ESPN

Today we kick off our high school coverage of the spring season with our preseason MIAA softball All-State team, as selected by ESPNBoston.com staff and state high school coaches.

STARTING ROTATION
Kiara Amos, Sr., Malden
Trish Hansen, Sr., Mansfield
Meghan Rico, Sr., King Philip
Sarah Ropiak, Sr., Acton-Boxborough
Shannon Smith, Jr., Milford

STARTING NINE
Taylor Archer, Sr. C/3B, Milford
Patty Borges, Sr. SS, Coyle-Cassidy
Alex Burgess, Sr. OF, Chelmsford
Bri Chiusano, Sr. OF, Mansfield
Lexi Gifford, Sr. IF/OF, Natick
Olivia Godin, Sr. C, King Philip
Nicole Lundstrom, Jr. C, Dighton-Rehoboth
Christina Raso, Sr. SS, Burlington
Reilly Weiners, Jr. C, Agawam

"BEST OF THE REST"
Meg Carnase, Sr. P, King Philip
Katie Casey, Jr. P, Braintree
Katherine Clark, Sr. P, Coyle-Cassidy
Allie Colleran, Jr. SS, Concord-Carlisle
Meghan Colleran, Soph. P, North Attleborough
Stephanie Cornish, Sr. SS, Abington
Abby Curran, Sr. IF, Bishop Fenwick
Alexis DeBrosse, Jr. 2B, New Bedford
Audrey Dolloff, Sr. P, Bridgewater-Raynham
Maggie Hoffman, Jr. P, Avon
Kaleigh Finigan, Jr. C, St. Mary's (Lynn)
Natalie Leone, Jr. 2B, Ashland
Rachel Levine, Jr. CF, Milford
Abby Johnson, Sr. SS, Chelmsford
Galen Kerr, Jr. P, Concord-Carlisle
Jackie Kielty, Jr. P, Middleborough
Kayli Moniz, Sr. SS, Fairhaven
Breanna Monroe, Sr. OF, Shrewsbury
Shannon Orton, Sr. P, Case
Kaci Panarelli, Jr. C, Shrewsbury
Meghan Rich, Sr. P, Chelmsford
Julie LeClair, Sr. 3B, Coyle-Cassidy
Cayleigh McCarthy, Sr. 1B, King Philip
Madi Shaw, Soph. SS, Bridgewater-Raynham
Alyssa Siegmann, Sr. SS, King Philip

First Team:
F- Alison Butler, Jr., St. Mary’s (Lynn)
Perhaps no player in the state made bigger strides this season than the Spartans junior. The Danvers resident finished with 17 goals and 44 assists for 61 points, good for third in the state.

F – Kati Goguen, Sr., Acton-Boxborough
One of the state’s top perennial scorers, the Holy Cross commit and captain was again among the MIAA’s leading scorers, tallying 17 goals along with 26 assists. Goguen also plays with the prestigious Assabet Valley travel league squad.

F – Kayla Smith, Jr., Woburn
A pure sniper in the truest sense, Smith finished fourth in the state in scoring, with 57 points, and finished tied for fourth in goals with 31. This year marks Smith’s second straight ESPN Boston All-State First Team appearance, improving upon her 53-point performance from a year ago.

D – Martha Findley, Sr., Duxbury
This year’s ESPN Boston Miss Hockey Award winner, Findley is a two-time All-Stater to go along with the Dragons’ second straight Div. 2 state championship. The Duxbury captain had five goals and 21 assists for 26 points this season. Findley plans on attending Cushing Academy for a postgraduate year next year.

D – Rachel Donahoe, Sr., St. Mary’s (Lynn)
The Spartans captain was among the top-scoring blue-liners in the state with 22 points (two goals, 20 assists). The Wakefield resident highlighted a deep defensive corps that boosted St. Mary’s to another Division 1 state final appearance.

G – Courtney Davis, Soph., Woburn
The second-year starter tied for second in the state with seven shutouts this season while posting a measly 1.25 goals against average and a 94.3 save percentage.

Second Team:
F – Natalie Flynn, Sr., Arlington Catholic
The Cougars captain lifted her squad to a victory over a heavily favored St. Mary’s squad and a Division 1 state championship. Flynn tallied 19 goals and 15 assists for 34 points.

F – Jane Freda, Jr., Hingham
It wasn’t too long ago that the Harbormen junior captain was moved up from the blue to add a scoring punch. This season, Freda went crazy, finishing second in the state in scoring with 31 goals and 32 assists for 63 points.

F – Erika Kelly, Sr., Watertown/Melrose
The pride of Watertown led the state in scoring this season with a state-best 49 goals for 70 points. Not only a dynamic scorer on the ice, Kelly is a highly decorated field hockey talent, in addition to playing softball in the spring.

D – Cassandra Connolly, Jr., Woburn
A true two-way defenseman, Connolly was among the state’s scoring leaders among blue-liners with six goals and 20 assists for 26 points, while helping a Tanners unit that allowed just 28 goals in 22 games.

D – Emily Loebs, Sr., Acton-Boxborough
The senior captain has been a rock on defense on some deep, defensive Colonials teams. Loebs finished second on A-B in goal scoring — her 14 goals fells just off the pace of fellow All-Stater Kati Goguen—and her 26 points ranked among the state’s top defensemen.

G – Rachel Myette, Soph., Duxbury
After turning in a dominant freshman year, Myette returned with an outstanding second-year effort, including another Div. 2 title. Her 0.90 goals against average was the best in the state, as were her eight shutouts. Myette’s 93.2 save percentage also ranked among the best in the MIAA.

