Callahan’s two goals lead St. Mary’s past Bulldawgs

There haven?t been many instances in recent years where the St. Mary?s girls? hockey team faced a ?must-win? game. Saturday night at Connery Rink, that?s basically what the Spartans faced against a Winthrop/Lynn/Saugus team that itself was trying to get back in rhythm after two losses in three games.Playing with a sense of desperation, the Spartans controlled the game from the opening faceoff to the final buzzer as Sam Callahan scored a pair of goals and Brittany McPherson stopped all 17 shots she faced from her former team in a 3-0 Spartans victory.?This was probably one of the best games that we?ve played all season,” said St. Mary?s coach Frank Pagliuca. “We came out really strong and had excellent effort and goaltending. I?m proud of the kids.”There was a different feeling on the Bulldawgs (9-3-0) bench as Anthony Martucci had a simple explanation for what happened.?St. Mary?s was a desperate team. They needed to win the game and they played like it,” Martucci said. “We played like a team that didn?t need it. This is the fourth game in a row where we?ve come out and not played well.”Coming into the game, the Bulldawgs had allowed opponents to score three or more goals just twice. St. Mary?s (4-9) would make it three by night?s end.Sophia Post set the tone for the game when she bolted down the left wing and snapped a quick shot past Gretchen Howard (17 saves) at 3:14 of the first for a 1-0 lead.The Bulldawgs? comeback efforts would be hampered by penalties. They would kill one penalty but wouldn?t be as fortunate midway through the opening period.With Caroline McKinnon, who was held pointless for a second straight game, off for body checking it was Callahan who doubled the Spartans lead at 9:18 off a feed from Katerina Roy.?We?ve been generating scoring opportunities all season and we haven?t finished,” Pagliuca said. “So it was nice to see us come out and get a couple on the board early.”The Bulldawgs would have a great chance to get back in the game early in the second when they had a two-man advantage for more than a minute. But the St. Mary?s defense didn?t allow a shot on McPherson and with the kill the Spartans took full control of the game.?That really changed all the momentum,” Martucci said. “If we can score there, it could be a different game.”The Spartans carried their 2-0 lead into the third as the Bulldawgs tried to mount a comeback. They would get a couple of good changes against McPherson but she answered the call every time.Callahan would put the finishing touches on the Spartans? outstanding performance when she scored an empty-net goal with 20 seconds left.?Our defense did a great job and so did Brittany,” Pagliuca said. “We got a lot of high quality shots and were able to keep them out to the perimeter for the most part.”Martucci, meanwhile, knows his team needs to right the ship when it faces Beverly on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. at Talbot Rink in Gloucester.?We need to find a way to get back to what we were doing well,” Martucci said. “We have to beat Beverly if we want to win the conference title.”Marblehead 1, Peabody 1It was a goaltending battle between Peabody?s Lauren Hennessey and Marblehead?s Aly Hopkins, who combined to stop 51 of the 53 pucks they faced. Hennessey turned aside 37 shots while Hopkins had 14 saves.All the offense came in the second period. Marblehead broke on top as Brooke Keough netted a goal off an Alanna Burke feed at 1:55. Just two minutes later, Elise Murphy scored on a Hannah Travers rebound to tie the game.Both teams had plenty of chances to break the tie in the third but Hopkins and Hennessey turned them aside.Latin Academy 4, Fenwick 2A second period goal from freshman defenseman Lauren Coccoluto cut the Crusader?s two-goal deficit in half before Kelsey Murphy tallied twice in the final frame for the Dragons to cap her hat-trick. Taylor Farrin (assist) tacked on a late finish for Fenwick (6-7-1) who got additional helpers from Meghan Carney and Nicole Muir.