LYNN — High school hockey at Connery Rink – it doesn’t get much better than that.

A goal in each period made for a strong “home-opener with a packed crowd,” as said by first-year coach Matt Smith. His St. Mary’s Spartans (1-0) defeated Central Catholic, 3-2.

“It was awesome. I thought we played a really solid game,” Smith said. “We have a really positive atmosphere in the locker room and you can tell.”

Ben Fry of the Spartans started the scoring on an odd-man rush in the first period (1-0).

“It was great to see him get that first goal out of the way,” Smith said.

They never let up. In a brother-to-brother connection, Caleb Racki found his brother, Finn, for the second goal of the game.

“That was really nice to see,” Smith said.

Before Central Catholic potted two late, J.J. Avery slotted the game-winner (3-0) on a one-timer from Cam McGonagle and Aidan Fitzpatrick in the third period.

“We really worked a lot on the power play the last few weeks,” Smith said. “To win the special teams was huge… we scored on goals we’ve been practicing.”

Matthew Smith Jr. was “solid in net” with 22 saves while “our defense played really well,” according to Smith.

“It’s obviously really nice to win that first one. We have a really great coaching staff,” Smith said. “If you’re going to do something special, you’ve got to surround yourself with great people.”