“Best of the Rest”
Molly Connolly, F, Wellesley
Mackenzie Clark, F, Winthrop/Lynn
Lily Connolly, F, Duxbury
Colleen Doucette, F, Wakefield
Kaleigh Finigan, F, St. Mary’s (Lynn)
Samantha Girard, F, Dedham
Bryana Harron, F, Woburn
Brittani Lanzilli, F, St. Mary’s (Lynn)
Sara Lehman, F, Lexington
Kim Lizotte, F, Westford Academy
Caroline McCarthy, F, Belmont
Hannah Murphy, F, Duxbury
Danielle Phalon, F, Stoneham
Adrieana Rossini, F, Arlington Catholic
Sarah Schwenzfeier, F, Hingham
Brenna Callahan, D, Falmouth
Jackie Denning, D, Lexington
Alexandria Gong, D, Hingham
Britta Marden, D, Belmont
Brooke Matherson, D, Walpole
Caroline Shaunessy, D, Duxbury
Kaitlin Spillane, D, Franklin
Rebecca Zappalla, D, Arlington Catholic
Cali Loblundo, G, Acton-Boxborough
Megan Messuri, G, Arlington Catholic
Shannon O’Neil, G, Austin Prep
Maddie Scavotto, G, Falmouth
Casey Schaejbe, G, Arlington
Lauren Skinnion, G, St. Mary’s (Lynn)
Bethany Welch, G, Walpole

Coach of the Year
Maggie Taverna, Arlington Catholic
Third time's a charm, right? In just her second year behind the Cougars' bench, Taverna lifted AC back to the top of the MIAA hockey world with a Division 1 state title, beating Catholic Central Conference rival St. Mary's of Lynn after suffering two regular-season losses to the Spartans.

Finalists:
Erin Blood, Falmouth
Mark Haley, Belmont
Frank Pagliuca, St. Mary's (Lynn)

All eyes will be on the TD Garden Sunday as championships will be decided in six divisions of MIAA hockey title games.

We'll have you covered all day long, but until then, we provide to you a breakdown of each of the game and our prediction:

GIRLS’ FINALS Division 2
No. 1 Duxbury (21-0-1) vs. No. 7 Falmouth (16-4-1), 11 a.m., TD Garden
The Breakdown: If the Dragons win this game, they make a strong argument that they were the strongest girls’ hockey team in the state, regardless of division, with the potential for an undefeated season. As any strong hockey squad goes, the Dragons are built from goal out with sophomore goaltender Rachel Myette (0.91 GAA) looks for her second state title in as many seasons as starter. Duxbury’s blue line corps is regarded as the deepest in the state, led by ESPN Boston Ms. Hockey contender Martha Findley (4-19-23). Of course, Duxbury has plenty of offensive firepower to go along with their strong defensive play with junior forwards Hannah Murphy (18-27-45) and Lily Connolly (18-20-38) as leading scorers. Falmouth has been one of the stories of the tournament, making a run behind first-year head coach Erin Blood. The Clippers have also received strong play from a young goaltender in freshman Maddie Scavotto (1.26 GAA). Falmouth is also deep and experienced on the blue line with senior captain Brenna Callahan and junior Alexx Good. The Clippers have received scoring punch from a pair of freshman forwards in Kelly Ferreira (13-9-22) and Madison Haberl (11-12-23).

The Pick: The defending Division 2 champion Dragons spent half the season as the No. 1 team in our poll. We’re not about to go against them now. Duxbury, 4-1.

Division 1 No. 3 St. Mary’s (Lynn) (21-3-1) vs. No. 4 Arlington Catholic (20-3-1), 9 a.m.
The Breakdown: If two regular season meetings between these Central Catholic powers weren’t enough, we get a rubber match for all the marbles on Sunday. The Lady Spartans came away with two wins in the teams’ regular season series, including a defining 5-2 decision by St. Mary’s on Feb. 1 after they’d been upset by crosstown rival Winthrop/Lynn. Can’t underscore the coaching in this game enough, as Frank Pagliuca has turned in perhaps his finest performance behind the bench and Maggie Taverna has vaulted the Cougars back onto the state’s biggest stage in Year One. Taverna has been helped by one of the state’s most dynamic scorers in senior Natalie Flynn (19-15-34). Adrieana Rossini (8-14-22) has also come up with some huge postseason goals. On the blue line, AC has one of the state’s best in senior Rebecca Zappala. First-year transfers Kaleigh Finigan (30-goal season) and Brittani Lanzilli (25-28-53) have not disappointed while Alison Butler (team-leading 61 points) has taken a huge step forward. The Spartans blue line is airtight with preseason All-Stater Rachel Donahoe leading the group. Lauren Skinnion (7 SO) has been strong as a first-year starter in nets.

The Pick: Third time’s a charm? Not so. Spartans are too strong. St. Mary’s, 4-2.

BOYS’ FINALS Division 3
Medway (19-6-1) vs. Hudson (21-1-1), 1:30 p.m.
The Breakdown: This marks the return of one of the state’s great public hockey programs to its biggest stage in Hudson (seriously, look it up), with the Hawks making their first state finals appearance since 1978, when they took the Div. 1 title from Burlington. The Central sectional champions are strong up front with a trio of 30-point scorers in seniors Tyler Kirby, Tim Murphy and Blake Seymour. The Mustangs are paced by one of the state’s top snipers in Jake O’Rourke (43-13-56). This matchup will also feature two of most dominant D3 goalies in the state with Hudson junior Shane Barry and Medway junior Mike Narducci facing off with sub-2.00 goals against averages.

