LYNN — When there’s not much time on the clock, players step up, but it’s usually not a freshman.
Don’t tell that to Kaylee Dinkel. In St. Mary’s 3-2 win against Malden Catholic at Connery Rink, the freshman defender scored with six seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game 2-2.
With St. Mary’s trailing and on the power play with just more than two minutes to go, the Spartans emptied the tank, but Malden Catholic continued to block shots and clear the puck down-ice.
St. Mary’s coach Frank Pagliuca pulled his goalie for a 6-on-5 advantage in the final minute. With bodies in front of the net, the puck found its way to Dinkel, who buried the equalizer.
“I saw the puck and I was like, ‘just get it to the net,’” Dinkel said.
In overtime, Dinkel delivered again. Her shot from the point was tipped in by Alyssa Norden.
“I told her (Norden) early in the game, she has to get more net-front presence,” Pagliuca said. “She has great hands and she got a great tip on that.”
Pagliuca was proud of the way his team played in “a great game” overall.
“Back and forth. Both teams had chances and it was relatively a clean game in terms of penalties. That’s what you want to see. The refs let us play. It was a good battle,” he said. “Obviously, we’re excited that we came out on top. We’ll take it and move on. I’m proud of our kids. We battled back. I liked the resiliency they showed tonight.”
St. Mary’s opened the scoring within four minutes of the first period. Annabelle Collins sent a contested shot off the boards and the rebound fell to her in front of the net (1-0).
“Annabelle Collins got her first goal to get us going tonight, which was nice to see,” Pagliuca said. “It was great to see her get a goal because she’s been on the doorstep.”
Malden Catholic answered with a goal from Maggie Boudreau (1-1). Abbie Poole fell, got up, received the puck, and delivered a stellar pass to Boudreau.
The score remained tied heading into the third period. The Spartans dominated for consecutive minutes, but against all momentum, Malden Catholic found its second. St. Mary’s goalkeeper Avery Sico made three strong saves, but a fourth found its way in.
“We have to be more confident in how we play. I have some kids out there who aren’t used to playing at this level and I think part of it is confidence,” Pagliuca said. “We have to be the driver in these games.”
Pagliuca praised Sico, who finished with 27 saves.
“Both goalies made some unbelievable saves,” Pagliuca said. “Avery, at the end of the second period, made a tremendous save.”
St. Mary’s (7-0-1) next game is Saturday when it hosts Bishop Stang at 6:20 p.m.
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
