LYNN — The St. Mary’s boys hockey team picked the wrong game to have an off night, as the Spartans struggled in a 6-1 loss at Connery Rink against Austin Prep in a game to decide the Catholic Central League title. To add a bit of insult to injury, it was also the Spartans’ Senior Night.
“We just didn’t have it tonight,” said St. Mary’s coach Mark Lee. “I thought we played well for the most part over the first two periods, but we didn’t have the kind of energy necessary to beat a good team like that. But we’ll be back, we’re a young team and the guys will bounce back.”
Jaiden Moriello was the lone goal scorer for the Spartans in the loss.
The game didn’t get off to the start the Spartans wanted, as Austin Prep came out and scored within the first two minutes of action. After picking up the puck around center ice, Nicholas Carafelli darted up the ice, found an open lane and fired a wrist shot under Spartans goalie Kevin McMullen’s armpit for a 1-0 lead.
But the Spartans kept fighting, sending a number of shots at the net and creating a few scoring opportunities. It finally paid off with just over nine minutes left in the first, when Tommy Cash fired a shot at the net. Cougars goalie Andrew MacDonald made the initial save, but the rebound ricocheted out onto Moriello’s stick, and he buried it to tie the score at 1-1.
The momentum continued in the Spartans’ favor for the next several minutes, but after an unsuccessful powerplay St. Mary’s took a penalty, allowing Austin Prep to recapture the momentum. With 3:16 left in the first, Carafelli hit Kevin Urquhart with a perfect pass, and Urquhart buried it to make it 2-1 at the end of one.
The second period didn’t start much better, as the Cougars once again scored within the first few minutes of play. This time, it was Matt Sacco who knocked home a rebound after McMullen made the initial save on a 2-on-1 break, giving Austin Prep a 3-1 lead.
The Spartans had multiple scoring chances as the second period wore on, including earning two powerplays, but they couldn’t find the back of the net on any of them. At the end of two periods, the Cougars held a 3-1 lead.
Despite starting the third period on the powerplay and earning another later in the period, the Spartans simply couldn’t make anything of their opportunities. The Cougars, on the other hand, continued to make the most of theirs, getting goals from Richard Lyons and Evan Rago to seal the victory.
It wasn’t a total loss for St. Mary’s, as the Spartans honored the 2018 senior class before the game. Seniors Jason Loeser, Nico Scali, Anthony Bono, Tommy Cash and Chris Kirby have gone 65-23-9 as a unit, winning two Division 1 North titles and a Division 1 state championship.
“It all starts with our two captains, Nico and Anthony, but all of these guys have had big impacts on the program,” Lee said of his senior class. “They all work hard, play hard and lead by example, and they’ve all come up with big plays for us all year long. It’s the hardest part of the season as a coach watching guys like that leave your team. But we’ve still got them for a few more games, so we’re going to try and make them count.”
Now, the Spartans will look to close out the final three games of the regular season with some momentum. Next up is a road game against Lowell Catholic on Saturday at the Chelmsford Forum.