The Pick: We’re going with the storyline and perhaps the most consistent D3 team throughout the season. Hudson, 3-2.

Division 2 Wilmington (15-4-5) vs. No. 1 Franklin (19-2-3), 3:30 p.m.
The Breakdown: This might be the most intriguing matchup of the day. Both of these teams were among four Division 2 teams on the Mass. Hockey Coaches Association’s initial Super 8 Watch list a month ago and haven’t disappointed in the tournament. Franklin was here a year ago, when they had their hearts broken by Tewksbury in an overtime stunner. Many observers, including us, had last season pegged as the Panthers’ opportunity to break a nearly three-decade long drought, but Chris Spillane has showed why he’s one of the state’s premier coaches. It also hasn’t hurt that Franklin has received tremendous senior seasons from Adam Hall (17-25-42) and Nick Bertoni (25-15-40). Sophomore netminder Mike Donadio (1.64 GAA) has been a revelation. The Wildcats offense has taken off since Cam Owens’ (14-19-33) return to the lineup, while senior captain Dalton Rolli (9-16-25) is an underrated two-way presence. Junior forward Jake Rogers (12-6-20) has come up with some timely goals in the postseason. Sophomore netminder Drew Foley (1.69 GAA) has played his best when it’s counted most, carrying a three-plus game shutout streak into the Wildcats’ North sectional final with Winthrop.

The Pick: The last time the Panthers hoisted the trophy Coach Spillane skated. Unfortunately for the hockey hotbed, this isn’t the year either. Wilmington, 2-1 (OT).



Division 1 Burlington (17-2-6) vs. Milton (19-3-3), 8:15 p.m.
The Breakdown: The Red Devils pulled off a tough feat, bouncing back from a Super 8 play-in game loss (and a very competitive one at that) to pull themselves into the D1 championship. The Middlesex League champions have plenty of speed to burn, and senior assistant captain Trevor Cimino (17-22-39) is about as good a two-way forward as you’ll find. Along with Joe Berardi (22-13-35), Brett Romkey (17-3-20) and C.J. Grinnell (6-14-20), Burlington can score in piles. We’ve also come away impressed by their defensive corps led by Steve Mattos, in addition to Cody Crocker, Adam Crowley and Brien Diffley. The Wildcats ran the Bay State League gauntlet in the South sectional tournament to get to the Garden. Paul Curran (26-33-59) is one of the best pure scorers in the state, and along with top-liners Brian Higgins (23-29-52) and Terrance Walsh (16-33-49), Milton provides matchup problems. Blue-liner John Murtagh is a rock, logging boatloads of ice time, and senior netminder Jay Hankard is peaking at the right time

The Pick: Red Devils are simply too potent, but they’re the pick mostly because of the way they’re playing defensively right now in front of Derek DeCastro. Burlington, 6-3.

Division 1A No. 5 BC High (13-6-5) vs. No. 1 Malden Catholic (19-1-4), 6 p.m.
The Breakdown: After beating another Catholic Conference rival, St. John’s Prep, to advance to the final, Eagles head coach John Flaherty said he’s had a special feeling about this group. That feeling might have developed after BC High skated to a 2-2 tie with MC on Jan. 25, a game in which the Eagles in some regards out-played the Lancers. This will be the fourth meeting between these teams, with MC taking two wins, including a 3-1 win in the Super 8’s round robin last week. The crucible for BC High is which of their defensive units shows up: The out-of-sorts group that surrendered a 7-spot earlier this season to MC, or the cohesive group that bounced Prep and its top line? Of course, that all starts with junior goaltender Peter Cronin (2.00 GAA), who has turned in another solid tournament. Brian Furey leads a much improved blue-line group. The Eagles are also disciplined in their own zone, with Matt Sullivan (12-16-28) providing as much defensively as he does offensively. Everyone knows of the Lancers top line of Brendan Collier, Ryan Fitzgerald and Mike Iovanna, but freshman center Ara Nazarian has been the breakout star of the tournament, filling the scoresheet in every game and tallying five goals. It’s not just offense with MC, however, as you’d be hard pressed to find a deeper, more dynamic top three than Casey Fitzgerald, Colin MacGillivray and Brendan White. If netminder Connor Maloney plays as he did against Central Catholic in the crossover round, that’s game, set, and match.

The Pick: Doin’ it for CS5. MC, 5-3.

STONEHAM, Mass. -- There simply is no better rivalry in Massachusetts high school girls' hockey than the one between Hingham and St. Mary's.

Winners of the last four Division 1 state championships, the two teams have faced off 11 times since the Harborwomen made the jump up to Div. 1 in 2009. Saturday evening at Stoneham Arena, they added another classic battle what is becoming a storied series.

Hingham rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the third period on goals by Sarah Schwenzfeier and Samantha Ryder, the latter coming with just three seconds remaining in regulation, but it was the Spartans who prevailed in the end as Ann Marie Manganiello scored on the final attempt of the first round of a shootout to give No. 3 St. Mary's a 4-3 victory over defending champion and 10th seed Hingham.

"Our kids have been resilient all year," Spartans head coach Frank Pagliuca said. "People have counted us out all year and we just keep fighting. That group has it. They bust their butt all game. It says something when you give up a goal with three seconds left and come back and play a good overtime and finish it off in the shootout. I can't be more proud of this group and what they did tonight."

Ryder, a freshman, scored the first goal of the shootout for the Harborwomen (18-7-1), but Alison Butler fired a wrist shot off goalie Taylor Walsh's glove to tie it for the Spartans (21-3-1).

