WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Goaltending was front and center during Wednesday’s VPA Division II girls ice hockey clash between Hartford and Woodstock. The Wasps defeated their rivals, 3-2, on Hannah Gubbins’ goal with 49 seconds remaining in overtime, knocking the Hurricanes from the ranks of the undefeated.

Woodstock’s Meridian Bremel stopped 26 shots at one end of Barwood Arena, the poised senior keeping her team in the game despite Hartford holding a 40-10 shot advantage.

Her counterpart, first-time goaltender Vivian Tsouknakis, made four saves, none after the second period. The eighth grader, who volunteered to strap on the pads when starter Nella Bowen was sidelined by illness Wednesday, started for the first time after playing only one previous period at the position this season.

“She was under a lot of pressure today,” said fourth-year Hartford coach Kylie Young, whose team beat Woodstock, 3-0, earlier in the season. “We knew we needed to keep the puck in the offensive zone because of our goaltending situation. It’s Vivian’s first year of hockey, and she plays with a lot of heart.”

Eleventh-year Woodstock coach Ian Coates said once his team saw Bowen was out, its strategy became more wide-open, with a desire to shoot from almost any angle. The Wasps (8-1-1) are back-to-back defending division champions but suffered significant graduation losses after last season.

Hartford’s Emma Bazin and Woodstock’s Grace Laperle traded goals during the first period.

Hartford went up, 2-1, a minute before the first intermission when Bazin executed a beautiful upward deflection of a Morgan Curtis slap shot along the ice and from the left point. The Hurricanes took 12 of the night’s first 15 shots and appeared in control throughout much of the second stanza.

A turning point occurred with a minute remaining in the second period, however. A Hartford defender bringing the puck out from behind her net overskated the rubber to Tsouknakis’ left and Laperle pounced, scoring from atop the crease.

Hartford entered the third period with a 26-9 shot advantage and took another 12 shots combined during the third period and overtime. Woodstock took only one during that stretch, but Gubbins made it count when she emerged at the right post from a scramble behind the Hartford net and backhanded the puck off the far pipe.

Woodstock scored on its final two shots of the game, 20 minutes apart.

Hartford (10-1-0) skates two forward lines but only three defensemen — Curtis, eighth grader Carsyn Weglarz and sophomore Braelyn Park. The latter has the green light to rush the puck up ice, but Woodstock consistently got enough defenders back to turn her aside. During the long stretches where the Hurricanes had possession in the Wasps’ zone, the visitors blocked shots and clogged passing lanes.

“I’m proud of the way we played, and now we have that (undefeated) monkey off our back,” Young said.

The remainder of Hartford’s schedule is primarily against Division I teams.

Notes: LaPerle notched the 100th point of her career. … Hartford lost in last season’s playoff quarterfinals to Middlebury, a year after reaching the title game against Woodstock. … Bremel also plays football and throws the shot for her school. … Among Woodstock’s losses from last season’s team was Kassidy Haley, a 100-point scorer during just two high school seasons who now attends the private Holderness School in New Hampshire. ... Hartford has no seniors, three juniors, six sophomores, two freshmen and two eighth graders on its roster.

Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com.