St. Mary’s girls hockey ousts Lexington

WATERTOWN – It was still early, and it was a 1-0 game – thanks to a goal at 2:16 of the first period by St. Mary’s Michelle Golden. Suddenly, Lexington’s Sammy Woodward stole the puck in her own end, and came streaming in on Spartan goalie Kelsey Magrane. Breakaway.But Magrane, who hasn’t had to face a lot of shots this season, calmly watched Woodward as she broke it, stifled her shot with a pad save, and steered the puck into the corner. Crisis averted. Good thing, too. Golden’s goal was the only one of the period as the Spartans had a little trouble getting untracked.”That save was big,” said Spartans coach Frank Pagliuca. “Sometimes, if the other team gets a goal like that, it can put you back on your heels and set the tone for the game.”Not to worry. Once Magrane stoned Woodward, the Minutemen didn’t cause too much more of a stir, and the Spartans gradually took over the game. The result was a 4-0 Division 1 girls hockey quarterfinal win for St. Mary’s and a return engagement with Arlington in the semis – the same team the Spartans beat, in the same round, last year. The game is Tuesday (8) at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell.”I thought we played well ? and I thought (Lexington) played very well,” said Pagliuca. “I thought we came out a little sloppy in the first period, but after that, we really got after it and played well.”Golden’s goal – her seventh point in the tournament in only two games – came after linemate Erin McAndrews took the original shot. The rebound came squirting out off the pads of Lexington goalie Nina Riley onto Golden’s stick, and she instinctively backhanded it back into the net for the 1-0 lead.St. Mary’s came out with a purpose in the middle period. McAndrews made a nice play in front of Riley for goal No. 2. Sabrina Iannetti took the first shot, and the puck came out onto McAndrews’ stick. She pirouetted around to her forehand, and then shot one right along the ice that made its way in to give St. Mary’s a 2-0 edge at 6:15.Eighth grader Marisa Maccario gave the Spartans a little more breathing room slightly over two minutes later. She and Courtney Winters broke into the Lexington end on a 2-on-1, but Maccario’s initial shot went wide. A scramble ensued in front of the net, and Maccario managed to swipe it in at 8:43.Courtney White, with assists from Golden and Alex Smith, scored the final goal with less than a minute to go in the period, and for the second game in a row, the Spartans were content to keep the puck out of their own end for the final period.