FRANKLIN — No. 21 St. Mary’s made the hour (plus traffic) commute to No. 12 Franklin Wednesday evening and – despite a strong, tough effort – went home empty-handed after a 3-2 loss in overtime. 

The Division 1 Round of 32 showdown started slow for the visitors. Three minutes into the first period, the Panthers scored. Then, later in the frame, they doubled their lead with a one-time finish (2-0).

But, true to their name, the Spartans fought back and didn’t let the two-goal deficit weigh heavily on them. 

On the power play with 1:44 remaining in the first, JJ Avery potted an unassisted goal to bring life to St. Mary’s (11-11-1).

It didn’t stop there, as the Spartans scored 11 seconds into the second period. 

From the faceoff, Cam McGonagle rifled a shot that was saved, but a loose puck found Maddox Jacobsen, who found Chase Collins for the strike (2-2).

“I don’t think anyone in the state gave us a chance in this game. The kids bought into the system today and left it all on the ice,” said first-year St. Mary’s head coach Matthew Smith. “They played St. Mary’s hockey.”

The Spartans dominated the second period with the Panthers, frankly, lucky to not be trailing.

But in overtime, after a back-and-forth third period, Franklin scored a wraparound goal to eliminate St. Mary’s.

“We couldn’t have had a better gameplan to slow this team down,” Smith said. “They’re an explosive team and we took them to overtime.”

Although the season came to an end, there is lots to look forward to for St. Mary’s, which soon graduates just four seniors.

“They have 11 seniors on their team, and we had one senior playing a regular shift tonight,” Smith said. “They’re amazing. They’ve given everything to the program… I couldn’t have asked for anything else.” 

When asked what his team can take from a game like this, Smith pointed to a “learning experience.”

“We just have to look at the performance. We took a really good team – who beat a lot of great teams in the state – into overtime,” he said. “We outplayed them. We didn’t deserve to lose, but that’s what happens in hockey. Sometimes, it won’t go your way when you think it should. It’s a learning experience for the kids – just like in life.”

“I’m proud of every single guy in that room. We played like Spartans today,” he added.