Spartan hockey escapes with victory over Fenwick

PEABODY – Catholic Central League opponents take note: This year’s Bishop Fenwick squad is not the two-win team that limped through its first season of Division 1 play.The Crusaders have ridden a physical defensive corps and opportunistic offense to a strong Week 1 start. And Saturday afternoon at McVann-O’Keefe Memorial Rink, Fenwick made a statement against St. Mary’s – a young team with a Super 8 pedigree.Despite being outplayed for vast stretches of the game, Fenwick didn’t pack it in, instead surging behind a 1 1/2-minute eruption late in the third period to seemingly tie the game. Surviving a rash of penalties, rookie mistakes, and, finally, a Fenwick equalizer waved off, the Spartans skated off with a 2-1 victory.Click here for a photo gallery.St. Mary’s (now 1-0-1) took it to the Crusaders (1-2) via superb team speed, aggressive play up front and hard work in the corners. Where many teams might have folded under the pressure, Fenwick persevered behind All-Star caliber goaltending from junior Pat O’Leary (32 saves, 101 over his first three games) and nagging play from his defensive cohorts.”I thought Pat was simply outstanding,” said Fenwick head coach Dan Lynch. “Understand, last year he was a very young player, a sophomore, put into a very difficult position. Now he’s mature and a solid, solid goalie. He’s a prime-time player and I wouldn’t trade him for anybody.”Despite being beaten in the second period on a pair of high shots, first on Andrew Markham’s right point laser and then on sophomore Shawn MacBurnie’s brilliant backhand with two minutes left, O’Brien’s play changed momentum.”We played a couple good periods of hockey but their kid O’Leary made some awesome saves and, as a young team, we got frustrated,” said Spartans head coach Mark Lee.The frustration created five third-period penalties (“We didn’t get any penalties in our first game, so go figure,” said Lee) and opportunities for Fenwick.Mike Napolitano sliced the lead in half with 2:47 left, taking a feed from Drew Thibodeau and muscling through three St. Mary’s defenders to somehow get the puck past sophomore goalie Connor Jennings.Ten seconds later and Fenwick was on a power play. A minute in, Thibodeau wheeled up the left wing to the goal line and funneled the puck into the crease. Nick Finan battled through two defensemen to knock the puck into the net, but the score was waved off with 1:10 remaining.”(The referees) were saying that the goaltender did not have an opportunity to make a save,” explained Lynch. “My perspective was, he was pushed in or accompanied in, and the puck was in the crease, which makes it a live puck.”The angle we’re at from the bench, it’s very difficult to say whether (the puck) crossed the line, so I don’t want to question a referee’s call.”The Spartans survived the final minute to take the victory.”It’s important for us as a coaching staff to know that the kids believe we can play with anybody,” said Lynch. “I’m pleased with our performance (Saturday), not with the result.””We just need to improve and learn from our mistakes,” concluded Lee. “And (Saturday) there were plenty of them to learn from.”