St. Mary’s girls hockey ready to go

For the St. Mary’s girls hockey team, the bull’s-eye has been squarely on its back for the last two seasons. And to their credit, the Spartans have played absolutely perfect en route to winning back-to-back Division 1 state championships.St. Mary’s has won its last 51 games in a row without a tie and sits just five wins away from moving into the history books for the longest winning streak in the history of Massachusetts high school hockey.The Spartans open their quest for a third consecutive state championship tonight (6) at Connery Rink against Braintree.”Obviously, we are looking forward to getting back on the ice,” coach Frank Pagliuca said. “We have a nice blend of players and the most kids in the program since this coaching staff has been here.”St. Mary’s will have a nice mix of veterans and fresh faces when it takes on the Wamps tonight.Leading the returnees is a quintet of seniors who have played in a plenty of meaningful games in their time on Tremont Street.Courtney Winters, Courtney White and Erin McAndrews combined for 101 goals and 176 points last season, and all three are back to try to end their careers on the ultimate high note. Michelle Macchione and Liz Giacchino join them to help give the Spartans a great core of leaders.”The experience those five can provide is a tremendous asset to have,” Pagliuca said. “It will help keep the team’s focus where it needs to be.”Joining those five seniors is a talented group of underclassmen, many of whom were part of the title teams of the last two seasons.Michaela and Bridget Donovan join Sabrina Ianetti and Genevive Benoit as returning forwards. Also back up front is freshman Marisa Maccario, who scored the game-winning goal in last season’s state final against Woburn.Angela Dandreo, Meghan Spurling and Rachel Donahoe return to join Giacchino to form a talented defense core.”We have a nice blend of newcomers and veterans,” Pagliuca said. “Obviously, losing the players that we did is tough, because their leadership was tremendous.”The players St. Mary’s lost to graduation last spring include Alex Smith, Kelsey Magrane and Michelle Golden.However, there is good news for Pagliuca’s team: The Spartan lineup has also been bolstered by an influx of talented newcomers.Mia Maccario and Madison Molea have transferred in from Marblehead and Lynn English as well to give an already talented team a boost.”These kids are very competitive,” Pagliuca said. “They work extremely hard and want to get better.”The Spartans will open with the Braintree tilt this evening before playing Ursuline on Saturday.St. Mary’s has games with perennial powers Arlington Catholic, Wakefield and Fontbonne on the schedule as well.”We are going to come prepared to play. If we do that, we will have a good opportunity to win games,” Pagliuca said. “These kids obviously love to play hockey and that’s a good thing. That’s why you play, wanting to compete and enjoy it.”