NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The FCIAC sent four teams to the CIAC boys hockey semifinals last week, but in the end it was the Southern Connecticut Conference that emerged with three state titles in three tries.
The SCC left no doubt as to state superiority in hockey as Hamden (Division I), Amity (Division II) and Guilford (Division III) all triumphed in CIAC championship finals at Yale's Ingalls Rink.
New Canaan, seeded third, and upstart Darien, seeded 16th, were both eliminated by one goal in the Division I tournament semis, while No. 10 Trumbull and No. 2 St. Joseph, were both KO’d by top-seeded Amity in the Division II playoffs.
Hamden's A.J. Gemmell celebrates.
Photo by Kevin Pataky
The Rams worked hard for all their goals and outshot the Jesuits 32-26, but New Canaan surrendered several quick strikes to second-seeded Prep. Head coach Bo Hickey focused on the positives after the emotional game.
"Today, I have no complaints about anybody who was on the ice," Hickey said. "They emptied the tank. They left everything on the ice and that’s all we ask of these kids every time we go out to play and every time we practice."
The Rams struck first when senior Tim Robustelli banged home a rebound of a shot by junior Jimmy Joe Granito just 2:42 after the opening drop. Prep tied it on a score by Bryan Puffer late in the period, and took the lead 18 seconds into the second period when Darric White stuffed in a goal on the left pipe.
The Rams came back four minutes later as Granito scored with assists from Robustelli and senior Henry Richardson, but the Jesuits scored the next two goals for a 4-2 lead with 13:41 remaining. New Canaan answered as senior Kris Nugent scored off a feed from senior Sam Stanton with 9:32 remaining.
Trailing 4-3, the Rams had several chances to get the equalizer during a 3:38 power play and a 22-second 5-on-3, but Prep’s senior goalie Spencer Sodokoff (29 saves) held them off for the win. New Canaan received an outstanding game from senior Andrew Leslie, who dropped back to play defense in place of senior Bo McGinniss, who was serving a one-game suspension. Leslie was the Rams’ second line center and Richardson moved into his spot, as the second line scored twice in the final.
2. Green Dragons sink Blue Wave: The Darien Blue Wave finished the year under the .500 mark at 12-13, but made its presence felt in the State tournament by pulling off the upset of the season in the first round.
After beating New Fairfield 5-1 in a play-in game, the Wave shocked the state’s top-ranked team, West Haven, 4-3 in the first round. Darien then rolled to a 6-0 win over No. 8 Tri-Town to earn a place in the semifinals and a match-up with defending champion Hamden last Thursday at Ingalls Rink.
Senior Will Love made the Hamden Green Dragons work their way to a 3-2 victory, as the Darien goalie made 42 saves. The Wave was outshot by Hamden, 45-9, but stayed close throughout thanks to Love’s performance.
Darien junior Richard Gregory scored at 7:23 to give the Wave the initial lead, but Adam Devine tied the score for Hamden 2:10 into the second frame. Hamden then took advantage of a 5-on-3 when Jim Burt scored off an assist from Justin MacGregor for a 2-1 lead.
Darien then killed off another 5-on-3, but the Green Dragons made it a 3-1 game when Nick Amarone skated in from the corner and scored at 10:08. The Blue Wave made Hamden sweat in the third period as Nick Bruno scored to make it 3-2 with 6:42 remaining. But Darien was unable to knot the score as the Dragons slipped away with the win.
3. Green Dragons make it two straight State titles: Hamden, seeded fourth, went on to beat Prep, 6-5, in the DI title game on Saturday at Ingalls Rink, as Nick Amarone scored the game-winner off a set-up from Adam Devine with 2:04 remaining.
The momentum seesawed throughout the game, but the Green Dragons never trailed in repeating as State champs. Devine gave Hamden a 1-0 lead at 1:55 on the first period, but Anthony Unker answered for Prep at 6:26. After James Burt made it 2-1 for the Dragons at 10:11, Prep’s White responded with one second on the clock as the first period ended with a 2-2 score.
