LYNN — Two top-10 high school hockey teams in the state squared off at Connery Rink Wednesday night as the St. Mary’s Spartans, celebrating Senior Night, welcomed the Eagles of St. John’s Prep.
Despite No. 10 St. Mary’s getting off to a hot start, No. 2 St. John’s Prep played spoiler in a 4-1 victory.
In the first period, St. Mary’s was gliding around the ice and putting pressure on St. John’s Prep. The Spartans got out of trouble early, on the penalty kill, thanks to a double-save from goalie Matthew Smith Jr.
Shortly after St. Mary’s killed the penalty, it received its own power play. The Spartans moved the puck around and after Caleb Racki and Kalen Huddle exchanged passes, the puck found Joey Calder who scored a one-time finish to give St. Mary’s a 1-0 lead with 7:07 remaining in the first period.
“It was beautiful. Tic-tac-toe. Puck movement. The guys were fresh and weren’t tired. That’s what these guys are capable of,” said St. Mary’s coach Matthew Smith. “They’re capable of what they did in the first period. To see this one get away, I thought this was one that we could have won tonight if we just replicated that first period and stayed out of the box.”
St. Mary’s took its lead into the second period, but it didn’t take long for the Eagles to equalize. Less than two minutes into the period, The Prep killed a penalty and the Spartans didn’t account for Mason Luciano leaving the box. The puck found him and he scored a breakaway goal to level the scoring.
Also in the second period, Luciano scored again on the power play before Brandon Ward added a third – also on the power play, off a rebound – to give The Prep a 3-1 lead going into the third period.
“When we came back to the locker room, we talked about how we can’t take penalties and we went out there self-destructed and took penalties,” Smith said. “Out of all the penalty killing we had to do, guys got tired, play turned sloppy, and it was the story of the game.”
The Eagles added their fourth and final on a short-handed goal from Matt Cushing.
“The positive was that first period. We were the better team. We outshot them, beat them in the face-off circle, and outhit them. It was a great first period,” Smith said. “At the end of the day, we’ve got to figure out a way to beat one of these top teams. We haven’t beaten a team ranked above us yet this year. I know we tied Hingham and almost beat Pope (Francis), but it’s still not a victory.”
Although Senior Night was spoiled with the loss, Smith couldn’t speak highly enough of his seniors.
“I’m so proud of all of them. They dedicated a lot of time and sacrificed for us. They’re a great group of guys who bleed St. Mary’s blue and gold,” Smith said. “Hopefully, we can ride them in the state tournament and right the ship and start doing the right things and staying out of the penalty box.”
Now, the focus shifts to Saturday as St. Mary’s looks to re-enter the win column.
“We’re right back at it again on Saturday against Malden Catholic. Hopefully, we can get a good win there. That’s a game we’re a favorite in,” Smith said. “Then, we have Pope on Tuesday night on their Senior Night. That’s going to be one they need to figure out.”
