KINGSTON – Coming off back-to-back 2-1 losses, Duxbury was not in search of that type of hat trick.

The Dragons dominated tape-to-tape, end-to-end and tossed in controlled puck possession throughout the first period for a 2-0 shutout over top-ranked Division 1 foe Notre Dame Academy of Hingham in a nonleague girls hockey treat at The Bog.

Duxbury, the defending Division 2 state champions, improved to 16-3 as Megan Carney scored unassisted in the first for the eventual game-winning tally.

“This was an important game for us. Coming off two losses, two close games that could have gone either way, didn’t go our way, but it’s kind of a situation late in the season where the team could have hung their head,” said Duxbury head coach Dan Najarian. “They rallied and we had two good days of practice because of the snow day, and I think they showed up. They wanted to win this one.”

Carney went in untouched through the slot right to left and turned the puck over to the backhand to find some light through the five-hole for a 1-0 lead at 12:06 of the first.

After an 0-for-3 start on the man advantage in a chippy game throughout, the Dragons pulled off the power play tally with 25 seconds left in the Cougars’ penalty at 11:16 of the second.

Reece Porter, Najarian’s third-line center, doubled up the lead as Porter popped home a juicy rebound off the blast from Alannah Gallagher from just outside the left faceoff circle.

Porter seemed to pound the pads of Cougars’ goalie Ava Larkin to force the puck into the back of the net and the scrum sparked some pushing and shoving out in front of the net.

But the Cougars (10-4-3) just couldn’t muster much on net early on and fell into a black hole late in the third. The final seven minutes of play saw zero shots on net for a Cougars team that was fantastic on defense on their own but just couldn’t figure out the Duxbury blue line.

“We were talking with the girls that they tend to come out slow sometimes and it’s not anything against them, but it’s more the team that is playing them. They want to beat them,” said interim head coach Martha Findlay, who filled in for her father, head coach John Findlay, who was out sick. “Once we got caught down a goal, we did look better in the second, but our struggle is putting pucks on the net. It has been a bit of a struggle this year.”

Anna McGinty took care of the rest in net for Duxbury, especially in the second period with two point-blank saves when the score was 1-0.

Chase Harmon had the best chance to tie things midway through the second for Notre Dame after a faceoff in the far end of the ice but was turned away by McGinty right in front of the crease. Harmon went with an attempt low inside the right post but the senior netminder was up for the task with the pad and glove save.

McGinty had a total of 11 saves, mostly high leverage stops out front, to record her seventh shutout.

The win looks that much impressive with Notre Dame top three in the MIAA Power Rankings with Duxbury tops in Division 2 in a battle of two of best programs Massachusetts has to offer.

“I think we came out flying in the first period and thought we saw a lot of puck possession and something we have been talking about in slowing the game down and making sure you are taking advantage of your opportunities,” said Najarian. “I thought they took it to us a little in the second and that’s when you are lucky enough to have a kid like Anna McGinty in net to rely on and make those saves and turn the momentum.”