In the second period, Hamden’s Patrick Lynch and C.J. Carignan sandwiched goals around a tally by the Jesuits’ White to put the Dragons ahead, 4-3 heading to the third period.
Tom Worsfold scored for Prep just 3:41 into the third period, tying the score for a fourth time. After Carignan notched his second goal with 4:12 remaining, David Griffin answered to make it a 5-5 game with 2:39 to play.
Amarone then finished Hamden’s victory with his goal 2:04 before the final horn.
Devine finished with two goals and three assists for Hamden (17-5-1), while Carignan scored twice and had one assist. For the Jesuits (18-4-0), White scored twice, while Puffer had three assists. Prep outshot Hamden, 38-31, as Dragons’ goalie Ryan Amarone made 33 saves, and Jesuits’ goalie Sodokoff made 25 saves.
4. Spartans march to DII title: The Amity Spartans ripped off six unanswered goals spanning the second and third periods and went on to defeat the St. Joseph Cadets, 7-5, for the CIAC Division II ice hockey championship last Friday night at Ingalls Rink in New Haven.
The loss ended a remarkable season for the second-seeded Cadets, who closed out with a record of 19-5-2. St. Joe’s also took league champion New Canaan to overtime in the FCIAC semifinals two weeks ago and went 3-1 in the State tournament.
Amity, which won two of three games with the Cadets this season, finished 21-3-1 and earned the No. 1 seed in Division II. The teams combined for 34 goals in three games this season, with each winning 6-5 contests during the regular season.
In the State final, the Cadets led 3-0 at the end of the first period and 4-1 with 3:28 remaining in the second, but Amity outscored them 6-1 over the final 18:28 to claim the crown. Pat Corcoran had a hat trick for St. Joseph, while linemate Conor Crouse scored a short-handed goal and dished out two assists. Also scoring for the Cadets was Rob Bresnan, while John Ferguson had an assist.
Goalie Zach Carrano made 32 saves, as Amity outshot St. Joe’s, 39-30. For the Spartans, Joseph Bianchi, Williams Dixon and Marcel Shteirman each had two goals, while Corey Shea scored once. Shea and Samuel Noss had two assists apiece, while Zachary Dykun, Luke Sacramone and Bianchi each had an assist.
Goalie Alec Mansfield made 25 saves to get the win. St. Joe’s built its three-goal lead after Corcoran, Bresnan and Crouse all scored within one minute and 18 seconds midway through the first period. Dixon broke the ice for Amity with a goal at 4:18 of the second, but Corcoran nailed home his second goal at 11:32 for a 4-1 Cadet lead.
Dixon closed out the second with a goal, assisted by Noss at 13:43, but the Cadets still led 4-2 heading to the third period.
The Spartans wasted little time getting in front as they scored three goals in the first 3:25 of the third period. Bianchi started the rally 19 seconds after the faceoff, and Shteirman then tied the game at 3-3 at the 3:11 mark. Amity won the ensuing faceoff and scored again, this time courtesy of Bianchi at 3:25.
Amity then added to its lead as Shteirman scored at 6:56 and Shea scored at 11:52 for a 7-4 advantage. Corcoran got the Cadets back on the board with seven second remaining, but time ran out for St. Joe’s moments later.
5. Guilford takes D3 crown in a rout: The Division III championship game had a bit less drama than the other two finals, as Guilford Indians took a 6-1 lead and rolled to a 7-3 decision over the Brookfield-Bethel-Danbury co-op team.
Troy Raccula had a hat trick and one assist for the Indians, who finished the season 18-4-1. Also scoring for Guilford were David DeCaprio, Christian Cattaruzza and Justin Gilloran. For Brookfield, which finished 15-7-1, Jared Smenyak, Arthur Hauser and Grant Smith all scored.
Dave Stewart, the Sports Editor of the New Canaan (Conn.) Advertiser, is a MaxPreps.com writer and photographer. He may be reached at 203-966-9541 or at sports@ncadvertiser.com.
