(1) #2 New Canaan 5 vs (6) #9 St. Joseph 6
-It is really tough to beat a team four times. The one time I am really rooting for New Canaan, they go and lose to a team that was in DII just last year. That is very impressive for the St. Joseph Cadets as they lost in the DII Championship 7-5 to Amity last year but now, this year, they have the possibility to win the DI Championship! So how did St. Joseph do it? Tim Nowaki, New Canaan's goalie, had one of his worst games of the season letting in at least two goals that almost any other goalie in the state would have stopped on a normal day. I feel truly bad for him and his team. St. Joseph's fifth goal, however, was all NC's defense fault as Nowaki stopped the original shot and sprawled out to stop the rebound shot to but his defense stood around watching, literally right next to the SJ kid, as if the defensman thought a whistle was going to be blown. However, Christian Keator just kept chipping away and eventually lifted it over Nowaki's pads for the score. Both teams played a fast-paced game, not too physical, but some really good hockey. I counted at least three big penalties that were not called, SJ tripped Reed Harper on a breakaway towards the end of the second, NC hooked a SJ kid early in the third and NC tripped a SJ kid in the last 13 seconds after he won a face-off. Other than that, we saw an exciting game due to the lack of defense on both sides.
St. Joseph scored twice in the first period on goals from Conor Crouse and Par Corcoran. NC responded will to first goal getting tons of shots right after and Corcoran's goal was an easy shot through Nowaki's five-hole that he just didn't close on. The Rams had quality looks and plenty of "almost" opportunities but the Cadets got their good looks by forcing turnovers through hustling and out-working New Canaan. Course started off the second very good for SJ by hitting the post but Dylan Hart responded well for NC by creating offense with his stick-handling skills. New Canaan struck first when Philip Prinns scored 1:31 in. SJ forward Pat Corcoran wasn't going away though as he hit the pipe then put in his own rebound at 3:45 to put SJ back up by 2 (3-1). NC's next goal came because SJ goalie Zach Carrano was simply too aggressive; he lunged out of the net to make a save but he didn't grab the puck and Dylan Hart scooped it up and then buried it less than a minute after SJ's goal. NC stayed aggressive and Hart hit the post shortly thereafter but it was SJ who scored next. Pat Corcoran completed his hat trick at 9:45 into the second period and all three of his goals were assisted by Conor Crouse (1 goal, 3 assists). Exactly one minute later, NC came back again and Charlie Corcoran did it this time, on a pass from Reed Harper and SJ was looking a little tired. Then came the aforementioned trip of Reed Harper that was not called and the second period ended 4-3 in favor of SJ. The third started off all SJ again with the NC hook and SJ's 5th goal, both of which I talked about earlier. So since SJ scored, what did Prep do? Forty-nine seconds later, Dylan Hart scored a beautiful short-handed goal while NCc was actually on the penalty kill due to a Reed Harper penalty. The penalty did still hurt NC, as Matt Julian scored the eventual game-winner at 7:29 of the third period. That goal was also St. Joseph's third goal on as many power plays, making a perfect 3-3 for the game. NC put pressure on Carrano for the rest of the game, and lots of it. They had chances, many chances, even hit the post once but did not score until 2:03 left in the game when Charlie Corcoran assisted Phillip Prinns on another goal. With the score 6-5 and two minutes left, things just got crazier form there. NC continued to assail SJ with shot after shot. The Rams pulled Nowaki with one minute left and SJ got a penalty for roughing with 13.4 seconds left so it was 6-on-4 at one point. Nothing fell however. New Canaan out shot St. Joseph 19-5 in the third period but both teams scored twice and Nowaki picked a really bad day to have an off game. Carrano made 35 saves on SJ's 40 shots while SJ had 28 shots so Nowaki only had 22 saves. Matt Julian and Ryan Parsons also had assists for SJ while Phillip Prinns, Dylan Hart, Tom Krieger, David Crandall and John Ferguson all had assists for NC that I have not yet Props to Dan Nowak who correctly predicted that St. Joseph will now be playing in the championship on Saturday at 2pm!
