Spartan girls hockey defeats Arlington Catholic

LYNN – St. Mary’s got its revenge on Arlington Catholic in the teams’ first game since the Cougars defeated St. Mary’s in the Division 1 state final in March. St. Mary’s won 4-1 at Connery Rink on Wednesday.Spartan senior forward Kaleigh Finigan scored two goals. Senior captain Alison Butler had a goal and two assists. Junior goaltender Lauren Skinnion stopped 30 shots to lead St. Mary’s (2-1-1, 1-0-0).”A lot of girls stepped up tonight,” said St. Mary’s head coach Frank Pagliuca. “We had to make a couple of roster adjustments tonight.”Finigan notched the game-winning score when she collected a loose puck along the right boards and skated by the Arlington Catholic defenders. Then Finigan made Cougars goalie Megan Messuri slide to her left. Finigan held the puck long enough to deposit it into the open net to give the Spartans a 2-1 lead at the 8:57 mark of the second period.St. Mary’s struggled early in the contest as Arlington Catholic controlled the opening play and held momentum for the majority of the first stanza. Adrieanna Rossini provided Arlington Catholic a 1-0 advantage when she beat Skinnion to the stick side on a breakaway just a few minutes into the game.”I thought we came out and played a terrible first period,” said Pagliuca. “We came out and were standing around.”Despite the early opportunities for Arlington Catholic (2-1-0, 0-1-0), Skinnion kept the Spartans in the game with some spectacular saves. St. Mary’s got a goal late in the first frame when Butler stole a pass in the Cougars’ end of the ice. Butler skated down the right circle and she sailed a pass towards the left wing beyond the reach of a Cougar defender to Finigan. Finigan backhanded a shot past Messuri to give the Spartans some momentum heading into the second period.”I thought the goal sparked us a little bit,” said Pagliuca. “We came out flat, but fortunately we were able to respond against a great team like AC.”Finigan nearly put St. Mary’s ahead in the first period when she flipped a puck along the boards to herself and she dangled past a defender, but she was stopped by Messuri.The second stanza was played evenly with both teams having scoring chances. St. Mary’s was able to take the lead on Finigan’s goal. In the final minute, Gabby Crugnale added an insurance goal on a one-timer from Butler.Skinnion denied the Cougars in the final period. Butler potted the empty-net goal with an assist from Finigan.Pagliuca praised the play of his defense, especially Sarah Ryan, an 8th-grader.”Skinnion was tremendous tonight,” said Pagliuca. “The last two games, she’s been stepping it up.”