'He's a great player': Sophomore Spagna delivers for state championship-bound Saints

CONCORD - St. Thomas Aquinas sophomore Gage Spagna will soon be a household name in the Seacoast hockey family, if he isn't already.

The momentum for the first two periods was all on the side of fifth-seeded Somersworth/Coe-Brown entering the final period of Wednesday's Division II boys hockey semifinal at Everett Ice Arena.

The Bearcats, with a 2-0 lead, had the top-seeded and undefeated Saints on the ropes and were looking to advance to their second straight Division II state championship game.

'He's very dangerous'

Then, the third period began.

Lincoln Stone got the Saints on the board just 82 seconds into the period, and then the Gage Spagna Show started.

The sophomore sniper tied the game at 2-2 with 11:54 left, and his second goal, with 4:24 left, proved to be game-winner. For good measure, Spagna tacked on another two goals, in the final 3 minutes.

"We needed something to get us going," Spagna said. "And once we got that first goal from Lincoln (Stone), it really just fired the team up and everyone started rolling."

St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Dan Strabone, in all of his years involved with high school hockey, has never seen a period from an individual player like he saw last night from Spagna.

"I've never been part of something like that," Strabone said. "Given the circumstances and what was on the line, it was huge. He's a highly-skilled player; when he gets the puck on his stick, especially down there (near the goal), he's very dangerous."

Spagna, according to Strabone, was a unanimous Division II all-state second-team selection this season.

"He's a great player, and I am glad he's on our team," Strabone said. "I've never seen a sophomore do what he did."

Spagna's first goal found a crease through the legs of Somersworth/Coe-Brown netminder Rylye Coe and slipped the puck into the back of the net.

"That wasn't new for me this game, I've done it a couple of times," he said. "(The puck) came back to me, and I saw (Coe) was out of the net so I had to go to the left and see what I could do."

Spagna burst onto the high school hockey season last year with 12 goals and eight assists and was a Division II all-state honorable mention selection in his freshman campaign.

Shades of MJ

"He's quick, he's elusive and he knows he's good with the puck," Strabone said. "He's smart, deceptive and he can score."

Spagna was skating in front of the Somersworth bench just after his third goal and he gave a shrug something like what NBA great Michael Jordan used to do when he hit a big shot while playing for the Chicago Bulls.

"I just kind of did it,," Spagna said in reference to his celebration. "It was my third goal in a pretty short time; I kind of have a, some would say a cocky-play style, that's about it."

Cocky or confident, Spagna's game speaks for itself, and it spoke for itself on Wednesday; his fourth-and-final goal of the period came with 55 seconds left.

"I've been playing at a high level my whole life," Spagna said. "I was excited to have this opportunity at St. Thomas. It's a great team to be with, and I love everyone on this team. The whole family aspect of this team has helped me play better and has helped me succeed."

Spagna said his approach for playoff games is much different than a typical regular-season game.

"You're way more hyped up for a playoff game, it's just a whole different atmosphere," Spagna said. "There's more people here, everyone's talking about it, so definitely preparing for games like this, it's crazy."

"He's pretty good, he plays at a high level," Strabone said. "He's a pure goal-scorer, he's got it."

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: St. Thomas Aquinas sophomore nets four goals in third period in NHIAA Division II semifinal