Hockey Roundup: St. Mary’s girls see tournament hopes evaporate

Normally a 1-1 tie against Westford Academy would have been fine with the St. Mary?s girls? hockey team on Tuesday at Pilgrim Arena in Hingham. Unfortunately for the Spartans, they needed two points to keep hope of making the state tournament alive.
?I was very proud of our effort,” St. Mary?s coach Frank Pagliuca said. “We just couldn?t find the goal we needed. We had plenty of chances but just couldn?t finish.”
The Spartans have put together a 9-4-1 record since beginning the season 0-7 and it?s that strong second half which Pagliuca sees as the silver lining in missing the playoffs.
?We just dug ourselves too big of a hole to get out of,” Pagliuca said. “But we?ve had a really good turnaround and we really responded after not being at the top of our game on Saturday (in a loss to Winchester).”
The Grey Ghosts jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 10:23 mark of the first period when Emily Burrill beat Brittany McPherson on a rebound following a deflected shot. St. Mary?s came right back with an unassisted goal by Sarah Ryan just 64 seconds later to knot the game after one period.
St. Mary?s continued to apply plenty of pressure in the second period but rang a shot off the goal post. It was more of the same in the third as the Spartans desperately looked for a season-extending goal.
Pagliuca pulled McPherson for an extra skater with 2:30 left trying to net the winner, but the Spartans were unable to do so.
?It was a well played game,” Pagliuca said.
Lynn/Saugus/Winthrop 2, Medway 1
After struggling down the stretch, the Bulldogs (11-6-1) closed out the regular season on a high with a solid three-period effort in the Watertown Tournament.
?This was really good for us,” Bulldogs coach Anthony Martucci said. “We finally played three full periods of hockey.”
It was scoreless until midway through the second period when Flora English rushed up ice on a 2-on-1 with Caroline McKinnon. After drawing the defender out of the middle, English slipped a perfect pass to McKinnon for a 1-0 lead.
It was still a 1-0 game in the third period when the Bulldogs were shorthanded. McKinnon blocked a shot at the point and sprung English for a breakaway goal and a 2-0 lead with 8:09 left to go. Medway got a goal back with five minutes left but the Bulldogs held the fort the rest of the way in front of netminder Gretchen Howard.
Masconomet 3, Marblehead 1
Marblehead (6-8-4) put up a strong fight in the semifinals of the Newburyport Bank Classic as goaltender Aly Hopkins made 49 stops to keep Marblehead in the game.
It was scoreless until midway through the game when the Chieftains scored. Masco tacked on two more goals in the third period before Brooke Keough spoiled the shutout bid with 1:27 left, assisted by Codi Butt and Sydney Cresta.
Beverly/Danvers 5, Leominster 1
The red-hot Panthers (13-4-1) extended their win streak to six games as sophomore McKinley Karpa had a goal and three assists to up her point total to 53 this season. Kristen McCarthy added two goals and an assist with Erica Haibon (first career) and Anna O?Neill also netting goals.
BOYS
Masconomet 7, Saugus 3
The Sachems (4-13-1) were tied 1-1 after the opening period thanks to Chris Sanderson?s goal, assisted by Nik Straticos, but they were outshot, 14-3, in the second and saw the Chieftains take the lead for good.
Sanderson had a second-period goal, assisted by Christian Patterson, before Pat Cross set up Brendan Patterson in the third period.
Arlington 6, Winthrop 3
The Vikings (15-3-2) had a chance to clinch one of the top two seeds in the upcoming Division 2 North tournament with a victory but saw a 3-2 second-period lead get away in the finals of the Ed Burns Classic.
?We were ahead and playing really well,” Winthrop coach Dale Dunbar said. “But we had a lapse and let it get away.”
Winthrop got goals from Pat Todisco, Mark Ferullo and Alex Anzuoni.
Dracut 4, Salem 1
The Witches (10-6-2) ran into a buzzsaw against a team they beat 2-0 in the Division 3 North