ESPN

STONEHAM, Mass. -- Between the end of the third period and the first five minutes of overtime, Arlington Catholic freshman Adrieana Rossini had four breakaways without a goal.

The fifth, however, did the trick to send the Cougars to the TD Garden next Sunday.

Rossini took a pass from senior Allie Stone, stormed into Braintree’s zone and put a backhanded shot past Wamp freshman goalie Rachael Brazil to give AC a 3-2 win in Saturday night’s MIAA Division 1 girls' hockey state semifinal at Stoneham Arena.

After so many opportunities to put the game away earlier, the game-winner -- which came with 4:37 left in the 12-minute overtime -- clearly came as a relief to Rossini.

“It was a long wait to get it. It took way too long,” she said. “I went on four breakaways with teammates and none of them would go through, and finally one just went in.”

Brazil (33 saves) was brilliant throughout the night, and saved some of her best for last. Rossini dangled past two Wamps with just over a minute to go in regulation, only to be denied at the doorstep by Brazil. Braintree’s net-minder stoned Rossini again at 4:06 of the overtime on almost the exact same play. Two minutes later, Rossini tried to find sophomore Duggan Delano on another break, but Braintree senior Tori Machado did just enough to put Delano off and the shot went wide.

Brazil stopped Rossini on yet another breakaway with 7:18 to play, but was finally beaten a few minutes later. AC head coach Maggie Taverna she had to keep Rossini’s spirits up after those missed chances, and it certainly paid off.

“She would come back after every shift to the bench so angry at herself, and I’m like, ‘Kid, you just gotta keep going. It’s going to come,’” Taverna said. “Eventually, one went in for her, so that was a good thing.”

Braintree (16-6-2) was out-shot 36-17 for the game, but played hard and fought off AC for the most of the contest. The Wamps took a 2-1 lead 1:03 into the third period when junior Brittany Yaxter finished a rebound off a shot from senior teammate Ally Perdios.

Taverna came away impressed with the Wamps, who had just knocked off top-seed Acton-Boxborough in the quarterfinals.

“They’re a very interesting team, because if you just look at them at a practice, maybe they’re not the best skaters,” Taverna said. “But they work hard, they’re gritty, they’re aggressive, and I think any team is gonna have a problem with them. I think that’s why the’ve been so successful in this tournament.”

The Cougars immediately went back on the offensive after Yaxter’s goal, and tied it back up just 3:14 later. Senior Natalie Flynn found freshman Jessica Piracini on a well-executed 2-on-1, and Piracini finished it off to make it 2-2.

Perdios had a great chance to put the Wamps back ahead with 2:23 to play in regulation after skating past two Cougars on a break, but AC sophomore goaltender Megan Messuri came up with her biggest stop of the evening.

Stone opened the scoring at 4:48 of the second period on a shorthanded breakaway, collecting the puck on the right wing and speeding in on goal before backhanding a shot through the 5-hole.

Braintree freshman Haley Payne nearly tied it just over two minutes later on a nice tip from junior Lauren Connelly’s shot from the point, but Messuri made an even better kick save to keep the puck out of the cage.

Braintree eventually did tie it up with just 50.2 seconds left in the frame. Senior Jessica Hasson fired in a wrister from the right point that Messuri had a beat on, but the puck took a wicked deflection off an AC player and looped over Messuri’s shoulder into the net.

The Cougars (19-3-1) out-shot Braintree 10-2 in a scoreless first period, as a penalty on Hasson just 24 seconds into the game gave AC early momentum. One of AC’s best chances came 6:14 into the period, when senior defenseman Rebecca Zappala fired a great pass from her own blue line to Flynn, who was in alone on Brazil but put her backhand shot just over the crossbar.

Brazil was up to the task on all 10 shots on goal, including shots from in front by sophomore Duggan Delano and Rossini.

