PHOTO BY BOB ROCHE
St. Mary’s Dante Maribito controls the puck.
By DILLON DURST
LYNN — As the final seconds of the second period ticked away on Wednesday night at Connery Rink, St. Mary’s junior forward Dante Maribito fired a shot from center ice that whizzed over Archbishop Williams goalie Owen Cuddyer’s right shoulder as time expired.
Maribito’s goal, which was eventually confirmed by officials after the two teams headed into the locker rooms, gave the Spartans a 3-1 lead over the Bishops, and ultimately put the game out of reach. St. Mary’s went on to win, 4-1.
“He (has) been big every night for us,” St. Mary’s coach Mark Lee said of Maribito. “He’s kind of like the catalyst for us and he gets a lot of guys going. He had another great game. He’s a kid (who) you don’t ever have to worry about his work ethic. (He) always brings it.”
With the win, St. Mary’s improved its record to 15-3 on the season and solidified its position atop the Catholic Central League standings, while Archbishop Williams dropped to 8-5-2.
The game was scoreless for most of the first period until Maribito found the back of the net on a breakaway goal with 52 seconds remaining.
Archbishop Williams’ Cullen Lyne scored the Bishops’ lone goal of the evening on a breakaway two minutes into the second period, knotting the score, 1-1. Spartans’ junior forward Mike Zampanti responded less than four minutes later, firing a shot past Cuddyer to put St. Mary’s back on top, 2-1.
Junior forward Mike Desmond sealed the game for the Spartans in the third period, sneaking a tip-in shot past Cuddyer to give St. Mary’s a three-goal lead with less than five minutes remaining in regulation.
“That’s a team that’s being considered for the Super 8 and we’re battling with them in the league,” Lee said of Archbishop Williams after the game. “We really didn’t play our best game tonight, but when you have a goaltender making some great stops, it kept us in the game early.”
Lee also said St. Mary’s junior goalie Andrew LoRusso “made an awful lot of good stops at very important times in the game.”
“He was huge for us,” Lee said.
Although Lee didn’t think his team played its best game tonight, he was pleased with its attitude and demeanor when things weren’t going well early on.
“We stayed very positive,” he said. “We stayed together, and fought through it, and found a way in the third period to put a couple (goals) home and secure the win. Very proud.”
Despite allowing just one goal, Lee said the Spartans need to get back to a “more defensive style of game,” and said he didn’t think they played as well in their defensive zones as they needed to.
“Down the stretch in the tournament, the best defensive teams usually move on.”
Dillon Durst can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @DillonDurst.