SWAMPSCOTT– Every high school student athlete wants to go out on top when senior year rolls around. Thus far, it seems as though Swampscott hockey senior Stevie Santanello’s on the right track.
A starting center and team captain for the Big Blue, Santanello has made the most of his final go-round at Swampscott. Through 20 regular season games, Santanello scored 20 goals and dished 17 assists for a total of 37 points.
He cemented his Swampscott legacy on Feb. 3 when he scored his 100th career point in a 9-1 victory over Everett. Santanello scored three goals and distributed two assists, leading the Big Blue to a win that earned them a berth in the state tournament.
“It was special to get it on the day that we qualified for the tournament,” Santanello said. “It was a big win. Everett played a great game, better than I thought they would. It was exciting to get it at that time of the season versus waiting until the last game.”
Santanello became the ninth player in Swampscott program history to reach the 100-point mark. He follows the footsteps of his father, Dan, who was the first Swampscott player to do so when he scored his 100th career point in 1976.
“It motivated me when I came to high school, knowing that my father did it,” Santanello said. “My father has been my role model and reaching 100 points has always been something that I’ve always wanted to accomplish. It’s great that I was able to celebrate that with my father because he’s helped me get to where I am today.”
Since Big Blue coach Gino Faia took over the program in 2000, eight Swampscott players have notched the milestone.
“It’s a hard thing to do,” Faia said. “You have to be consistent and put together some good years. There’s only nine in our program history and if you look around at other schools and towns, it’s not like everyone’s doing it. We’ve had a lot of great hockey players at Swampscott and not many have done it so there’s something to be said for it.”
Faia believes the accomplishment is a culmination of the strides and improvements Santanello has made since he joined the team as a freshman. Since then, Santanello has improved as a skater and developed a reliable knack for putting the puck in the net.
“Stevie’s really worked on his game from his freshman year to his senior year,” Faia said. “He’s become a better skater. He has a great shot and a great release and he can really put the puck in the net.
“He has improved his skating from his freshman year,” Faia added. “He worked on his stride and he became quicker. He didn’t have a smooth stride when he first joined the team. He’s gotten much quicker and that has helped him become a better player. When you’re a good skater you can play the game.”
In his four seasons at Swampscott, the Big Blue have reached the postseason each year. Getting to states was a goal the team talked about from the moment it came together prior to the start of the season. Swampscott finished the regular season at 9-5-6.
“When we had our first team meeting of the year, that was the first goal we talked about,” Santanello said. “We wanted to reach the 20 points to get into the state tournament. We’ve been playing really well these past few games. It’s pretty cool that this is my fourth year making the playoffs as a varsity player.”
Swampscott made the tournament last season but the Big Blue were bounced in the quarterfinals after a 3-2 loss to Lowell. Santanello feels the tournament loss served as a learning experience for this season’s team.
“We learned that we can’t come in and think we’re going to win,” Santanello said. “It seems that a lot of the games that we think we’ll win easily don’t go that way. We learned a lot and we’ve worked really hard throughout the season. Making the tournament was our No. 1 goal and No. 2 was to win in the tournament.
“It’s been my dream to make a tournament run,” Santanello added. “Last year we thought we had it and we thought we’d roll through the first few rounds. You never know with playoff hockey. Us seniors, we have to understand the importance of winning that first game. We’re sick of being one and done like we’ve been the past two years.”
Santanello hopes Swampscott’s senior leadership will pay dividends when the tournament rolls around. The team’s senior core has played together since it was in middle school.
“There aren’t many teams that have a senior class that includes three forwards, two defensemen and a goalie,” Satanenello said. “We’ve been playing together since we were all in the sixth grade. We have a strong core of seniors but it’s not just us. The whole team has been pithing in which has been very helpful this year.”