Three more shooters stepped up and were denied by Walsh (23 saves) and St. Mary's netminder Lauren Skinnion (25 saves), setting the stage for Manganiello. The sophomore walked in, used a head fake to slide Walsh over, and beat her between the pads for the winner.

"Right after the goal I skated straight to my sister [Gina Beth] and I was like, 'I did it,'" Manganiello said afterward. "[Pagliuca] really helped me on the bench. He said, 'You've got this. You did this, you know this, you know what you have to do. And as I was going down, I was thinking, I've been here just as long as the seniors have, I've lost with them, I've won with them, and I wanted to win for them so that's what I tried to do."

THE COMEBACK
How this game even got to overtime is a story unto itself. The Harborwomen took a 1-0 lead in the first period when Schwenzfeier chipped the puck out to linemate Jane Freda, who picked the top corner behind Skinnion on Hingham's first shot of the game.

In the second, St. Mary's scored three straight times, getting one apiece from its top line of Brittani Lanzilli, Alison Butler and Kaleigh Finigan. Defenseman Rachel Donahoe assisted on two of the tallies.

Schwenzfeier started the Hingham comeback in the third, floating around the Spartans cage for a shot then stuffing her own rebound through at 4:45. Hingham head coach Tom Findley pulled Walsh for an extra skater with 31 seconds left in regulation and Jane Freda chased down a dump-in by Schwenzfeier, getting off a shot that rebounded right to Ryder, who buried it with 3.7 seconds showing on the clock.

"I just told them they had to put it behind them," Pagliuca when asked what he told his team heading into overtime. "I know its hard but its a zero-zero game now and next team that scores now is going to win."

Butler, a junior captain who immense in killing off a penalty with under two minutes to play, was also asked about the Spartans mindset after Ryder's goal and said, "The game's not over. We just have to keep going, keep fighting and we'll get to where we want to be."

GOALIES TOUGH IN THE EXTRA FRAME
With the excitement of the overtime and a shootout between two of the state's perennial power programs, it took a pair of standout performances by a two first-year sophomore starters between the pipes to keep things scoreless in the extra frame.

Walsh and Skinnion, both sophomores who have improved by leaps and bounds over the course of the season, stood toe to toe and took each team's best shots to force the shootout. Butler fired a one-timer from the slot which Walsh stopped and managed to hold off both Finigan and Lanzilli, who were jamming at the rebound, until the net came off its moorings behind her.

"Taylor's our MVP. Without her, we don't have a chance," praised Hingham coach Tom Findley. "The team is built from the back out. You have to have a good goalie, you have to four or five good defensemen, and if you have that you're going to be in some games and you're going to win some. I think at the end, Taylor just stepped up. I'm so proud of her."

At the other end, Hingham defenseman Alexandria Gong made a terrific end-to-end rush and got a clean shot off that Skinnion was able to handle with 3:15 left. Less than two minutes later, Schwenzfeier had a great bid after forcing a turnover at the Spartans blue line and got off a hard shot through a defender that Skinnion was able to corral.

"[Lauren was] phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal," Pagliuca said of his goalie. "Players have stepped up this year and she's right at the top. To stop Freda and Sarah [Schwenzfeier[ in the shootout, that says something right there. She was outstanding. She gave us a chance to win the shootout. I can't be more happy with her play this year."

KINGSTON, Mass. -- St. Mary's goalie Lauren Skinnion and Duxbury goalie Rachel Myette have several things in common. Chief among them are the fact that they are both sophomores, and they are both huge reasons for the respective success of their teams.

In Saturday's showdown between the two squads, both considered among the state's elite, Skinnion made 28 saves while Myette stopped 17, including two critical saves with the Green Dragons killing off a penalty in the final two minutes, as as top-ranked Duxbury and No. 3 St. Mary's skated to a 2-2 draw at The Bog.

Skinnion, in her first year as the Spartans (15-3-1) starter, was particularly brilliant in the second period. She stopped 19 of 21 shots in the frame, including a fantastic save on a breakaway bid by Duxbury's Marissa Fitcher and another on Fitcher attempting a backhander while sweeping through the Spartans crease.

"She seems to be playing better against the best competition and that's a good thing going into the tournament," praised St. Mary's coach Frank Pagliuca. "She's more relaxed. Her rebound control was phenomenal tonight. She made a lot of key saves for us, especially in the second period. Lauren really kept us in the game and gave us a chance to battle back."

Added Skinnion, "They had a lot of shots, but my D does a good job of clearing the front of the net. I was just focusing on one shot at a time and not getting overwhelmed or panicking. We count on each other to get it done."

Myette made a couple of key stops in the second as well, but saved her best for for the final two minutes of the game. With the Dragons killing a late penalty, St. Mary's forward Brittani Lanzilli found herself with a great chance trying to jam the puck through off the post that Myette was able to get to and cover.

Thirty seconds later, Myette made a stop and watched the rebound squirt out to Gina Beth Manganiello, who looked ready to tee up a possible game-winner. Myette hurried from right to left, getting to the post in the nick of time to stop Manganiello's bid and cover up the puck.

"I just felt that we could pull it off and as long as we didn't give up any passes or have any letdowns in that we could kill the penalty and try to get another goal," Myette explained. "[On the Manganiello bid] I made the initial stop and it was just sitting there and I saw her go for it so I slid over and tried my best to keep it out of the net hoping they wouldnt score."

Both goalies displayed quick glove hands in the first to keep things scoreless, but Duxbury finally broke through early in the second as Hannah Murphy fired a wrist shot from the right wing circle past Skinnion to the far side of the net.