In the end, though, it was the Cougars’ night. And now, they head to the Garden March 18 to take on St. Mary’s (penalty shootout winners over Hingham in Saturday’s other semifinal) for a state title. The Spartans beat AC twice during the regular season (by 4-2 and 5-2 scores), and the Cougars’ current senior class has never defeated their Catholic Central League rivals.

Stone, the Cougars’ assistant captain, is confident that will change.

“What it’s going to come down to is out-working them,” Stone said. “We’re not gonna lose to them again. We’re not ready to do that. This is the one team that I’ve always wanted to beat in my four years here, and I know that the other 10 seniors on the team feel the same.

“We’re ready to go. We’re gonna come at them with everything we have.”

LYNN, Mass. -- As a member of the Austin Prep girls hockey team the past two years, Kaleigh Finigan had to sit back and watch as St. Mary's wrapped up Catholic Central League championships in part at the expense of her team.

This year, the junior transfer from Medford found out what it's like to be on winning side, as well as what it feels like to be a major factor behind the Spartans success.

Finigan scored twice and added an assist as the No. 4 Lady Spartans held off No. 6 Arlington Catholic for the second time in a week to take a 4-2 decision Wednesday night at Connery Rink.

"It's very different," said a smiling Finigan on winning the league title. "It's my first time getting it. It means a lot knowing that our team can win the league and keep going on with the wins. And we'll keep going hard. We just want to keep playing better and better every game. That's our goal."

Playing better and better every game is something Finigan and her linemates, Alison Butler and Brittani Lanzilli, have certainly done. Butler added a goal and two assists in last night's victory, while Lanzilli had a goal an assist. Their may be no hotter offensive trio in the state at this stage of the season.

"We decided to leave them together for the last month or so and they're really starting - not only in the offensive zone but even in the defensive zone - they're really starting to trust each other and learn from each other," St. Mary's coach Frank Pagliuca said. "I think Brittani and Kaleigh had a transition coming in here and Alison's done a great job settling them down. As you can see, they're starting to get it. They're not hesitating anymore. They're starting to play with speed and its making a huge difference for us."

Finigan scored twice in the first period as the Spartans (13-3-0, 6-0-0 CCL) jumped out to a quick lead. Her first tally exemplified the communication and trust factor that has evolved on that first line. With Butler working her way around the back of the Cougars (15-2-1, 4-2-0) net, Finigan screamed "Middle!" and Butler hit her right on the tape for an easy one-timer.

"We finally got used to each other and know where we are and communicating more," Butler said. "I just heard her. We've done it a couple of times now this year and I know where she is when I hear her."

Finigan added her second tally on the rebound of a Butler shot right before the end of the first, and Butler took one for herself on a nice backhander from the low slot to give the Spartans a 3-0 lead with 6:24 remaining in the second.

Arlington Catholic found a spark, and Allison Stone got the Cougars right back into the game by scoring just 44 seconds later. thins got a bit sloppy after that as the two teams traded five penalties back and forth, but AC got another goal as Duggan Delano hammered home a rebound of a shot by Adrieanna Rossini (two assists) to cut the deficit to 3-2 with 1:23 left in the frame.

Lanzilli quickly pulled the momentum back to the Spartans side early in the third when she floated around the back of the AC goal and flicked a backhander through while attempting to get off the ice for a line change.

Thanks to goalie Lauren Skinnion (23 saves) and strong defensive play from standout blue liner Rachel Donahoe, the Spartans were able to hold off the Cougars and wrap up another Catholic Central crown.

"It's a great accomplishment," Pagliuca said. "Although our league's not big, we have some tough teams. It's tough to play three league games right in a row and to play (AC) twice in a week is no easy feat. I'm very proud of my kids. They've battled hard all year and they keep getting better.

"That's the thing I'm noticing - every game they're getting better," he continued. "It's not pretty every game but you can see it. You can see them making better decisions overall and you can see us playing with more confidence. It's a wide open year this year and the hot team is going to be successful. We're just trying to play our best going into the tournament."