They say defending a title is harder than winning the first one. Just ask members of the Duxbury High School girls’ hockey team that came into the MIAA tournament as the No. 1 seed in Division II with an 18-0-1 record.

Obviously the team to beat as the defending DII champs, the Lady Dragons took the best shots that Sandwich and Belmont had to offer, before heading off to the TD Garden on Sunday morning for a championship game with league rival Falmouth.

Having beaten the Clippers twice during the regular season in games far more competitive than most of the regular season schedule, the Lady Dragons did have an air of confidence as they went for their second straight championship. It was obvious they were pumped from the opening face-off, as they dominated the first 15 minutes that at times looked like a period-long power-play.

But after Falmouth netminder Madison Scavotta stopped sophomore Liz Collins in the opening minutes, it looked like beating the freshman goalie would take a lot more effort than firing the puck on net.

Just 32 seconds later, Duxbury’s buzzing in the Falmouth end proved fruitful as junior Hannah Murphy scored the first of her two goals when she stole the puck from the Falmouth defense and wheeled in on Scavotta, slipping her shot through the five-hole and giving the Lady Dragons a 1-0 lead.

Duxbury was so dominating, that the biggest cheers from the Falmouth crowd came when the Clippers moved the puck over their own blue line. The minute they even approached the Duxbury end of the ice, senior captain Martha Findley and her defensive mates sent the puck back up ice and into the Falmouth end once again.

“I tried my best to remain focused,” said Duxbury goaltender Rachel Myette after seeing limited rubber in the first period. “I pretended I was the Falmouth goalie down the other end and was imaging how I would have made that save and it kept me in the game.”

Unfortunately for all of Duxbury’s efforts, they only led by a goal at the end of the first period of play, letting the Clippers hang around and instilling some confidence as the game went along.

“It was frustrating. We knew we could get our shots off but they were missing the net,” said Captain Martha Findley. “Our points were wide open, so in the locker room we talked about feeding the points more.”

When the second period started Duxbury’s 11-2 first-period shot advantage didn’t seem to matter, as this time the Clippers came out firing by putting pressure on Rachel Myette. At the 12:20 mark a shot hit the post, and the subsequent rebound was popped in the air requiring Myette to get the glove hand up and ready.

A minute later Duxbury’s dominance suddenly disappeared, as things got ragged in its own end and Falmouth took advantage with Rachel Moore picking up a loose puck and skating in on Myette before sliding it underneath her to tie the game at 1-1.

The Lady Dragons now realized they were in a game and picked up the pace. At the 8:30 mark freshman Meredith Wright found herself all alone in front, only to have Scavotto stop her cold.

“Scavotto was phenomenal. She did an excellent job all game long flashing the pads,” said Duxbury Coach Friend Weiler. “We had a lot of great shots and she came up big.”

The wake-up call appeared to be effective, as it took just 39 seconds after Wright’s shot to put the Lady Dragons ahead.

Findley, who had been playing with Bourque-like precision in the tournament, went deep into the offensive corner to fetch the puck. Spotting Collins alone at the far post, she rifled her pass across where the sophomore forward unloaded a one-timer to beat Scavotto for a 2-1 lead with 7:51 left in the middle stanza.

“We had been talking all game long about wanting someone at the back door,” said Weiler. “Liz was right where she was supposed to be and Martha made the nice pass and she slammed it home.”

The Lady Dragons would continue to buzz the net with a power-play a minute later, and freshman Jane Dudley would almost jam one home in the final minute of the period.

The game was too close for comfort as far as Duxbury was concerned, as they had allowed the Clippers to stay close and hope a break would come their way.

The third period began with one of Caroline Shaunessy’s many blasts from the point and turned a minute later when Falmouth’s Kelly Ferreira broke in alone on Myette, but was stopped at the 10:15 mark.

Momentum seemed to shift slightly in Falmouth’s favor when they went on the power-play with 9:51 left in the game on a Shaunessy trip. A Duxbury turnover almost proved costly, but Myette was there again to save the day.

Colleen Leddie would get her best chance of the game with 6:35 remaining when a Lily Connolly pass out front found Leddie’s stick and also the glove of Scavotto, who robbed the senior winger.

A minute later Duxbury would go on the power-play and the pressure was intense, as Shaunessy kept unloading bombs from the point, setting up a rebound shot by Murphy that Scavotto picked out of the air to keep the deficit at one.

That pressure almost backfired, as Moore picked up a loose puck at center ice and gained steam heading into the Duxbury zone. She turned the Lady Dragon defense and tried to slip the puck under Myette, who slid across and directed her attempt into the corner with 4:14 to go.

“Rachel is such a focused kid no matter how many shots she sees,” said Weiler. “I had a flashback from last year when Taylor Shepherd (Fontbonne) broke in to tie it up in the finals, but Rachel made the save and she has done that game after game this year. She comes to play in the biggest games and does her best.”

Duxbury continued to work the puck and take time off the clock, only to have freshman Marissa Fichter accidently take out a Falmouth forward at center ice and go to the penalty box with 1:18 left in the game.

The Clippers called a timeout and decided to pull their goalie, giving them a 6-on-4 advantage. They worked the puck relentlessly in the zone, hoping to get their best shot on Myette. When the puck went back to the point with roughly 10 seconds to go, Murphy stepped in front of a Falmouth slap shot and deflected the puck to center ice where she out-skated her Clipper defender before depositing the puck into an empty net.

“We had to be defensive minded on that power play and I was waiting to see when they were going to shoot,” said Hannah Murphy. “I stepped in front of her shot and it deflected off me to center ice where I picked it up and shot it.”

“Falmouth came to play tonight,” said a complimentary Weiler. “They controlled the play in the second period, but we dug down deep and were able to bounce back and get our feet moving and come back to win it.”

The win ends Duxbury season’s at 22-0-1 and marks the end of the Duxbury HS hockey careers of Kelsey Powers, Meg Hyland, Leddie, Cory Connolly, Findley, and Amelia Dudley.

“I’m so proud of all these girls right now,” said Weiler. “They make my job easy because they work so hard and come in here with a positive attitude.”