The Eagles had out-played LaSalle during the first period of Game 1 in the girls hockey Division I State Championship.

Still somehow, the Rams held a 4-0 lead.

East Bay Coach Michael Cox said his team played great in the first game of the series, but struggled to turn aside the Rams’ scoring attempts. Coach Cox said his goalie, Taylor DeFreitas, did the best she could. But Taylor had only been playing goalie for one game of her high school career — the Eagles’ starting goalie Sara Turillo suffered a concussion.

East Bay finished Game 1 out-shooting LaSalle, but on the short end of a 6-1 score. Kat Barker scored East Bay’s lone goal.

Coach Cox said his team struggled to keep pace with the Rams in Game 2, eventually losing 8-0. The Eagles found small ways victories throughout the game, the coach said. He mentioned first-year hockey player Natalie Manor who won a battle for a puck in the corner, drawing cheers from her teammates in the process.

“In the third period, we were louder than LaSalle was,” Coach Cox said, adding that he was happy to be able to get some shifts on the ice for his second and third lines.

Coach Cox praised his team’s captains, Kat Barker, Marissa Levreault and Brigid Carlin, for their work all season and for their leadership in the championship series. He said his team persevered through a series of challenges all season, some imposed by Covid-19 restrictions and others by the competition.

“It was challenging, but it was a nice year,” Coach Cox said.

The coach said the success of the season may have been best displayed by the comments of some of the team’s younger players at the end of the year.

“Our third-stringers… they said they want to sign up for hockey camp,” he said. “They want to be on the second string next year.”

The 2-0 series sweep marked the third time the Eagles had been stopped short of celebrating a state championship by the Rams.

“There’s nothing worse than losing to LaSalle,” Coach Cox said. “But it’s been a dream season for me… The more I do it, the more I enjoy it.”

East Bay entered the playoffs as the third seed, and defeated Mount St. Charles in the quarterfinals and South County in the semis.