Back to back penalties by the Spartans allowed the Dragons to cash in again as Jane Dudley tipped home a Martha Findley drive from the point or a power play goal at 11:46.

As the momentum was all going Duxbury's way, Kaleigh Finigan got St. Mary's right back in it, converting a one-timer with assists from Manganiello and Alison Butler in the final minute of the frame.

Then, in the third, Gabrielle Crugnale poucned on a Duxbury defenseman struggling to control a puck at the blue line, poked it forward, witched to her backhand and scored a beautiful goal to tie the game at 2-2.

"We stress angling and staring on the forecheck," Pagliuca said. "Gabrielle did a wonderful job of that and had the composure to go back to her backhand and Im very proud of her for finishing that opportunity. It was a great job by her to be the first one on the forecheck and to take a good angle at the puck and force the defenseman to try and play the puck. She ended up deflecting it and walked in on the goalie and made a great move for the game-tying goal."

LYNN, Mass. -- As a member of the Austin Prep girls hockey team the past two years, Kaleigh Finigan had to sit back and watch as St. Mary's wrapped up Catholic Central League championships in part at the expense of her team.

This year, the junior transfer from Medford found out what it's like to be on winning side, as well as what it feels like to be a major factor behind the Spartans success.

Finigan scored twice and added an assist as the No. 4 Lady Spartans held off No. 6 Arlington Catholic for the second time in a week to take a 4-2 decision Wednesday night at Connery Rink.

"It's very different," said a smiling Finigan on winning the league title. "It's my first time getting it. It means a lot knowing that our team can win the league and keep going on with the wins. And we'll keep going hard. We just want to keep playing better and better every game. That's our goal."

Playing better and better every game is something Finigan and her linemates, Alison Butler and Brittani Lanzilli, have certainly done. Butler added a goal and two assists in last night's victory, while Lanzilli had a goal an assist. Their may be no hotter offensive trio in the state at this stage of the season.

"We decided to leave them together for the last month or so and they're really starting - not only in the offensive zone but even in the defensive zone - they're really starting to trust each other and learn from each other," St. Mary's coach Frank Pagliuca said. "I think Brittani and Kaleigh had a transition coming in here and Alison's done a great job settling them down. As you can see, they're starting to get it. They're not hesitating anymore. They're starting to play with speed and its making a huge difference for us."

Finigan scored twice in the first period as the Spartans (13-3-0, 6-0-0 CCL) jumped out to a quick lead. Her first tally exemplified the communication and trust factor that has evolved on that first line. With Butler working her way around the back of the Cougars (15-2-1, 4-2-0) net, Finigan screamed "Middle!" and Butler hit her right on the tape for an easy one-timer.

"We finally got used to each other and know where we are and communicating more," Butler said. "I just heard her. We've done it a couple of times now this year and I know where she is when I hear her."

Finigan added her second tally on the rebound of a Butler shot right before the end of the first, and Butler took one for herself on a nice backhander from the low slot to give the Spartans a 3-0 lead with 6:24 remaining in the second.

Arlington Catholic found a spark, and Allison Stone got the Cougars right back into the game by scoring just 44 seconds later. thins got a bit sloppy after that as the two teams traded five penalties back and forth, but AC got another goal as Duggan Delano hammered home a rebound of a shot by Adrieanna Rossini (two assists) to cut the deficit to 3-2 with 1:23 left in the frame.

Lanzilli quickly pulled the momentum back to the Spartans side early in the third when she floated around the back of the AC goal and flicked a backhander through while attempting to get off the ice for a line change.

Thanks to goalie Lauren Skinnion (23 saves) and strong defensive play from standout blue liner Rachel Donahoe, the Spartans were able to hold off the Cougars and wrap up another Catholic Central crown.

"It's a great accomplishment," Pagliuca said. "Although our league's not big, we have some tough teams. It's tough to play three league games right in a row and to play (AC) twice in a week is no easy feat. I'm very proud of my kids. They've battled hard all year and they keep getting better.

"That's the thing I'm noticing - every game they're getting better," he continued. "It's not pretty every game but you can see it. You can see them making better decisions overall and you can see us playing with more confidence. It's a wide open year this year and the hot team is going to be successful. We're just trying to play our best going into the tournament."

ARLINGTON, Mass. -- It took all of 25 seconds for the St. Mary's girls' hockey team to show it was capable to answering the bell when adversity came calling. In the bigger picture, the 45 minutes the Spartans put together Wednesday night might do exactly the same.

Kaleigh Finigan had a hat trick and two assists, Alison Butler added two goals and three helpers and Lauren Skinnion stopped 24 shots to help No. 3 St. Mary's topple previously unbeaten No. 7 Arlington Catholic, 5-2, last night at Ed Burns Arena.

In the process, the Spartans (11-4-0 overall, 4-0-0 Catholic Central League) qualified for the postseason, took a one-game lead over the Cougars (14-1-1, 3-1-0) atop the league standings while picking up a much needed bounce-back victory.

"It was good to see us respond to a little bit of adversity, I was proud of them for that," Spartans head coach Frank Pagliuca said. "I thought the game was physical, I thought AC had some opportunities to score and Lauren came up big for us. Great win for us, a good bounce back win. Big league win as well. AC is a great team. They're going to be one of the team's fighting for it at the end."

St. Mary's jumped out fast in this one, something they haven't always been able to do on the season. Butler screamed a pass down to the low slot where Finigan was able to tip it past AC goalie Megan Messuri 4:09 into the game.

The Spartans top line of Finigan, Butler and Brittani Lanzilli (2 A) continued to pressure, and Lanzilli came up with the assist of the year, threading the puck between the skates of an AC defender to Butler, who made a nice move outside the crease to tuck it just past the right skate of Messuri with 2:27 left in the first.

