'My favorite story': Archies girls hockey coach lauds never-quit goaltender McLeish
CANTON – If you thought that staring down a never-ending power play in the closing stages of a playoff game would unnerve Kate McLeish, you would be wrong.
The Archbishop Williams junior goalie has believed in herself all season, even when she was maybe the only one who did.
More: Plymouth South hockey pulls off upset: South Shore top performers in MIAA state tournament
The Bishops made things very interesting for themselves in the late stages of Wednesday night's game against Waltham in the first round of the Division 1 state tournament. Archies was whistled for five late penalties and played the final 4:53 of regulation shorthanded, much of it on a 5-on-3 penalty kill.
Waltham struck twice with the extra skaters, with 2:04 and 1:20 left in regulation, but McLeish also made six saves during that nerve-racking ending to preserve a 4-3 victory that sends the 11th-seeded Bishops (10-10-2) on to a Round of 16 matchup (Saturday, 5 p.m.) against No. 6 Methuen (15-4-2).
No. 22 Waltham (14-6-1) almost stole Archies' place in the next round, but McLeish stayed composed.
"It was really stressful," the junior from Dedham said, "but I just knew that I had to stay on my game and just control what I could control. I can't control what the refs are going to call. I just need to lock down and focus on myself and the puck."
More: Marshfield makes history: Girls hockey wins first-ever playoff game, boys roll
Archbishop Williams coach Doug Nolan calls McLeish "probably my favorite story in the last 10 years." After playing JV as a freshman and sophomore, McLeish found herself blocked by three other varsity goalies during preseason tryouts. Nolan liked her attitude, and her performance, so much that he carved out an extra place for her on the roster, although he was upfront and told her he couldn't guarantee her any playing time.
"She accepted that, came to every practice and battled hard, loaded the bus up, fixed the benches, cleaned the locker rooms, did everything you would want a teammate to do," Nolan said.
With no seniors on the roster, the Bishops stumbled to a 1-6 record out of the gate, and Nolan's search for stability in the net sent him back to McLeish. She grabbed the job and never gave it back, authoring four shutouts and solidifying a team that has gone 9-4-2 since the early struggles.
"In today's day and age where it's very easy for kids to pack up and leave and go someplace else (if they're not playing), it's great to see a kid like that battle adversity," Nolan said. "She deserves it more than anybody."
"It felt really good" to get the job, McLeish said. "It was hard at the beginning of the season. I wasn't really sure what to think, I wasn't sure what was going to happen. But I just had faith in myself and showed up every day and kept working. And it worked out in my favor."
"She's the definition of a hard-working player who will do anything to prove herself," said junior forward Caroline Batchelder, who had a hat trick in this one. "I love her so much. She's the nicest person ever."
If McLeish was an unknown quantity entering the season, Batchelder was about as much of a lock as the Bishops had. She was being counted on as Archies' No. 1 scorer and she's delivered, recently becoming the program's all-time leader in goals with 56. She thinks she's up to 60 for her career with Wednesday's outburst.
"I didn't realize it until I was like two away," she said of the record. "Honestly, I love this team. I'd do anything for this team."
Batchelder staked the Bishops to a 1-0 lead in the first period. After eighth-grader Julie Murphy snapped a 1-1 tie in the second, Batchelder struck twice more. Her third goal, on a shorthanded breakaway with 4:18 left with Waltham skating 5-on-3, seemed like the icing on top of the cake at 4-1. It turned out to the game-winner.
"At the time it was 4-1 and I thought it put us comfortably in front," Nolan said, "but obviously we needed every goal we could get tonight and Caroline has always been a complete goal-scorer. She plays with confidence, she plays with some swag. It's nice to have that in girls hockey."
Batchelder joked that the extended PK at the end of regulation felt like a practice where you just keep going over the same situation. But she said dealing with adversity like that should benefit the young Bishops. "I think it gives the girls some confidence," she said. "We're a young team and I think it will help their confidence and make them realize that we can go far.
"It's been a learning year. We have a super-young team. We learned through the season and now it's the perfect time to build your confidence and show what we've got in the playoffs."
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Underdog goalie helps Archies girls hockey weather late playoff storm
