School roundup
The St. Mary’s of Lynn boys’ hockey team has made a habit of starting slow this season. The result was a disappointing 3-1-3 record, featuring ties against Catholic Central foes Arlington Catholic, Austin Prep, and Archbishop Williams.
Last night, in a pivotal rematch with fifth-ranked Austin Prep — the most talented of the Spartans’ conference rivals — Derek Stella and Bobby Mullins jump-started the offense with first-period tallies 30 seconds apart, and St. Mary’s held on for a 3-0 victory in Tewksbury.
“That’s what we haven’t done all year,’’ coach Mark Lee said. “Tonight, we didn’t want to make that same mistake, and we came out strong and caught some breaks.’’
Stella kicked off the scoring with 8:16 left in the first, converting on a breakaway opportunity created by the Cougars’ inability to calm the puck near center ice. The senior swooped between three white-and-green jerseys, kicked the puck into the AP zone, and beat netminder Nick Luise, forehand to backhand.
Thirty seconds later, Mullins, the Spartans’ leading scorer with eight goals and 10 assists, centered a pass in front that Julian Yourawski poked five-hole for the 2-0 advantage.
The Spartans (3-0-3 Catholic Central) dominated the second period, keeping AP to three shots — two in the final minute. Late in the second, freshman Jordan Manthorne scooped up the rebound from Tim Aylward’s point shot and scored on his own rebound for the Spartans’ third goal.
Don Hesse (19 saves) picked up his second shutout as Austin Prep fell to 4-2-1 (3-1-1 league).
