LYNN — St. Mary’s girls hockey netminder Lauren Skinnion, after giving up an early second period goal, never blinked once, and that was what made all the difference in the Lady Spartans’ 2-1 victory over Westwood at Connery Rink on Saturday.

It didn’t seem all that harrowing in the first period, where the two teams exchanged goose eggs in terms of both goals and penalties and looked as even-keeled as opposing teams could be.

That is, until the second period. Although the Spartans got a goal from Kaleigh Finigan, on assists to Alison Butler and Vanessa VanBuskirk, Westwood also got a goal, by freshman Kailey Jacobs, resulting in a 1-1 tie after two periods.

During the second period, the Wolverines offense managed several shots, keeping the Spartans and Skinnion on the heels of their skates.

“Westwood’s a very good team,” said St. Mary’s head coach Frank Pagliuca. “They dominated the early part of the game and really put pressure on us.”

The pressure would mount for St. Mary’s on both sides of the ice; with the Spartans only managing six shots in the first two periods, it came down to Skinnion stonewalling an aggressive Wolverine offense, which hounded her throughout the game.

This was particularly the case in the third after St. Mary’s took the lead on a goal by Butler a minute and a half into the period. Throughout the remainder of the game, especially the last three minutes, Skinnion was kept on her toes, deflecting shots and making point-blank saves from every angle Westwood could find to make a shot.

While the Spartan offense picked up a little in the last period, it ultimately came down to Skinnion denying the Wolverines on every offensive break and opportunity they took to try to put the puck past her.

“There are no bones about it,” Pagliuca said. “Lauren played great for us, and I’m very proud of her. She won the game for us tonight.”