St. Mary’s boys hockey ousted from tournament

CHELMSFORD – The St. Mary?s boys hockey team?s remarkable season came to an end on Wednesday evening in Chelmsford, after the Spartans? 2-0 loss to Reading in the Division 1 State Tournament.The Rockets got a pair of third period goals from Sean Verrier while their defense held the St. Mary?s attack at bay. Reading senior net-minder Ian Lapham needed just 14 saves for the shutout.?The reality of it is that we are a very young team without much playoff experience,” explained Spartans coach Mark Lee. “The jitters were there and we didn?t play our best game against an extremely talented Reading team.”The Spartans earned the No. 1 seed after falling just shy of a berth in the Division 1A/Super Eight tournament.Lee heaped praise on his team, which finished 14-4-2 in the regular season before opening the postseason with two victories.?When we started the season 1-3, we could only pray to make the tournament,” said Lee. “We responded with a great season and just missed the Super Eight before going three rounds deep in Division 1. I?m extremely proud of this team.”After an evenly played first period, the Rockets would hold St. Mary?s to just two shots in a middle frame that saw the Spartans fail to record a shot on two power play opportunities.?We ran into a very disciplined and physical team tonight,” said Lee of Reading?s smothering defense. “They did a great job at clogging the middle of the ice and it prevented us from really testing their goaltender.”Verrier opened the scoring at long last, 2:48 into the third period on the Rockets? 15th shot of the game.Left alone in the slot, the junior forward accepted Matt Thomson?s pass from below the goal line before burying his shot over St. Mary?s goaltender Bailey MacBurnie?s left shoulder. Kevin Tobin added an assist.Reading kept the pressure on, outshooting the Spartans 14-4 in the period (26-14 overall), and was rewarded with an insurance tally.At the 1:19 mark, junior defenseman Mike Seibold threw a shot towards the net, which found its way through traffic and was tipped home by Verrier.MacBurnie, who was virtually left helpless on both tallies, played the final game of an outstanding high-school career, which could very well be continued at the college level.?He had a tremendous career and was a very big part of our success this season,” said Lee. “He lived up to all the hype that was placed on him before the season.”MacBurnie finished the regular season with a sub-two goals against average (1.71), and played a vital role in the Spartans? first round victory over Waltham before a shootout win over Winchester in the quarterfinals.Along with its fourth-year goalie, St. Mary?s will graduate eight seniors, including captains Chris Price and Jordan Manthorne.?This was a fantastic group of kids who played a huge role in developing our younger guys throughout the season,” explained Lee. “They taught the others the ?St. Mary?s way? and I cannot thank them enough for their contributions to the program.”