturday night.

Surrounded by a large crowd at McVann Rink, they certainly didn’t disappoint.

Sophomore Alyse Mutti posted her 10th shutout of the year and the defense in front of her made sound decisions throughout, helping the eighth-seeded Tanners (18-4) blank the No. 9 Red Rangers, 3-0. Three different players scored for PLNR, which led much of the game despite Methuen/Tewksbury (13-6-3) only allowing 15 shots on net until an empty-net goal came in the final two minutes.

Special teams starred, too, killing three penalties over the final 17 minutes shortly after scoring a goal on a power play. Mutti (21 saves) took care of the rest opposite an otherwise solid performance from Red Rangers senior Taylor Bruno (16 saves), leading PLNR to its second state quarterfinal appearance within head coach Michelle Roach’s eight-year tenure.

The only other year the Tanners made it this far came in 2019, when they lost to eventual champion Methuen/Tewksbury.

“It feels so good to say (see you tomorrow),” Roach said. “This program has come so far. … I think this was one of the strongest efforts we’ve had all season. We played three strong periods and I think an effort like this, if we can continue this, I think good things are going to happen.”

Knowing the offensive struggle to come against the scrappy Red Rangers, Roach emphasized simply getting shots on net as early and often as possible. The Tanners only registered three shots on net in the first period, but Jenna DiNapoli’s goal off a rebound less than four minutes into the game was all they needed offensively to win.

Mutti played a large role in that, tasked with a bevy of difficult saves as Methuen/Tewksbury maintained pressure on the attack in long stretches throughout the first and third periods. Chloe Gromko, Leah Buckley and Penny Spack stood out in front of her within a deep defensive performance, clearing dangerous rebounds and loose pucks in the middle.

“To be a good team, you have to play a strong defensive game,” Roach said. “That’s Alyse Mutti’s 10th shutout of the season, I think that is so impressive. Our D is the backbone of our team, you start there and we can work our way out. … One of the things I was most impressed of with my team was just how they worked together, how they backed each other up. We had layers going, and if you got by one white shirt we had another white shirt right there.”

The Methuen/Tewksbury forecheck prevented much from getting past the neutral zone over long stretches, and an aggressive approach defensively limited space for PLNR to control possession in the offensive third – especially in the first period.

Once the Tanners drew a hooking penalty early in the second, though, they gained some momentum to pepper Bruno with four quality shots on net in a power play. A second advantage in the waning minutes of the same frame picked up that momentum right away, and Angela Fabbo fired a missile from left circle that belted the inside of the far post for a 2-0 lead.

Penalty kill was called upon three times over the last 17 minutes of action, and Methuen/Tewksbury showed its offensive hunger with eight combined shots on net in those power plays. Mutti and the defense cleared everything, though, and Catie Kampersal’s empty-net goal sealed the win.