Lynnfield, St. Mary’s advance to Saugus tourney final

SAUGUS – The last time Lynnfield and St. Mary’s played in the finals of the Saugus Federal Credit Union Holiday Hockey Classic, it took a marathon shootout before the outcome was decided.Well, the Pioneers and Spartans will have a chance to one-up history today (6) in the Division 2 finals after each took convincing wins in the semifinals.St. Mary’s (4-1-0) scored six unanswered goals against Boston Latin en route to a 7-2 win over the Wolfpack while the Pioneers scored twice in each period to dispatch Saugus, 6-0, in the nightcap.In Division 1, Malden Catholic and Westford Academy advanced to the finals. The Lancers outlasted St. Bernard’s, 3-2, while the Grey Ghosts routed Austin Prep, 7-2, in the other semifinal.For the Spartans, it was a case of starting fast and never letting Boston Latin get in the game.Just 19 seconds into the first period, Zak Borowski swooped out from behind the net and beat David Pollard for a 1-0 lead.On the very next shift, Corey Lee scored off an Anthony Struppa pass at 1:12 for a 2-0 lead on only two shots. Pollard was promptly pulled in favor of backup Jake O’Neill.”Those first two shifts really dictated the game,” St. Mary’s coach Mark Lee said. “It really took the wind out of their sails.”O’Neil didn’t fare much better as St. Mary’s continued attacking with all four of its forward lines. John Baldwin upped the lead to 3-0 after the first period when he one-timed home a Borowski pass from his knees with 4:45 left on the clock.The second period continued the trend that began in the first as the Spartans put eight more shots on O’Neil.Baldwin and Borowski hooked up again early on with Baldwin getting his second of the night while shorthanded at 2:57. Just under two minutes later, Corey Bartlett made it 5-0 when he finished off a 2-on-1 with Lee.Baldwin polished off his hat trick with 4:12 left in the second when he scored off a James Perkins rebound to make it 6-0 after two.The Wolfpack finally got on the board in the third off the stick of Ryan Byrne before Struppa scored the Spartans’ second shorthanded goal of the game at 10:30. Byrne’s second of the period 24 seconds later closed out the scoring.”It was a solid effort for all three periods,” Lee said. “Some of our young guys stepped up and had good games.”In the other semifinal, the Pioneers (3-2-0) used their superior speed and skills to break open a close game early.”To win against a quality opponent in this tournament, which is considered to be one of the best around, it was a nice bounce-back win,” Lynnfield coach Vin Mirasolo said.Lynnfield’s speed and passing ability took the Sachems out of their ability to play physical, something that coach Chris Connors had wanted to do.”We wanted to come out and play physical, but we just didn’t do that,” Connors said. “And you have to do that against a good skating team. And that’s a good skating team.”The first period saw both teams go up and down the ice at a frenetic pace, testing both goaltenders with quality chances. But the game remained scoreless for nearly half the period.But with Lynnfield on a power play, Ryan Smith picked up a deflected Alex Young shot and ripped a quick wrister past Paul Essery for a 1-0 lead.The score stayed 1-0 until the final moments of the period when John Lee beat two Saugus defensemen and Essery with a quick shot that made it 2-0 after the first period.”Having a two-goal lead after the first period was a big boost of confidence for us, considering we had dictated the tempo,” Mirasolo said.Mark Connolly continued the momentum for Lynnfield early in the second as he scored on a rebound at 1:58 to give the Pioneers a 3-0 lead moments after the Sachems had failed to convert on a power play.That would become a painful problem for Saugus throughout the second period as the Sachems had five consecutive man-advantage chances in the middle frame, but did not take advantage of any of them.”We played against a hungry team (Thursday) and we knew that they would bring their ‘A