LYNN— For two periods of Wednesday night’s Division 1 state tournament preliminary round game between the No. 8 St. Mary’s and No. 25 Peabody/Lynnfield girls hockey teams, the Spartans couldn’t solve Tanners goalie Abby Buckley.
But St. Mary’s broke through for two goals in the third period and that was all the Spartans needed for a 2-0 victory at Connery Rink.
Aylah Cioffi and Codi Butt each scored a goal for the Spartans. Madison Hentosh, Jenna Chaplain and Zoe Solomons each dished an assist. St. Mary’s goalie Lauren Vaccaro tallied 12 saves.
The story of the game, undoubtedly, was Buckley’s 42-save performance. The junior goalie limited a relentless St. Mary’s offense and did everything in her power to keep Peabody within striking distance.
“Abby played tremendous,” Tanners coach Michelle Roach, a former St. Mary’s player and coaching assistant, said. “That’s a typical Abby Buckley game. She always sets the tone. She’s the backbone of our team. When we’re in high-pressure situations, she puts it together. She brings her best effort for the team.”
“She (Buckley) was outstanding tonight,” Spartans coach Frank Pagliuca said. “She was great. There were times where we didn’t get enough traffic in front of her. We didn’t screen her and when good goalies see the shots, they’ll make the saves the majority of the time.”
The Spartans struggled to find their rhythm in the first period. Buckley was tested early and often, leading her Tanners through two power plays unscathed to keep St. Mary’s off the board. The first came with 6:30 to play in the period, the second with 2:05 remaining. St. Mary’s couldn’t cash in and the two teams went to locker rooms scoreless at the first intermission.
“I think defense in general played a really solid game,” Roach said. “Cassie Mirasolo, Mae Norton, Sarah Buckley, Kaydee Purcell. They kept all the pucks in front of them, stayed on the defensive side of the puck. They played them real tight. The defensive core definitely played strong.”
The second period was more of the same. After the Spartans knocked off the remaining 1:35 of a Peabody power play that carried over from the first period, the St. Mary’s offense went to work. Still, it was Buckley that came away with the upper hand in denying 20 St. Mary’s shots in the second period. With Buckley in command, the game remained scoreless through two periods of play.
“I’m proud of our kids,” Pagliuca said. “We didn’t panic, we didn’t get frustrated after the first two periods even though we were carrying the play. We had multiple opportunities and we stayed with the game plan.”
The Spartan offense came alive for two goals in the third period, swaying the momentum in St. Mary’s favor. First it was Cioffi who cashed in on a power play with 13:43 remaining. With 12:52 to play, Butt found the net on a deflection to bump St. Mary’s lead to 2-0.
“Those third period goals helped us relax a little bit on the bench,” Pagliuca said. “The kids that were pressing a bit, you could see them get loose and start to play with a little more confidence. That’s a state tournament game, you’re going to run into a hot goalie.
“Michelle has done a nice job with the (Peabody) program,” Pagliuca added. “Their team’s well coached and that’s a credit to their kids working hard.”
Peabody didn’t give in but the Tanners couldn’t get one past Vaccaro to climb back into the game.
“I thought it was three great periods of hockey,” Roach said. “The only thing I felt we had to do was get more shots. We were playing them body and body. Time of possession was pretty close. We had good puck movement but we needed more shots on net.”
With the win, St. Mary’s advances to Saturday night’s (7:30) Division 1 first round game against No. 9 Masconomet at Connery.
Peabody ends the season at 11-8-2.
“It was a test for us,” Roach said. “I think we rose to the challenge. Unfortunately we didn’t get on the scoresheet but we worked hard. We’re looking towards next year. I think we had a fantastic season and I couldn’t be prouder of the girls.”
