LYNN — If you’re a fan of rivalry games – and good old-fashioned hockey – Wednesday night at Connery Rink was the place to be.
With dueling student sections and a high school hockey atmosphere that, frankly, couldn’t be replicated in many other places, Fenwick stole a win from St. Mary’s in enemy territory. The final score read 4-1 as the Crusaders have rattled off four of their last five.
“We have to give Fenwick all the credit. They came into our building and outworked us – and outplayed us – and deserved the win,” St. Mary’s head coach Mark Lee said. “It’s as simple as that.”
With the score tied 1-1 in the third period, a Spartan was sent to the penalty box. The result: Fenwick’s Matt O’Connor firing a snipe past St. Mary’s goalie Brady Baldassare with 12:21 remaining.
The lefty put his team up 2-1, to which Lee said “we never really recovered from that.”
On the other side, Fenwick head coach Jim Quinlan thought it was one of the turning points of the game.
“It gave us confidence – it gave us confidence that we could play with them,” Quinlan said.
Then came some breathing room. With 6:11 remaining, Manny Alvarez-Segee got behind the St. Mary’s defense before firing a low, right-handed shot into the net to extend the lead to two.
“You could just see the character of my team,” Quinlan said. “They just kept on coming.”
A Chris Stevens goal later with 12 seconds to go, and Fenwick escaped victorious. The Crusaders celebrated in front of their traveling student section – a moment they’ll never forget.
“Every kid on that team deserves this happiness right now,” Quinlan said. “With all the fans that we had tonight, it was great – the student body was here and I think that helped our players.”
Lee, who admits his team has been off the last few games, said there wasn’t a category his team performed well in.
“I don’t know why we didn’t come to play today, but that’s on me. I guess the team wasn’t ready,” Lee said. “It wasn’t pretty to watch.”
That said, St. Mary’s played like St. Mary’s during stretches of the second period. Trailing 1-0 on an odd-man-rush, Aidan Fitzpatrick could’ve shot as he was gliding towards the opposition. At the last second, however, he dished the puck to Brady Ayles who did the rest.
“I think we really controlled the play in the second period,” Lee said. “To get that goal at the end of that period, and get us even, [it] was great.”
After the Spartans’ equalizer, Quinlan admitted he wasn’t sure which kind of team he was going to see – the kind that runs, or the kind that responds.
“I didn’t know what my team was going to come out with, but you know what? They showed huge character and never quit,” Quinlan said.
In the end, it was a hard-fought, physical game, something Quinlan wanted to see heading in.
“It’s Fenwick against St. Mary’s,” Quinlan said. “We’re going to come and grind and work hard.”
Cam Anderson also scored in the victory. Fenwick returns to action Saturday against Andover with puck-drop set for 6 p.m. The Spartans travel to face Arlington Catholic – also Saturday at 6 p.m.
“We’ll bounce back, but this is a tough one right now,” Lee said.
