In Wednesday’s boys hockey game between St. Mary’s and B.C. High at Connery Rink, the host Spartans led 1-0 with less than one minute remaining in the second period. Then, the ice tilted.
The Eagles tied the game with 13 seconds remaining in the second before scoring three more in the third en route to a 4-1 victory in enemy territory.
St. Mary’s head coach Mark Lee said “we got the result we deserved,” adding inconsistency plagued his team throughout the game.
“Coming into this third period even, we just seemed to run out of gas and we were just so inconsistent on every shift,” Lee said. “Consistency is our problem.”
Among the St. Mary’s roster are 17 underclassmen. Despite his team being a part of several overtime finishes this season, Lee said inexperience played a role in the third.
“I think they showed their age a little bit in that third period,” Lee said. “[It was] a learning experience for a lot of these guys.”
On the other side, and when asked about the success in the third, Eagles’ coach Brendan Collier credited his team’s conditioning.
“We’re a good third period team. We can roll four lines and we have guys who are in shape,” Collier said. “We’ve been working on conditioning since the beginning of the season and it showed there.”
The Spartans faithful was present and accounted for throughout the first two periods, especially when sophomore Maddox Jacobsen sniped a shot from the left side of the ice to give the hosts a 1-0 lead with 12:46 remaining in the second.
“That line was forechecking hard and created that opportunity,” Lee said. “Hard work paid off on that goal.”
Lee said his group “really played well” during the second period. Collier also mentioned how tough a matchup St. Mary’s can be.
“St. Mary’s is obviously a good team,” Collier said. “They’re a well-coached team. They play hard [and] they play a physical game – especially at home.”
If there was a single theme of the first period, it was St. Mary’s goalie Anthony Palmer doing what he does best. The freshman from Lynnfield stopped a redirection on his first test, then recorded a breakaway save with 5:10 remaining in the period to keep things scoreless.
“Anthony Palmer… he’s going to give you an opportunity to win every night,” Lee said. “Goaltending has not been a problem at all this year. He’s done everything and more than we’ve ever asked him to.”
Other highlights on Wednesday included a bone-crushing hit on the boards from St. Mary’s Cam McGonagle, and Jaiden Driscoll of the Spartans dropping to one knee to prevent a two-on-one chance for the Eagles. Both plays occurred in the first period.
But in the end, St. Mary’s record dropped to 10-5-3 as the Eagles flew away victorious.
“We were losing some of those one-one-one battles that we usually fight harder through,” Lee said. “Tonight, we really didn’t have anyone step up.”
Prior to the game, St. Mary’s seniors Tad Giardina, Brady Ayles, Brady Bullock, and Luke Bott were honored on Senior Night, featuring plenty of flowers, cardboard cutouts, and pictures.
“They’ve been a part of a lot of success here at St. Mary’s,” Lee said. “Tonight didn’t work out for them, but they’re really great guys.”
