Unbeaten Spartans best Woburn in top five battle

LYNN – Two of the top Division 1 girls’ hockey programs were on the ice Wednesday night at Connery Rink as 13-0-0 St. Mary’s played host to 10-1-1 Woburn.The Spartans, winners of 38 straight games coming in, were put to the test early by a team that has only a loss to Wakefield and a tie with Lexington as blemishes on its resume. But when the chips were down, St. Mary’s found a way to get it done against the Tanners.Marisa Maccario had two goals and Kelsey Magrane stopped all 13 shots she faced as the Spartans used three second period goals to break the game open and take a 5-0 win.The win, however, could prove to be costly.Late in the third period, Erin McAndrews went crashing nearly face first into the boards at center ice. The junior was helped to the locker room favoring her right leg.”Hopefully it’s not too bad. We’ll wait and see,” St. Mary’s coach Frank Pagliuca said.McAndrews late injury was the only mark on what was a superb three-period effort by St. Mary’s.”It was kind of a gritty game,” Pagliuca said. “And I’m proud of the kids. There weren’t a lot of flashy goals. We got pucks to the net and got to some rebounds.”For much of the first period Woburn did a number on the St. Mary’s offense, preventing the explosive Spartans from getting cleanly through the neutral zone. But with 3:36 left on the clock, Colleen Callahan was called for slashing, putting the ever dangerous St. Mary’s power play on the ice.And as good teams usually do, the Spartans took full advantage of the opportunity. Courtney White took a Michelle Golden pass behind the net, skated in front and beat Tanner goalie Rebecca Papa high at 12:32 to make it 1-0 St. Mary’s.”Both teams were kind of feeling each other out early on,” Pagliuca said. “Every time we’d make an adjustment, Woburn would do the same. It was kind of back and forth.”The Tanners (10-2-1) defense started the second much like it did the first in keeping St. Mary’s under wraps. But just before the midpoint of the hockey game, the Spartans finally began to show their stuff.Eighth grader Maccario gave St. Mary’s the boost it needed with 8:23 left in the middle period when she went to the net and was able to stuff home the rebound of a White shot to make it 2-0.Less than two minutes later, junior Courtney Winters went to the net and was able to bang home the rebound of Rachel Donahoe’s shot from the left point to make it 3-0 Spartans.”I thought we really picked it up in the second,” Pagliuca said. “We started to do some positive things on the ice. We got bodies to the net and got some rebounds.”Woburn had a chance to get back in the game late in the period when Callahan found herself with a breakaway but Magrane made a nifty blocker stop to keep it a 3-0 game.Moments later, McAndrews delivered what turned out to be a death blow to Woburn’s chances.Taking a pass from Golden in the high slot, McAndrews blistered a slap shot through traffic and past Papa to give St. Mary’s a 4-0 lead heading to the third.”We’re not relying on just one or two people to carry us. Everybody on this team has a role and responsibilities,” Pagliuca said.The Spartans kept right on charging at the start of the third as Maccario got her second goal of the game, assisted by White and Winters, at the 14-second mark to increase the lead to 5-0.From there on, it was Magrane and the St. Mary’s defense that came to the forefront as the senior from Marblehead stopped several quality chances in the third to preserve the shutout.”Kelsey had an excellent game, one of her best this year,” Pagliuca said. “And Marisa really had a great game. She utilized her speed and was being aggressive. That’s what we like to see.”