St. Mary’s girls hockey reaches state finals for third straight year

STONEHAM – Proving that the third time is indeed a charm, the St. Mary’s girls hockey squad knocked off Hingham, 4-3, in the Division 1 state semifinals at the Stoneham Arena on Saturday.The win by the Lady Spartans, which was the third one this season by the Lady Spartans over the Harborwomen, gives St. Mary’s the opportunity to go for its third straight title this coming Sunday against Woburn at TD Garden (8:15). Last year, St. Mary’s defeated Woburn for the championship.Against Hingham, St. Mary’s had to kill off a 6-on-4 shorthanded situation when forward Courtney White was penalized for cross-checking with 1:38 remaining, and the Harborwomen (20-4-1) pulled goalie Beth Findley with a minute left. Goalie Sarah Foss thwarted Hingham the rest of the way to preserve the win.”It’s a one-game season now,” St. Mary’s coach Frank Pagliuca said. “We responded with a good third period, as Hingham’s a great team, and one of the best teams we’ve played all year. It was actually easier to prepare for them, as we knew how they worked, and what their strengths and weaknesses were.”The Lady Spartans (24-0-1) fell behind late in the second period, allowing three goals within five minutes. Winger Katie Walsh netted a power play score for the Harborwomen, tipping in a pass from teammate Shauna Sullivan past Foss early in the period. Minutes later, Walsh finished off a give-and-go, taking a feed from teammate Courtney Igo from the left, and one-timing the puck into the Lady Spartans net to tie the game at 10:24.Hingham moved ahead two minutes later when Igo fired in a turnarounder 10 feet directly in front of Foss, and beat her to the short side.Yet the Lady Spartans answered promptly. Defenseman Meaghan Spurling blasted a slap shot from the far point with 1:29 to go in the middle stanza to deadlock the score. St. Mary’s then went on the power play with 54 seconds left, and winger Sabrina Ianetti netted her second score at 14:23 to give the lead back to St. Mary’s.”We could’ve gotten down (after Hingham’s three second-period scores), but we stayed focused and went back to doing the little things,” Pagliuca said. “We responded well to the adversity (being behind), and had strong special teams play, with the two power play goals.”St. Mary’s attacked the Hingham zone right from the opening faceoff, but Findley halted everything that the Lady Spartans fired at her. She turned aside an early opportunity by Ianetti, whose slap shot was gloved by the goalie. Moments later, Findley stopped a chance by forward Mikaela Donovan to keep the game scoreless.However, the Lady Spartans scored twice within a minute to take a quick 2-0 edge. The Harborwomen had just missed out on an opportunity to go ahead, and the rebound went out to defenseman Angela Dandreo in the St. Mary’s zone. She fed Ianetti on a 2-on-1 situation, and the winger skated along the right side of the boards, crossing over directly in front of Findley. Ianetti’s shot rang off the post and into the net for the game’s first score.The Lady Spartans then went on their first power play advantage 45 seconds later, and didn’t waste any time in converting. Ianetti, standing to the left of Findley, fired a wrist shot that bounced off the goalie. Forward Courtney White, all alone at Findley’s right, collected the rebound and put in into the Hingham net for a 2-0 lead.