(2) #1 Fairfield Prep 4 vs (3) #8 South Windsor 1
-No surprise here you say? I would disagree. The first surprise in this game came before the puck even dropped when Jim Burt (forward on Hamden) informed everyone that Fairfield Prep Forward A.J. Unker would not be playing because he broke his foot/toes playing basketball over the weekend. Unker is one of Prep's top goal-scorers and that not only takes away one of Prep's offensive weapons, but it also may disrupt their chemistry as someone else is going to move up to the first line and that throws off every line. The next surprise: David White, Don Carnicky and Bryan Puffer's chemistry on the first line. White scored 4:54 into the game on a powerplay, assisted by Carnicky and Puffer, and it was on for Prep. Two minutes and eight seconds later Puffer scored unassisted; it was looking like things were going to get ugly. However, South Windsor rose to occasion, more specifically Kyle Benson, as he scored himself a nice unassisted goal at the 12:24 as an SW penalty was in its final seconds. SW had chances in the first to score more, in fact they hit the post before Prep even scored, and actually outshot the Jesuits 10-7 in that period.
On to the second, Fairfield Prep picked up a holding penalty early. This gave SW's offense the spark they needed to rain shots on Prep goalie John Galiani, but the man between the posts wasn't letting anything past. Benson had a chance right on the doorstep to bat the puck in after his teammate hit the post, but he couldn't do it. As the period progressed, FP really started to work hard and, the first especially, played really unselfish hockey. The two things combined for a Prep goal, David Griffin assisted by White and Puffer, at 7:04. Griffin did the work himself as he challenged SW goalie Christian Marchi and scored a beauty as he was falling down. On another chance, the Jesuits seemed to be a little too unselfish as they kept passing and no one shot the puck until it was too late. There was another instance too where FP shot and the puck seemed to be loose in front of the goal but Marchi managed to lay on it and get a whistle. Prep dominated the second period and shots were 11-7 in favor of them this time.
The score was 3-1 entering the third and I think everyone, including the Bomb Squad (Prep's cheering section), had a thought in the back of their mind that SW could come back. The Bobcats came out better than they looked in the second and had a pristine opportunity early on. The SW kid took a shot and it was stopped on the goal line by Galiani. SW forward Tyler Glassman was there but he couldn't knock it in; in fact, he may have even knocked it out of the goal before the ref could see where the puck was and possibly call it a goal for the Bobcats. Although there were times where SW shot it right at his chest, Galiani also made some really nice saves in the game like a nasty grab gloveslide that at around this point in the third. Matt Brophy on Prep picked up a holding penalty at 4:49 and, again, that helped give SW the confidence and prospect to get back in the game. Kyle Benson led the charge but many of their shots in the period and on this PP were easily saved by Galiani and, on this PP, Benson missed SW Forward Joseph Bonazelli on a return pass that would have set up Bonazelli, another offensive catalyst for the Bobcats, with the puck wide open. Sen Henry on Prep even got called for an interference penalty at 10:25 but SW just couldn't score. A SW penalty late gave Prep the powerplay to score, Don Carnicky assisted by Tom Worsfold, with 2:35 left to play. That was really the icer for the game as fans started leaving after that and everyone knew Prep had it in the bag. The actual surprise after the game was over, if you think about it, is not that Prep won 4-1 but rather that they only won 4-1 because if Unker played Prep would have at least had more than the measly 28 shots they did in this game. Marchi only had 24 saves on those 28 shots so more shots would most likely have led to more goals. SW also had 28 shots in this game so Prep goal tender John Galiani had 27 saves. On Saturday at 2pm right back at Ingalls, Prep will play in their 8th DI hockey championship in the last 12 years and they've won it six of the seven times they've been here before (lost 6-5 to Hamden last year)!
NOTE: The Class LL Boys' Basketball Championship and Division I Ice Hockey Championship both feature St. Joseph and Fairfield Prep playing each other while SJ was expected to get there FP wasn't for bball and vice versa in hockey. Both are on Saturday but the hockey game is at 2pm (till about 4) at Yale's Ingalls Rink in New Haven and the basketball game is at 815pm (at the earliest, will prob be later if the games before it run later) down at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville so the SJ/FP fans can catch both.
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