St. Mary’s hockey wins appeal, makes tournament; Lynners draw bye

For the St. Mary’s hockey team, the decision on their postseason fate came down Saturday afternoon and the news was all good.The MIAA’s Ice Hockey Committee granted the Spartans appeal to be allowed to participate in the Division 1 North tournament after being originally disqualified following a brawl with Arlington Catholic in the regular season.”These kids have worked hard all year and deserved to play in the postseason,” St. Mary’s coach Mark Lee said. “It was an isolated incident and they did everything possible to make sure they didn’t have another incident for the entire year.”The Spartans will be rewarded with a very high seed in the Division 1 North tournament once those pairings are set following the Division 1A play-in games tonight in Chelmsford.”We are very proud that were gonna be such a high seed and that we’ve made the tournament 16 straight years,” Lee said. “There’s a lot of energy on this team and they’re excited to be playing more games.”St. Mary’s will open its tournament tentatively on Wednesday against an opponent to be determined. The Spartans have taken some of the top teams in the North to the wall this year and came within a goal of knocking off Super 8 participant Hingham late in the season.”This team has put in a lot of work and we’re looking forward to the tournament. There’s a lot of parity this season unlike in the past,” Lee said.The Spartans, who boast a lineup that has just three seniors, are led offensively by Mike Restuccia’s 22 points as eight players recorded at least 10 or more points. Defensively, St. Mary’s has been just as strong against tough competition.”The way I see it, any team in this tournament can beat anyone,” Lee said.A sleeper in the sectional may be St. John’s Prep. The Eagles were up for consideration for the Super 8, a remarkable fact considering they had only a 10-9-1 record in the regular season.Though their record might not be glamorous, the Eagles have knocked off Super 8 participants Catholic Memorial, Malden Catholic, Framingham and Xaverian during the regular season.Leading the way for the Prep is Colin Blackwell, who posted a team high 34 points in the regular season.Division 3 NorthDespite only 11 teams qualifying for the sectional, the competition is sure to be fierce as several talented teams are set to make a run at knocking off unbeaten No. 1 seed Concord-Carlisle.Marblehead, champions of the Northeastern Conference’s South division, completed one of the best regular seasons in program history by earning the No. 3 seed at 17-2-3 and a bye into the quarterfinals against either Rockport or Latin Academy on Sunday (7) in Stoneham.”These kids have a chance to put together a season that go in the books as one of the best this program has ever had,” Marblehead coach Bob Jackson said. “And it really couldn’t happen to a better group.”The Headers have been led by an explosive offense and a stingy defense all season. Defenseman Jake Kulevich was named league MVP and is the team’s second leading scorer with 31 points.Ryan Dempsey (33 points), Chris McLeod (29 points) and Alex Whitmore (20 points) have teamed to form one of the most explosive top units in the league while goaltender Tony Cuzner has posted seven shutouts and a 1.04 GAA.Right behind the Headers is the Lynn Jets, in the tournament for the first time in three years. The Jets finished 13-7-1 to take the No. 4 spot and will meet No. 5 Northeast-Malden on Sunday (4:10) in Chelmsford for a semifinal berth.”To have 14 wins is a really big accomplishment for these kids,” Lynn coach Joe Conlon said. “It’s a credit to them for all the hard work they’ve put it this season.”Bucky Surette’s 23 points lead an offense that had six players score 10 or more points in the regular season while Nick Comeau and Craig MacDaniel have given the Jets a pair of talented netminders.”We are very lucky to have a couple of goalies like Nick and Craig,” Conlon said. “They give us a chance to win every night.”Division 2 NorthIt shapes u