Last season may have ended in a frustrating fashion for the St. Mary’s girls hockey team, but the Spartans got the new season started on a winning note on Saturday.St. Mary’s, which saw its streaks of 100 consecutive victories and three straight state titles come to an end in the postseason last spring, opened the 2011-12 campaign with a 2-1 decision over Braintree at Connery Rink in Lynn.”We knew that we had a tough opponent,” Spartans coach Frank Pagliuca said. “They’ve always played us tough. Their goalie was outstanding. She made 33 saves.”We missed some opportunities early in the game and it kept Braintree’s momentum going. They played a very physical game. They’re well-coached.”Yet the Spartans (1-0) never trailed in the game, although Braintree made it interesting in the third period.Gina Beth Manganiello opened the scoring for St. Mary’s with an unassisted first-period goal. The second period was scoreless.In the third period, Brittani Manzilli delivered what proved a vital insurance goal that doubled the Spartans’ lead to 2-0, with Manganiello and Genevieve Benoit assisting.Braintree cut the lead in half later in the period and had a chance to tie in the waning moments of regulation.”We killed off a 6-on-4 at the end of the game,” Pagliuca said. “They pulled their goalie ? It was a nice early test for us.”Lauren Skinnon made 20 saves for St. Mary’s and played “very well,” Pagliuca said.TRACKAustin Prep 94, St. Mary’s 60At the Reggie Lewis Center, in a combined boys-girls meet, the Spartans dropped their season opener.Spartan winners were:Radalfo Jiminez, 55 meters (7.68); Timmy Ryan, 300 meters (41.83); Austin Harvey, 55-meter hurdles (11:13); Noah Carmelo, high jump (5-2); Carol DiMaiti, 55 meters (7.93); Maggie Carey, 600 meters (2:01); Suzanne Haefner, high jump (5-0) and Brianna Anderson, long jump (14-6).BOYS TRACKSt. John’s 60, CM 35At Reggie Lewis, winners for The Prep (1-0) were:Morgan Johnson, shot put, 46-2 1/2; Mike Hayes, high jump, 5-9; Andrew Gauthier, 600 meters, 1:32.22; Nick Fecteau, 1,000 meters, 2:56.10; Tom O’Shea, 2-mile, 10:24.22. The Eagles won the relay and went 1-2 in the 2-mile to pull out the win.Fenwick 42, AC 35At Reggie Lewis, winners for Fenwick (1-0) were:Dan Deschenes, 600, 1:34; Bryan Mendes, 1,000, 2:52; senior captain Shaun Farrell, shot put (he led a sweep); and the 4×4 relay (Ian White, Bryon Blaisdell, Deschenes and Mendes, 3:47).GIRLS TRACKFenwick 43, AC 43At Reggie Lewis, Fenwick (0-0-1) winners were:Arianna Maida, mile, 5:34; Taylor Anderson, 600, 1:54; senior captain Taylor Cunningham, 1,000, 3:26; and the 4×4 relay (Anderson, Maida, Cunningham and Hannah Smith, 4:35).Rich Tenorio can be reached at [email protected].