WATERTOWN – Evenly matched would be an understatement.
In a rematch of last year’s MIAA Division 1 state championship, the seventh-seeded Shrewsbury Colonials faced off against the second-seeded Saint Mary’s (Lynn) Spartans. While Shrewsbury downed the Spartans, 4-1, in last year’s championship, Saint Mary’s prevailed on Thursday night.
The Colonials were in it until the end, but the Spartans ultimately edged past Shrewsbury, 2-1, in Thursday night’s quarterfinal matchup played at Watertown’s John A. Ryan Arena. The loss officially ended the Colonials’ bid to become back-to-back state champions.
“I thought we played really well… That was a great team we played. I thought we skated with them all three periods. I thought we outplayed them a little bit at points,” Head Coach Frank Panarelli told reporters after the game. “Things could’ve worked out a little differently, but they didn’t.”
St. Mary’s struck first after a scoreless first 15 minutes of action. Roughly halfway through the second period, Spartan freshman Isabella Freitas capitalized on an untimely Shrewsbury turnover deep in the defensive zone. Freitas buried the shot to put St. Mary’s ahead 1-0.
Shrewsbury seemed to knot the game minutes later, but the referees quickly waved off the goal. While some parents surrounding the rink reported that they saw the puck cross over the line, some spectators suggested the play had been called off because the net had been dislodged. Whatever the case, Shrewsbury’s game-tying goal was called off.
“They said they saw the webbing of the goalie’s glove. I was like, ‘Well, if the webbing of the goalie’s glove is over the line, the puck was underneath the glove.’ We just had really no explanation. They waved it off and they wouldn’t talk – they just skated away… That was a huge momentum play… But again, like I said, it was a great hockey game,” Panarelli said.
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Still, Shrewsbury persisted. Marisa “Risa” Montoya – Shrewsbury’s senior captain and the program’s all-time winningest goalie – saved a penalty shot from Freitas to keep the game at 1-0. Teammates swarmed Montoya after the all-important save.
Shrewsbury came out firing to open the third period. Natalie MacCausland – assisted by Sadie Cusson – fired a long-range shot into the top-left corner of the net to tie the game at one goal apiece.
“Sadie Cusson made a great play. She won the puck battle against the boards, gave it to Nat. The goalie was a little shaky… so I said, ‘Just shoot the puck.’ Nat just ripped one,” said Panarelli.
But Shrewsbury was marred by penalties throughout the rest of the third period, leading to long stretches of shorthanded play. The penalties caught up to the Colonials with less than four minutes remaining in regulation, as Freitas’s backhand goal made the game 2-1. Shrewsbury couldn’t match the score.
“You’re killing all those penalties back-to-back-to-back. It really wore us down,” Panarelli said.
Yet Panarelli and the Colonials chose to focus on the good in the locker room postgame. Shrewsbury had battled – and battled hard – all game. Everybody gave their all.
“I just told the girls in the locker room, I said, ‘For one thing, you didn’t give up the whole entire game.’ We went down 1-0, we got it back, made it 1-1. They called that penalty on us – we had to kill like four or five different penalties. It was a very taxing game for us. The girls played well, and I’m happy with the way they played. I’m happy that they didn’t give up,” Panarelli said.
With the season now over, the Colonials will graduate eight seniors – the largest senior class Panarelli has had. He calls the seniors, who played their freshman year during the global pandemic, his “COVID kids,” and the group has had a remarkable run of success over the past few years.
“They were all freshmen, and then the next year we made it to the Final Four, then last year won a state championship, and this year we made it to the Elite 8. I said, ‘What you guys did in three years of hockey is amazing.’ These are the memories that right now it stings, but these are the things you’re going to remember when you get older,” said Panarelli.
And while the loss hurts, Panarelli pointed out that the 2023 championship banner hanging in NorthStar Ice Sports isn’t going anywhere. Needless to say, the Class of 2024 has a lot to be proud of.
