Today literally may have been the best day of my life for so many reasons and the three games I saw (two hockey, one basketball) were definetly a major part, along with the people I got to see and spend some quality time with!!!!! Take a moment to thank God for all that he has blessed you with as well.
Conard 7 @ Hall-Southington 0
-What you would expect from a DI vs DIII game but its always interesting to see what will happen in rivalry games where the kids know each other very well/have grown up with each other.
#5 Xavier 9 @ #8 West Haven 1
-This one was almost a shut-out too but Austin Essery lost track of a shot of the puck after he batted down a shot...the puck was right in from of him and Adam Mink put it right through his legs but Xavier already had three goals at that point. Westies Goalie J.P. Withington started strong but about half of the goals scored on him weren't his defense's fault. In fact, he was pulled after about six goals (I don't remember exactly). For Xavier, Forward Kurt Johnson had a hat trick, fellow captain Dan Walsh had two, fellow senior Trevor Buchas also had one, then freshman Andrew Meoli added one and breakout freshman John "Jack" Gethings netted two. The defense played well, earning the team nine points and some serious momentum going into next Wednesday's game at Notre Dame-Fairfield. West Haven has North Haven and Simsbury next Tuesday and Wednesday.
Notre Dame-Fairfield 1 @ #3 Hamden 3
-Withthe loss, ND-F cannot make the DI state tournament and their final game with #5 Xavier next Wednesday won't be as huge (definitely a good thing for Xavier) but, unless I'm mistaken, they still have the SWC semifinals to get ready for. Eric Sugrue saved 44 shots but the three that made it through for the Green Dragons were by C.J. Carignan, Mike Lee and Brandon Dadio. Brioan Sanca scored the lone goal for the Lancers. Hamden finishes their regular season at home at the Lou Astorino Rink next Wednesday with #4 Notre Dame-West Haven (yet another perfect transition into the next game on the day).
#4 Notre Dame-West Haven 3 @ Amity 4 OT
-Boy was I glad that I stayed at Bennett Rink for this one. I saw my first ever penalty shot in high school hockey...I didn't even think they were allowed to call that in HS! Starting out at the beginning, Amity came out strong on their Senior Day/Night and struck first. That gave them enough confidence to keep playing sound D, creating opportunities to keep the pressure on Harney and net two more. ND-WH Goalie Greg Harney did not have his best game; Amity scored six to eight West Hartford goals (shots that hit off the post) but Harney had a few nice saves. ND's defense was almost non-existent and their penalty kill was nowhere near it's normal level. The Green Knights put one in the net at the end of the 2nd to make it 3-1 and give them some hope going into the break. In the third, it was all green and gold as ND scored again and then with about three left, on a one-on-one breakaway, an ND forward got in the zone but the Amity defenseman slid and took him took him out with his stick. A whistle blew, the refs talked it over and instead of two mins for tripping, they awarded the legendary penalty shot. The place was teeming with anticipation and excitement as everyone was either guessing what move the ND forward was going to do or hoping for a goal/no goal, or just trying to believe that what you were seeing was really happening!!!!! Classic move, actually the same way ND scored one of their other goals, I will explain this in the eastiest terms to understand: Forward went to the right of goal (facing net), body faked enough to get Amity goalie Alec Mansfield to committ and go for save, ND forward kept control of puck as he brought it back across to the left and shot it in for the easy goal net to sprawled out goalie. ND-WH had the momentum from there but the Amity Spartans kept their composure and even had a few more chances before regulation ended. Like in regulation, Mansfield and especially Amity's defense kept the Green Knights offense to a minimum of shots and the goal led to their offensive opportunities. It may not have been pretty, but a shot followed up by put-back right through Harney's five hole just one minute and thirty-five seconds into extra time did it for the two-time DII champions. The crowd erupted as ND-WH sat still and silent in shock ("we beat Prep, this wasn't supposed to happen"). Amity is technically king of Bennett Rink since they also beat West Haven; you do not want to draw the Spartans in the first round of the state tournament! On a final note, I must give credit where credit is due: Xavier Defensemen Dan Dupont said to me before the puck dropped that the game would end in an upset and yet again, he was oh so right. As previously mentioned, ND-WH closes out the regular season on Wednesday at Lou Astorino against #3 Hamden; as for Amity, take welcome #1 Fairfield Prep into Bennett...anyone bettin that Sparty can do it again? We are going to have an awesome last Wednesday to the regular season!
Tri-Town 2 @ #7 South Windsor 4
-Quality win and nine points for the Bobcats in their last game of the season. Tri-Town's final game? At Conard next Tuesday for another showdown between top northern CT teams that have both made the DI tournament as well.
Staples-Weston-Shelton 2 @ Darien 3 OT
-Another game that was a lot closer than expected as it was FCIAC QuarterfinL playoff hockey. This is exactly the reason that S-W-S is my pick for DIII despite not having the best record of teams in the tournament: they hold their against DI tournament teams, even beating (Greenwich) or taking them to OT (Darien) [not to mention they beat top DII teams]. Darien gets another game to gear up for their road game in the first round of states...it should be a big help.
Greenwich 1 @ #6 Ridegield 2
-You may have thought me crazy for putting these two games that looked like they were gonna be blow outs as top games of the night but need I say anything more than FCIAC tournament. There is just something about playoff hockey that really changes a lot. That being said, next week is going to be very exciting as the SCC DI teams finish up with some games against each year, needless to say those will be good, and then the other leagues have conference tournaments that are sure not to disappoint.
DII game: Cheshire 7 @ Lyman Hall 3 (LH needed the win to get into the DII tournament but their season ended on an L. Cheshire will finish the season at Trinity's Rink in Hartford against Wethersfield.)
Other game worth noting: North Haven 6 @ Brandord 4 (N Haven gets one step closer to qualifying for the DI tournament; they need one win or two ties in their two remaining games: East Haven on Monday and #8 West Haven on Tuesday, both on the road.)
Rankings and Basketball to come on Sunday!
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