Youthful Spartans hang on against Boston Latin

SAUGUS – The maturation process for a very young St. Mary’s hockey team continued on Tuesday at Kasabuski Arena in the Division 2 finals of the Saugus Federal Credit Union Holiday Hockey Classic.Leading 3-0 with five minutes left in the third period, the Spartans seemingly had things in hand against Boston Latin. But the Wolfpack roared back with two goals in 29 seconds before Corey Bartlett let Spartan fans breathe easy with his second goal of the game that sealed a 4-2 win for St. Mary’s.”The guys deserve a lot of credit,” St. Mary’s coach Mark Lee said. “The young guys stepped up and we’re proud of them. But we need to learn how to finish games. We won ugly, but that’s not a bad thing.”St. Mary’s (5-2-0) had things well under control from the opening face-off, putting 13 shots on Wolfpack goaltender Jesse O’Neil in the first period.Andrew Bates got his second goal in as many games at 4:39 of the first, assisted by freshman Tom Braswell, to give St. Mary’s a 1-0 lead.O’Neil then held strong in keeping it 1-0 until the final 120 seconds of the period, when freshman Eric Rosengren picked up a loose puck and scored from the high slot to make it 2-0 after one.Boston Latin gained a bit of a foothold in the second, but still saw the St. Mary’s lead increase to three goals.With Brian Giora off for boarding, the Spartans looked to deliver the knockout punch. Casey Goll’s shot from the right point was off the mark but bounced off the backboards and through the crease to a waiting Bartlett, who tucked the puck into an open net with 2:38 left on the clock.In the third, the Spartans had a chance to put the game away on the power play but failed to convert. As time expired on the man advantage, St. Mary’s goaltender Donald Hesse found himself facing a 3-on-0 for the Wolfpack.Hesse made a stellar stop on John Galofaro’s initial chance and then came up with an even bigger save on Ryan Byrne’s stuff attempt from behind the goal.That chance, however, gave Boston Latin life and Byrne scored with 4:38 to go to cut the lead to 31. Twenty-nine seconds later, Jake Urso scored on a rebound and the Wolfpack suddenly found themselves very much in the game.But just 38 seconds after Urso’s goal, Bartlett sealed things when he went to the net and scored on a George Carey rebound.”We’re a young team that’s learning how to finish games when we have a lead,” Lee said. “But to be 5-2 at this point and tournament champions is not all bad.”The consolation game also had its share of excitement as Tyler Calla’s goal with 1:47 left helped Saugus overcome a 2-goal deficit and salvage a 3-3 tie with Lynnfield.”The kids showed a lot of character in that third period in coming back like they did,” Saugus coach Chris Connors said.Saugus (2-2-1) struck first on Anthony Cucuzza’s goal at 9:21 but the Pioneers’ Cam Higgins scored on a rebound at 13:32 to tie the game.John Lee gave Lynnfield a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal at 1:31 of the second before Sam Oliveri’s tally, assisted by Andy Garbeno and Jon Arakelian, at 4:59 of the third made it 3-1.Freshman Kurt Rodriguez responded 50 seconds later for Saugus before Calla’s blast from the left point tied the game.Brad Rocheville stopped 19 shots in goal for the Sachems while Jon McDonald had 12 saves for Lynnfield.”Brad really played well and gave us a chance to win,” Connors said. “That’s all I could ask of him.”