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Dante Maribito and the Spartans are looking forward to another chance at a state title.
By HAROLD RIVERA
When the St. Mary’s boys hockey team reached the Division 1 state final last season at TD Garden, the opportunity to play on the same ice as the Boston Bruins was one the Spartans reveled in. Perhaps they were a little too focused on the setting, and allowed the game itself to get away.
The Spartans lost a heartbreaker in double-overtime, 4-3, to Franklin. Using last season’s sour ending as motivation, St. Mary’s is back in the state final with a chance to change the script.
“The whole team had incentive after losing that last game,” senior defenseman Marc Zampanti said. “We’re using that as the fuel to fire our team this year. We’ve been using that all season. We had it in the back of our minds and that’s led us to where we are today.”
St. Mary’s will clash against Framingham, the South champion, in the Division 1 state final on Sunday at TD Garden. This time around, they won’t waste any time focusing on the scene. For St. Mary’s, the only focus is on getting the win.
“I think we did too much of that (allowing the moment to sink in) last year. I think this year we just have our eyes on the prize,” Zampanti said. “We just want to get the job done this year.”
Zampanti, along with a pair of fellow team captains in Dante Maribito and Andrew Kreamer, also seniors, aren’t taking their second shot at a state title for granted. With a tough opponent ahead in Framingham, the captains know it’ll take a hard fought game to end their careers on a winning note.
“It starts with our goaltending,” Maribito said. “(Goaltender Andrew) LoRusso’s been playing unbelievable lately. He’s playing so well and that gives us all energy to play well and ride this wave that we’ve been riding in the playoffs so far.”
Maribito, a forward, added, “Framingham has a really good goalie and a couple of good forwards who can really shoot the puck. Hopefully we can get the pucks in the net and help our goalie (LoRusso).”
For Kreamer, a defenseman, another crack at a state title means an opportunity for redemption. Kreamer was a core piece from last season’s team and remembers the sour ending to what was an otherwise strong year.
“It’s a shot at redemption from last time,” Kreamer said. “We were all upset about what happened the last time. Just to get another shot, that’s awesome.”
A win in the Division 1 final, Kreamer added, is a dream he and his teammates have been chasing for a long time.
“I’d be speechless,” Kreamer said. “That’s the reason I came to St. Mary’s, to play top of the line hockey. Just to win this game, that’d be awesome.”
Spartans coach Mark Lee, in his 31st season at the helm of the St. Mary’s program, has been preaching focus and preparation to his players as Sunday’s game approaches.
“They’ve worked hard and nothing’s been handed to them,” Lee said of his players. “It’s very important now to stay focused on the task at hand. There’s another team that’s going to wants it as bad as us so we’re going to have to be better prepared.”
Lee’s hope is that last season’s loss to Franklin has served to prepare the Spartans for the moment this time around.
“We had a very slow start and we got behind early in the game because, in the first period, we were too busy looking around at where we were rather than playing the game,” Lee recalled. “We’re hoping that the positive thing is that for a lot of these kids this isn’t the first time (at TD Garden), to be better prepared and focused from the drop of the puck.”
A season-ending win, Lee added, would culminate a St. Mary’s season that has seen its share of hard work and dedication.
“Most kids have never had this opportunity,” Lee said. “A lot of our kids are blessed to have had it for two years in a row. This team deserves to finish with a win.”