Then, just 21 seconds into the second, Butler sprung Finigan and the junior fired a shot from the high slot that went off a defenseman's stick, shot over the head of Messuri and somehow ended up in the net behind her.

Skinnion made 11 of her 24 stops during the second but Arlington Catholic caught a break when Melissa Richard snuck one through right at the buzzer and Adrieana Rossini kept the momentum going with a shorthanded breakaway goal at 3:25 of the third.

As the walls seemed to be caving in, the Spartans got plays from Finigan, Skinnion and senior captain Rachel Donahoe that turned the tide back in their favor.

Finigan popped in her third goal of the night just 25 seconds after Rossini's tally to stop the bleeding, then Skinnion turned in perhaps her best save of the season as Rossini got loose again, and Donahoe came flying back into her own end to snuff out yet another breakaway bid, this time by Natalie Flynn.

"I thought Rachel Donahoe was unbelievable tonight," Pagliuca said. "She was all over the ice. She's a captain and she's really starting to step up and elevate her game. And Lauren Skinnion I thought was phenomenal."

Butler tacked on one more goal on a rebound of a Finigan shot with 3:45 remaining to close out the scoring.

While the taste of the season's first loss will be sour for the Cougars, they will have a chance to get it back when the two teams meet again next Wednesday at Connery Rink in Lynn (4:30 p.m.).

"When we play St. Mary's there's always that stigma that exists from previous years," admitted AC coach Maggie Taverna. "The kids know like last year, they creamed us 8-1, and they came in excited. Sometimes I feel like they get over-excited and they hold their sticks to tight or they dump pucks and things too quickly. St. Mary's, even though they have a short bench, they're a great team. We're excited to play them again next week. I told the kids, let it stick with you, let it sting a little bit because we have another chance."

'SPARTAN' DEFENSE
Pagliuca's praise of Donahoe was most certainly warranted. A preseason ESPNBoston All-State defenseman and one of just two seniors on the squad, Donahoe turned in a brilliant performance while being matched against the the talented Flynn. Everywhere Flynn went on the ice, Donahoe was was within arms reach. Not only did Donahoe chase Flynn down on the breakaway but she continually forced the Cougars star forward to take wide angles with the puck rather than drive to the net where she is deadly.

"She's definitely one of the players we needed to look out for on the ice," Donahoe said of Flynn. "She has a good shot, she's very good at seeing the game so whenever she's out there we had to make sure she was covered or it wasn't going to be a good deal."

"I was just saying to myself, 'Don't let her shoot and get the puck to the corner,'" the senior continued. "Mainly I was just trying to keep a body on her, keep her to the outside of the goal and not let her get any opportunities to put the puck in the back of the net."

Along with Donahoe, fellow blueliners Tatiana Doucette, Hannah Quin and Amanda Donahoe turned in strong performances. The shots on goal total for AC would have been much higher if not for this unit's relentless work in both blocking and forcing bad shots.

"Lot of blocks, they moved the puck pretty well. We got caught a couple of times flat-footed and AC has some good speedy forwards that exploited us a little but I thought D zone, we played much better. I thought we moved the puck well out of the zone. They came down hard and crashed on the walls and I thought we made a nice adjustment coming out of the zone.

GOLD STAR FOR THE GOALIE
Despite a terrific night for the St. Mary's defense, Arlington Catholic still managed several breakouts and had plenty of good scoring opportunities. If not for the play of Skinnion, AC might still be undefeated and it would be the Spartans looking for revenge in next Wednesday's rematch.

The sophomore was particularly brilliant in the final three minutes of the second period. She zipped to the far post to cover a wraparound attempt by ACs Michaela Scutti, made a great stop on Flynn (who also hit two posts) walking in from the blue line and covered the post as Katie Waitt tried to jam the rebound through.

Then in the third, with the memory of Rossini's breakaway goal still fresh in her mind, Skinnion saw the exact same play develop, adjusted, and made a spectacular stop.

"I didn't want to let in the same goal again," Skinnion admitted when asked about her thought process on the play. "The first time I didn't come back fast enough so I tried to stay back a little bit more. (Rossini) went to the left again and I thought she was probably going to try and do the same thing so I just tried to stay low and make sure I got the pad on the puck."

WINTHROP, Mass. -- Winthrop/Lynn lit the lamp three times, once in each period, earning the Lady Bulldawgs a 3-2 win over North Shore rival No. 3 St. Mary's of Lynn, Saturday evening at the Larsen Arena.

“We knew that they were going to come out ready to play, and they took advantage of their opportunities,” St. Mary's head coach Frank Pagliuca said.

Winthrop/Lynn (8-2-1) needed just 70-seconds after the opening face-off to earn the lead for good, as Mackenzie Clark, (1 G, 1 A) and Chelsea Bartlett connected with Hannah LoPresti, who crashed the net to deposit the Lady Bulldogs first score of the evening.

The Spartans (10-3) then attempted to respond, but goaltender Brittany McPherson, (27 saves) turned away four shots, which included a potential game-tying goal toward the end of the opening period by Brittani Lanzilli.

The Lady Bulldogs sought to grow their lead during the final minutes of the first frame, but didn’t tally a goal until midway through the second period when Clark rifled a shot past Spartans goaltender Lauren Skinnion (21 saves) on the team’s only power play, which gave Winthrop/Lynn a comfortable 2-0 advantage.

“Both [my goal and assist] were amazing,” said a smiling Clark. “[They were] totally unexpected, but definitely needed.”

