Braintree’s late goal ices St. Mary’s

LYNN — The St. Mary’s penalty kill nearly stole them a point on Monday evening against visiting Braintree, but in the end the Spartans were whistled for one to many undisciplined infractions in their 2-1 set-back at Connery Rink.With Ryan McManus in the box for charging at the 14:02 mark of the final period, the Wamps Corey Woodward’s shot from the right-point rebounded to Chris Googins (2 goals) who buried the game-winner with just 39 seconds remaining.”This was a discouraging game for us from the drop of the puck until the final whistle,” said St. Mary’s coach Mark Lee. “We played an ugly game without discipline and will need to bounce back. We play way too tough of a schedule to feel sorry for ourselves.”In the third period alone, the Spartans were whistled for 10 penalties. For the game, which was chippy by all counts, the host’s penalized 15 times and would surrender two power-play goals despite killing off two separate 5-on-3s.”We did a great job penalty killing for most of the night, but our guys got way too much practice,” explained Lee. “We played most of the game short-handed and you’re not going to beat anybody that way.”The Spartans were able to weather the storm in the first period and take the first lead at the 5:34 mark with a power-play goal of their own. Just as their man-advantage was ending, Jon Powers finished a feed from Andrew Kreamer to the left post. Jordan Manthorne picked up the secondary assist.The second period was a bad one for the home team as they were out-shot 9-5 and surrendered the equalizer with 54 seconds remaining in the frame. With Eric Pedro in the box for a crosscheck, Googins scored through a crowd with a wrist shot. Gino LaRossa and Kyle Leslie picked up helpers.Goaltender Bailey MacBurnie was one of the lone bright spots for St. Mary’s, making a number of key stops throughout the game.”He certainly deserves better than his teammates gave him tonight,” said Lee of the senior net-minder. “He’s been great in every game and today was no exception. He kept us in this game.”At the other end of the ice, the Wamps got a fantastic outing in net from Nick Anson who mad 15 saves total. Braintree coach David Fasano credited Anson with providing his team the opportunity to come away with two-points.”He made the stops when he had to tonight,” explained Fasano of his goaltender. “He turned aside a few quality attempts. That’s what he does for us. We dug in and we grinded in the offensive end and he backed us up in our own zone. This was a big win for us tonight, against a very good team.” St. Mary’s is off until Friday (3:20) when they take on Austin Prep in the opening round of the four-team Christie Serino Christmas Classic in Malden. Tournament host Malden Catholic will play Hingham in the second game at 5:40.