St. Mary’s boys hockey hopes to keep riding momentum vs. Matignon today

In its previous outing, the St. Mary’s boys hockey team staged a superb comeback to stun Lynnfield, 7-6, in the championship game of the Saugus Federal Credit Union Holiday Classic last Friday. Spartans coach Mark Lee hopes for continued momentum from his 4-1-1 team, which hosts Matignon tonight (8:30).”I think that (Lynnfield) game, that particular game, because of how it ended up, really helped build character and confidence for this team,” Lee said. “This team is a young team, with a lot of new faces. That game really helped this team grow, and it’s going to help us in the second half of the season.”Against the Pioneers, St. Mary’s trailed 5-2 late in the game. However, the Spartans used a 5-goal third period to tie the score at 6-6, and won it in overtime. Because the game went into overtime, it is entered in the records as a tie.Today the Spartans will play for the first time since that pulsating victory. Their opponent is a familiar one, though. Both teams play in the Catholic Central League, and the Spartans (2-1 CCL) and Warriors have already faced each other once this season, with St. Mary’s winning 4-1.”They’re a solid lineup, a solid group,” Lee said. “As we’ve always done at St. Mary’s, we’ll worry about ourselves, and try to play the best we can play.”St. Mary’s rallied from a deficit in that game, too; the team trailed 1-0 halfway through before scoring four unanswered goals.Of the Warriors, Lee said, “Obviously, in the ’80s and the ’90s, they were a powerhouse of the state. They had dropped off in recent years, but they’re back to being a very, very competitive team. They’re a big, physical, hard-hitting team. We have to play our best if we want to be successful.”Lee will look for key efforts from goalie Danny Yetman, the defensive core, and three solid scorers whom the coach termed the “usual suspects.”Yetman, a junior, is starting for the first season. In six games, he has posted a 2.00 goals-against average.”We kind of build a team from the goaltender out,” Lee said. “He’s done a great job.”The familiar faces on the scoring list include junior Jon Baldwin, the MVP of the Saugus tournament, who has tallied seven goals and four assists for 11 points; linemate Zach Borowski, who has 5-5-10 totals; and senior Corey Lee, who has nine points in his first five games.Senior Anthony Struppa, a co-captain, leads the defense, Lee said, and has totaled one goal and nine assists in the team’s first six games. Rounding out the defensive core are seniors Ryan Fitzsimons, Shaun Velez, and Justin Gridley, and junior co-captain Derek Vecchia.”Those guys are important for us,” Lee said. “They hold the blue line for us.”Evaluating his team, the coach said that out of his starting nine forwards, only two return from last year’s edition.”There are a lot of young, new faces,” he said. “I think to start off at 4-1-1 against some extremely tough competition is great. I think we’re the type of team that the toughest part of the schedule is coming up. I also think we’re going to get better as the season comes along.”