St. Mary’s responded four minutes later when Lanzilli fired a shot between the legs of McPherson. Although, W/L answered early in the third period, as Caroline McKinnon notched a goal before St. Mary’s countered with their second strike by Kaleigh Finigan.

“I just got up, and I was like, 'I’m going to get the next save,' and thought about it really hard and focused to not let that [second goal] bother me,” said McPherson about St. Mary’s third-period goal. “I believed in my team, [and] knew they were going to back me up.”

The Lady Bulldogs assisted McPherson, especially during the final minutes of regulation when the Spartans eagerly tried to tie the game, as they deflected shots and cleared the puck twice out of the zone, which helped W/L secure their eighth win of the season.

“If they tied the game, that would be like a win for us anyway, but just to finish it off [by having] people blocking shots, doing whatever it takes," Winthrop/Lynn head coach Anthony Martucci said. "It’s all the girls, they worked hard for it, they deserved it."

“We didn’t finish our chances,” Pagliuca added. “The bottom line was we had pucks bouncing over our sticks, missing opportunities, and that happens in hockey. Hopefully we’ll learn from it and move on.”

A MARQUEE VICTORY
Winning Saturday’s contest against St. Mary’s was enormous, especially for fourth-year head coach Anthony Martucci, who described this particular victory in one word - "crazy."

However, he said this particular win will provide the necessary momentum for the Lady Bulldawgs for the remainder of the season.

“Since I’ve taken over, there’s really only been one winning girls' hockey team, and that’s been St. Mary’s, and hopefully this [particular win] let’s everybody know that there’s now [two winning squads in town],” Martucci said.

McPherson also believes this win will help her confidence as well.

“[This win] really pumps us up, and gets us going and gives us a lot of good credit, too," she said.

QUINCY, Mass. -- Kaleigh Finigan spent enough time on the wrong side of games against St. Mary's while spending the first two years of her high school hockey career playing for Austin Prep. Now, she's wearing a Spartans jersey and giving the team a dimension they have not had in years past.

Finigan's game seems modeled after the traditional power forward role most famously employed in these parts by Cam Neely in his heyday with the Bruins, and also by another Massachusetts native, Kevin Stevens, during the glory years of the Mario Lemieux-led Pittsburgh Penguins.

A junior, Finigan has fit nicely into the Spartans system and has emerged as the team's leading goal scorer, adding a hat trick in Thursday's 7-2 victory over Fontbonne to her growing resume.

"She's feeling more comfortable in the system here at St. Mary's," Spartans head coach Frank Pagliuca said of his first-line right winger. "I think once she moves her feet and she's engaged in the play, she's very effective for us. She's a powerful kid with a good shot."

Finigan isn't the only newcomer to the St. Mary's roster this year, as talented sophomore center Brittani Lanzilli also transferred in after being one of the top scorers in the state last season with Medford High.

While the two of them had some familiarity with one another, the Spartans system was a new world of hockey from where they came. Finigan and Lanzilli have been paired with one of Pagliuca's veterans, junior left wing Alison Butler, and while it may have taken a while for things to come together, the results during the Spartans current eight-game win streak have been stellar.

"I played with Brittani in Medford so I already knew how to play with her," Finigan said. "With Butler to, she really helps out a lot. Especially on the left wing, she can slide that pass to the backdoor. She told us what [Coach Pagliuca] expected from us and from her past years, what she thought we should do. The small tips in practice that she knew from past years, that's helped out too."

Each of the three brings a different skill set to the ice. Butler is the total package, every bit as capable of making the perfect pass as she is scoring goals while covering her responsibilities in the defensive zone. Lanzilli skates with grace and speed and has an uncanny knack for weaving her way through traffic. Finigan is not afraid to mix it up and get physical while displaying a nose for the goal.

Together, the trio has become what Pagliuca hoped they would when he first matched them together.

"Alison's been here for three years and been one of our better players for that time," Pagliuca said. "She really has a sense of calmness with her. She's talking to the two girls on the bench about, 'where you should be, lets try this.'"

"The other girls are feeling more confident," he continued. "They're less hesitant when they're out on the ice. Brittani's been coming a long way, she's improving. When she's going, she's tough to stop and I think they complement each other real well that line."

LYNN, Mass. -- Hingham girls' hockey freshman goalie Taylor Walsh has but two games under belt so far, but she's already playing like a seasoned veteran.

Walsh made 17 saves, including three big ones in the first period, while Jane Freda led the offense with two goals and an assist to help No. 2 Hingham claim a 3-1 triumph over No. 3 St. Mary's Wednesday night at Connery Rink.

In the early stages of a back and forth game with the Harborwomen (2-0) holding a 1-0 lead courtesy of Freda's first tally, Walsh stoned the Spartans' Alison Butler on a breakaway, covered a loose puck in the crease with Butler jamming away, and shot her left pad out just in time to a great bid on the far post by Gina Beth Manganiello.

Then, with 1:40 remaining and the Spartans desperately trying to make something happen facing a two-goal deficit, Walsh reacted in the nick time to cover up a perfect one-time snap shot off the stick of Brittani Lanzilli.

"I was very happy with my goalie and I thought she did great as a freshman," Hingham head coach Tom Findley said. "Then she made that great save on Lanzilli. It's nice to see. That's going to gain confidence for her as a freshman."

The Harborwomen didn't get many chances as St. Mary's sophomore netminder Lauren Skinnion turned her best performance so far with 23 stops, but they cashed in on the ones that presented themselves.

