Freshman Phenom: Falmouth’s Haberl Leads Clippers to TD Garden for State Title Shot

BOURNE – For the third time in four seasons, the Falmouth High girls’ hockey team is going to Valhalla.

The #8-seeded Falmouth Clippers rode the gifted hand of freshman forward McKenzie Haberl’s four goals Monday night at the John Gallo Ice Arena, en route to a 6-2 victory over #12-seeded Burlington High and sent the Red Devils home.

Falmouth High School's McKenzie Haberl wheels in on Burlington goalie Cassidy Smith for one of her four goals Monday night in the Div. 2 State Semifinal. The Clippers are headed to the TD Garden Sunday for a chance at the state title. Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports

Falmouth High School’s McKenzie Haberl wheels in on Burlington goalie Cassidy Smith for one of her four goals Monday night in the Div. 2 State Semifinal. The Clippers are headed to the TD Garden Sunday for a chance at the state title.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports

It was the third time in the past four seasons that the Falmouth Clipper girls have won the MIAA Division 2 girls’ ice hockey semifinal for a ticket to the “Gahh-din.” Sunday, March 15, Falmouth will head to the TD Garden in Boston to face the #2-seeded Wellesley High Raiders for the Division 2 State Championship title.

“It feels great,” Falmouth head coach Erin Hunt said. “They earned it. We have a great group of athletes and they’re competitors and they have high expectations for themselves.”

Falmouth is now 19-4-2 on the season and from the moment the Clippers tied Hingham on January 21, and then defeated top-ranked Barnstable for the SEMGHL Coastal Division title on February 13, it’s been a 12-1 run.

The Clippers’ sole loss since January 21? Wellesley, 4-3, on the last night of the regular season in the Cape Cod Classic at Falmouth Ice Arena. Wellesley defeated Medfield Monday night at the Gallo Ice Arena, 2-1, in sudden death overtime. The two teams played immediately following Falmouth’s win over Burlington. The Raiders are now 19-1-3.

But five days from now, the Falmouth girls’ blades will be slicing up hallowed ice with a chance to avenge not only the loss last month to Wellesley, but more importantly to bring that trophy home once and for all.

“We talked about it at our team meeting at the beginning of the year,” Coach Hunt said. “It’s definitely been on our minds since the start of the season. It feels good to get there.”

While Falmouth’s first line looked sharp and passing was crisp throughout the night, it was the Clippers’ second line that gave Falmouth the type of momentum a team needs to play and win at championship-level hockey.

Falmouth High's Shannon Upton celebrates her first period goal in last night's 6-2 Clipper win over the Burlington Red Devils. Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports

Falmouth High’s Shannon Upton celebrates her first period goal in last night’s 6-2 Clipper win over the Burlington Red Devils.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports

Senior forward Maggie MacDonald drew first blood when she took the puck virtually the length of the ice and skated almost on top of Burlington goalie Cassidy Smith before flipping the puck past her for a 1-0 lead at 11:54 of the first period.

Exactly 31 seconds later, Falmouth sophomore forward Shannon Upton got the bead on Smith off a Madison Haberl feed and nailed it to make it 2-0 (11:23).

Falmouth was feeling its groove. Burlington never really developed one.

As evidenced just over two minutes later (9:37) when McKenzie Haberl took a crisp pass in front of the goal from MacDonald (who got it from senior assistant captain Kelly Ferreira) and drilled the first of her four goals on the evening. At 3-0, Burlington had met its match.

The Red Devils got a brief glimmer of hope six minutes later when junior defenseman Hannah Callahan was sent to the penalty box for crosschecking and just four seconds into the power play, they scored.

Burlington’s Alisa Canney narrowed Falmouth’s lead down to 3-1 when she took a pass from Julia Swarbrick and put it past Madison Scavotto, but the tone had already been set in the Clippers’ favor. Falmouth outshot Burlington in the first frame, 16-6.

But the night belonged to the diminutive but lightning-quick McKenzie Haberl.

Just over three minutes (11:32) into the second period, ahead 3-1, Haberl took a beautiful pass in transition from her sister Madison Haberl, and backhand flipped it past Smith for a devastating blow and a 4-1 lead. The younger Haberl sister, McKenzie, could not have looked more polished or focused on helping her team get back to the vaunted ice at 100 Legends

Falmouth High senior captain Madison Scavotto was stellar in net. Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports

Falmouth High senior captain Madison Scavotto was stellar in net.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports

Way.

“She played great today,” Coach Hunt said. “She’s been getting better and better all season long. She’s really stepped to help the team he last three games.”

Swarbrick made things momentarily interesting for the Red Devils when she willed herself past Falmouth’s Hannah Callahan on the right wing and beat Scavotto in a hairline opening between Scavotto’s pads and the near goal post to make it 4-2 (9:15), but that was all Burlington would muster.

Nabbed on a checking penalty a minute later, Burlington gave Falmouth a key power play that for all intents and purposes was the Red Devils’ ringing death knell. McKenzie Haberl took a nice pass from Ferreira in front and the timing was perfectly executed as Haberl rifled it past Smith for a 5-2 Clipper advantage. Haberl had a hat trick and the third period was still over five minutes away from commencement.

At the end of two frames, Falmouth had outshot its opponent, 24-14 and held a 5-2 lead.

For added measure and in all likelihood a memory worthy of keeping a lifetime, Ferreira hit Haberl one more time (13:37) in the third period to make it 6-2 and give Haberl four pucks for the family trophy case.

“They’re just really clicking right now,” Coach Hunt said. “They have a lot of fun when they skate together and it’s fun to watch them.”

— Sean Walsh is the sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm

The Falmouth High girls celebrate as Burlington looks on in defeat a moment after the end of the third period in last night's Division 2 State Semifinal. Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports

The Falmouth High girls celebrate as Burlington looks on in defeat a moment after the end of the third period in last night’s Division 2 State Semifinal.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports

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