LYNN — Despite holding a 29-28 advantage in shots and winning Thursday’s face-off battle, St. Mary’s boys hockey team fell to unbeaten Xaverian Brothers 4-2 at Connery Rink.
Caleb Racki (goal, assist) drove the net and scored “a beautiful goal,” according to St. Mary’s coach Matthew Smith, to tie the game 1-1. Cole Alexander (goal, assist) also scored for the Spartans on a JJ Avery rebound.
Xaverian scored its first goal with a 5-on-3 advantage before costly St. Mary’s mistakes led to three more goals from the visitors.
“We just continue to make mistakes in these big games that end up in the back of the net,” Smith said, “but we fought back.”
The Spartans fell to 3-3 ahead of Saturday’s road game against St. John’s Prep. Puck-drop is slated for 2:50 p.m. at Essex Sports Center in Middleton.
“I love this team and they work hard . . . we’ve just got to execute,” Smith said.
Joey Barrett is the Daily Item's Sports Editor. He reports on local high schools, colleges, and professional teams. Prior to his current position, he worked for UMass Athletics, the Cape Cod Baseball League, and Gannett Media, among others. Barrett was also Sports Editor at Endicott College and treasurer of Endicott's Society of Professional Journalists branch.