An action-packed Christmas Eve for St. Mary’s boys hockey team (4-0-1) consisted of a first varsity goal, some bone-crushing hits, and a 4-2 win over Brookline (0-5) at Connery Rink on Saturday.
With the song “This is Our House” playing from the speakers, the Spartans made sure of that – even without four starters. Peabody native Finn Racki scored his first high school goal, and a freshman from Saugus Matthew Smith Jr. got his first high school win as a goaltender.
“[I’m] just happy to see these young kids experiencing some things,” St. Mary’s head coach Mark Lee said. “That’s really good stuff, and we really are proud of this team.”
St. Mary’s Aidan Fitzpatrick felt the holiday spirit early. Just 22 seconds in, he picked up the puck and fired a wrister into the net from just inside the faceoff dot. After the Warriors scored an equalizer, Fitzpatrick struck again with 4:54 remaining in the first to put the Spartans up 2-1.
“Aidan [Fitzpatrick] has been a force and he’s only a freshman,” Lee said. “He’s been a nice surprise. He’s a very physical player, very good around the net, and he’s got high hockey IQ so that’s important. He’s one of the young guys that have really stepped it up.”
Another early highlight included St. Mary’s Marc Hilton burying a Warrior in front of his own bench, one of the many big hits the Spartans delivered in the first.
Despite the 2-1 lead at the first intermission, Lee thought his team wasn’t as polished as it could’ve been.
“We preach playing St. Mary’s hockey. It’s defense-first hockey and structure. Today, we didn’t have a lot of that. The structure wasn’t very good. We’re just playing a little bit of pond hockey out there and, luckily, we got away with it today,” Lee said.
Brookline scored another tying goal to make things 2-2 with 9:16 remaining in the second, a score that remained at the second intermission. The Spartans struggled to finish around the net despite getting open chances in the bumper.
St. Mary’s sophomore Jaiden Driscoll impressed in the waning seconds of the period, however, hustling back in the defensive zone and blocking a shot while the Spartans were short-handed.
In the third, Racki made his memory. His first high school goal came off a one-timer in the slot to put the Spartans up 3-2 with 9:35 remaining – the eventual game-winning goal off a perfect pass from Stephen Nason.
Then came insurance. With just over six minutes remaining, St. Mary’s Brady Bullock went coast-to-coast and fired a bar-down goal to extend the lead to two. The puck hit off the crossbar and landed behind the goal line, never touching the net.
Time expired on Brookline and the Spartans moved to 4-0-1. Another win on the standings is a plus, but Lee said there’s much more to improve.
“Any win at the high school level is good,” Lee said. “We got two points out of it, but we’ve really got to get back to the way we’ve played.”
The Spartans return to action on Tuesday against Weymouth in the Serino Christmas Tournament with puck-drop set for 5 p.m..
“We’ve got some tough competition coming up,” Lee said. “This is a great group of kids and a great locker room, so I think we’re going to be okay.”