Freda's first goal came off a nice pass from Sarah Schwenzfeier that went off the side boards and found her in stride for a breakaway. Her second came just over five minutes into the third period thanks to a smart play by sophomore Tori Messina, who intentionally sent a shot from the point wide.

The puck caromed off the back boards and landed right on Freda's stick for an easy score. Schwenzfeier added the insurance goal with 2:55 left to play with assists from linemates Freda and Catherine Linehan.

Lanzilli came close to making it a one goal game as Kaleigh Finigan set up her up for a hard one-timer, but Walsh got there in time to make the stop.

"One thing about our team is, we're resilient and they are going to play the same game all three periods which is nice to see," Findley said. "It's always good to come away with the win but we want to be able to be at a high level once February and March comes."

While the Spartans are still a work in progress, they showed tremendous strides from their previous outing, a 5-0 loss against Woburn. It's likely just a matter of time before the Spartans talented forwards start turning those chances into goals, and Skinnion's promising effort will be confidence booster.

"I thought the brightest spot tonight was Lauren Skinnion, I thought she played tremendous tonight," Spartans head coach Frank Pagliuca said. "If she plays like that, we're going to be fine. Hingham's a great team, obviously, and they finished their chances and we didn't. It was a measuring stick for us and we know where we stand right now but we're going to be fine."

WOBURN, Mass. -- Keeping in mind that it is just the third game of the regular season, perhaps it's still fair to say that the Woburn girls hockey team made a rather loud statement Saturday night.

The Tanners top line of Kayla Smith, Bryana Harron and Ashley Moran put on a show, combining for 11 points while Courtney Davis stopped 17 shots as the fourth-ranked Tanners blanked No. 3 St. Mary's, 5-0, at O'Brien Arena.

"Last year we got so close that it was on us for 12 months," said Woburn defenseman Cassandra Connolly, referring to a regular season game a year ago where the Spartans scored in the final minute to force a 1-1 tie. "We're finally back here and we beat them and it feels good."

It looked pretty good, too. After a pretty even first period, Woburn (3-0) broke the game open in the second. Twice Smith -- an ESPN Boston preseason first-team All-State selection -- found herself uncovered just outside the crease, and twice she buried her feeds. Harron followed by popping in a rebound of a Connolly shot for a power play goal that put Woburn ahead, 3-0, with just under six minutes left in the second.

"In the first period we weren't really going to the net as hard as we should have and in the second, we started going to the net," explained Smith. "A lot of the shots we were taking were going in. We had a lot of rebounds that we were finishing so it worked out good."

Woburn quickly erased any fears of a Spartan (2-1) comeback, as Smith got her hat trick just eight seconds into the final frame on a perfect pass from Moran (four assists), who was stationed behind the St. Mary's net. The Tanners closed out the scoring as Smith fed Harron with a crossing pass on a 2-on-1 break that the senior captain buried.

"I think we're practicing good together and we work well together," said Harron, who had two goals and an assist. "Its not one person doing it all. We're working together as a team. We were moving the puck well and just getting open and talking to each other.

Added Moran, "We just work as a team. We know where each other is and we can see each other through the plays."

Tanners 'D' strong: While Woburn was clearly the better team on this night, the final score doesn't give an accurate picture of how the game played out.

St. Mary's started out very aggressively and challenged Davis early and often, forcing the first-team All-State netminder to make eight of 17 stops in the opening stanza. The biggest came right off the opening faceoff when Austin Prep transfer Kaleigh Finigan intercepted the first pass after Woburn won the faceoff and broke in alone on Davis, who covered the net well and made a huge stop.

She had help from her blue line corps, however, as fellow first-team All State defenseman Connolly, Kylee Maher and Jessica Thielsch limited the number of truly great chances the Spartans were able to muster. They also successfully killed off both power play chances St. Mary's had.

"We were really good on the penalty kills. They had good possession but they didn't really get a ton of good looks," said Woburn coach Bob MacCurtain. "I thought it could be 1-0 St. Mary's eight seconds into the game if not for Courtney making a great save.

How you play, not who you play: While it was obvious from the way the Tanners rushed off the bench to celebrate the win around Davis and from the comments of the players afterward that a win over St. Mary's had great meaning, to MacCurtain it was more important how they did than who it was they did it against.

"I think its more about how we played and not about who we played," he said. "I'm happy with how we played. Our kids played hard, made a lot of good decisions. First period I thought they kind of came at us a little but but we've been talking about being a mentally tougher team this year. After last year, we needed to be tougher this year. I think these kids are very determined and I thought we did a lot of good things tonight."

Count Spartans out at own risk: For a team that won three consecutive state championships during a 100-game win streak that ended during a quarterfinal round postseason loss to Hingham a year ago, this was assuredly a disappointing start to a new season. But, being just the third game, it's a loss to used as a learning experience.

"We're going to be alright," Spartans coach Frank Pagliuca said. "It's game three of the season. We're focusing on moving ahead. Obviously we know where we stand right now and what work we have to do."

St. Mary's opened the game with a first line consisting of first-team All State forward Alison Butler and Austin Prep transfer Finigan playing between Medford import Brittani Lanzilli. All three were very active and had quality scoring chances. Lanzilli brings a unique skating ability to the ice while Finigan showed early signs of being willing to get in and mix it up.

In all, the Spartans used at least five different line combinations as opposed to Woburn's two. The difference in the game from the Spartans point of view was a failure to cash in on chances when they arose.

"Obviously we had a lot of opportunities but the difference is they finished their chances and we didn't," surmised Pagliuca. "They have a very good team, excellent goaltending, they're well coached. You have to finish chances against good teams and if you don't you're going to put yourself behind the eight ball."