LYNN — When you get to the postseason, rankings don’t matter and there’s only one mission: Get to TD Garden.
The No. 14 St. Mary’s Spartans were flying high into the Division 1 tournament after defeating Hingham (now ranked No. 1) by multiple goals (2-0) last week. But Tuesday night, No. 19 Winchester crashed St. Mary’s party in a 1-0 final at Connery Rink.
“We played their brand of hockey. They wanted to clog up and make it a rock fight, and we tried to play that style when that’s not our style,” said St. Mary’s Coach Frank Pagliuca. “We got beat to every loose puck tonight. We lost every one-on-one battle. They deserved it.”
The game was scoreless after one period and appeared to be the same after two. That said, with just 20 seconds remaining in the second period, a costly turnover gave Winchester a golden opportunity in the Spartans’ zone. A deflected shot found the back of the net to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
“We had a bad turnover at the end of the second period and, unfortunately, that cost us,” Pagliuca said. “We didn’t deserve to win tonight. The better team won.”
Pagliuca remained honest, crediting Winchester for outplaying St. Mary’s for all three periods.
In the third, the Spartans had chances and net-front scrambles, but couldn’t find the equalizer fans were waiting for. Then, with just two minutes to go – in someone’s season – the Spartans committed a penalty.
“We could not get the puck to the net. We lost every battle. We got shots blocked,” Pagliuca said. “We had a gameplan and didn’t follow it. Credit to Winchester – they wanted it more.
Pagluica felt for his seniors, as Tuesday night was the last time they would put on the blue and gold.
“They meant a lot to the program. Naomi (Evangelista), Katy (Sarazen), Abby (Malcuit), Deidre (McCarron), and Audrey (Zinck),” he said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t play well enough to give them another game, but that happens in life. You just move on and learn from it. Hopefully, the kids that were here this year will take this experience in a positive way and come back next year stronger.”
When asked how he will reflect on this season, Pagliuca spoke about his team’s ability to turn its season around in the second half.
“Besides this game, I think we improved a lot in the second half. We did the things we needed to do to be successful. It’s just disappointing we couldn’t transition and keep that momentum going into the tournament,” Pagliuca said. “But the tournament is a different animal and you have to be ready to go and ready to play every game. That’s why we lost.”
No. 19 Winchester will face the winner of No. 3 Malden Catholic and No. 30 Westford Academy.
