Tewksbury, MA – Last time these teams met Austin Prep got the best of St. Mary’s Lynn in a 3-0 win. Tonight the Spartans look for payback as the two teams face off once again from Breakaway Ice Center in Tewksbury.
The first period was all Austin Prep, as they controlled the time of possession, hits and shots. The Cougars were quick on their forecheck and made it tough on the St. Mary’s defensemen to make a clean breakout pass. But five minutes into the period, they took a penalty and put the Spartans on the power play. St. Mary’s didn’t have many chances as Austin Prep smothered them on the PK and the game would remain 0-0. A few minutes later it was Austin Prep’s turn to go man up, and they would not squander the chance. Freshman Jacob Duval would rip a shot from the top of the circle and beat the St Mary’s goalie blocker side giving them a 1-0 lead and that’s how the period would end.
Coming out for the second, Austin continued right where they left off in the first and controlled all facets of the game. St Mary’s hung in there until about six minutes into the period when junior forward Drew Thibodeau buried a rebound on the back door to give the Cougars the 2-0 lead. The teams went back and forth the next five minutes when Duval would strike again. St. Mary’s was in the middle of a line change when Duval would get a stretch pass in the neutral zone for a breakaway opportunity beating the goalie on a beautiful move left to right across the crease and finishing top shelf, giving AP the 3-0 lead. At this point, St. Mary’s pushed back and got a puck to the net on an odd-man rush and Daniel Domeniconi buried the rebound to cut the lead to two and make it a 3-1 game. The Cougars’ sophomore forward Derek Daley would end the period picking up a puck down low and sniping short side to give Austin the 4-1 lead.
Some teams would pack it in down 4-1 going into the third period, but St. Mary’s showed a ton of heart and came out like a team on a mission. They would control most of the period and with 11 minutes to go, they get on the board again, with one of the best goals we have seen all season courtesy of senior Eric Toto. The defenseman had a great head of steam and beat an Austin forward through the neutral zone, then dangled the defenseman with a brilliant toe drag through his feet and around him, finishing with a great low shot goal. That would cut the lead back to 2, making it 4-2 Austin Prep. St Mary’s would keep grinding but AP held strong and took the win with a 4-2 final score.
Three Stars:
- F Jacob Duval, Austin Prep
- F Drew Thibodeau, Austin Prep
- D Eric Toto, St. Mary’s Lynn
