PHOTO BY BOB ROCHE
St.Mary’s hockey coach Mark Lee directs a drill during practice.
By STEVE KRAUSE
The St. Mary’s Spartans came as close as a team could possibly come to winning a state hockey championship.
But Franklin stood in the Spartans’ way, scoring a goal as the second overtime was winding down last March at the TD Garden to claim a 4-3 victory and a Division 1 state title.
Now, the Spartans are left to pick up the pieces of that tantalizingly close game and do it all over again this season.
“It was a tough way to lose,” said coach Mark Lee, fresh off the ice as his team gets ready for the season. “But it was a great learning experience too. It should make us better this season.”
Senior goalie Andrew LoRusso will be back to help the Spartans in that quest. LoRusso was one of the main backbones for the Spartans last year. He ended the season with a 1.28 goals-against average and five shutouts.
“He has some experience,” said Lee. “He’s been our starter for two years, and going deep in the tournament will pay dividends with the experience.”
Also front and center for St. Mary’s will be Dante Marabito, the Catholic Central League MVP last year as a junior. Marabito, who lives in Georgetown, had 22 goals and 24 assists.
The Zampanti senior twins are also expected to contribute to the effort. Mike Zampanti had only 14 points last year, missing almost the entire season with a broken wrist.
“We’re hoping to see more of him this year,” said Lee.
His brother, Marc, is a captain and he and captain Andrew Kreamer will anchor the Spartans’ defense, Lee said.
Another potential sniper is junior Anthony Bono of Saugus. Bono had seven goals and 15 assists last season.
For the most part, said Lee, the Spartans are young.
“We have a number of players who were freshmen last year — freshmen who are now sophomores, sophomores who are now juniors — and they got a ton of experience.”
Lee’s philosophy never wavers.
“We preach defense-first hockey,” he said. But I think we have some offensive power. I’d say that’s one of our strengths. I think we can put three balanced lines together.
He also likes depth between the pipes.
“We have a couple of good backups to (LoRusso),” Lee said.
One possible new face to the mix is Revere’s Jason Losure, who came over in the middle of last season and could not play.
“He’s looking really good so far, and we’re expecting him to contribute.”
Also, Colin Reddy, whose brother, Liam, is a lineman on the football team that’s heading for Gillette Stadium and the Super Bowl this weekend, played a regular shift as a freshman and ended up with 14 points. Lee also is counting on Nick Napolitano and Mike Desmond, a senior forward, to contribute.
St. Mary’s schedule is once again rugged, and that’s how Lee likes it.
“For a number of years now, we’ve been competitive, we’ve played in the Super 8. We were Catholic Central League co-champs last year. This year, we’re playing Malden Catholic (2016 state champion), BC High, Pope Francis (formerly Springfield Cathedral). We play a top schedule. There are no nights off, which is why I think we attract the players we do.”
Some of the best battles are reserved for the Catholic Central League, where “Austin Prep and Arlington Catholic are always a battle. Fenwick is up and coming. Archbishop Williams … It’s a fiercely competitive league.”
Steve Krause can be reached at [email protected].