The Greenwich High School boys ice hockey team seemed to have the momentum heading into overtime of the CIAC Division I quarterfinal game played Saturday at Webster Bank Arena.
Big Red tied Hamden High School midway through the third and had a plethora of opportunities to add more goals late.
Despite playing well in overtime, Hamden was able to win a faceoff and strike quick to stun the Cards with goal and the 3-2 victory in the quarterfinals.
“There’s almost nothing to can say to make them feel better, especially the seniors that were there last year and wanted to get to Yale this year,” Greenwich head coach Bob Russel said. “We played really well and controlled most of the game, but came up short. A lot of good chances to score and their goalie did a great job. We came close in the overtime, but it was a quick one. They won a draw, got a high tip and it’s in the net. It happens so fast where you might be in euphoria to depression.”
Early in the overtime, Hamden’s James Smith won the faceoff and Todd Deskin gained control of the puck. Deskin then quickly fired a shot at net and Brendan Berube tipped it in the back of the net for the game-winning goal.
“It was won on the faceoff,” Hamden head coach Todd Hall said. “There’s no deflection and no point shot unless you win the faceoff and our centers beared down and won the majority of the faceoffs.
“That trip to Ingalls is special,” Hall added. “This was our 11th overtime game. Overtime is crazy because it could go either way, one bounce or one deflection. I wouldn’t say I was used to them and I wasn’t comfortable going into overtime at all, but we came through.”
For Greenwich, they end the season with an FCIAC championship trophy and a 19-5 regular season record.
“It was great playing with these boys,” GHS senior captain Colin Kelly said. “We knew that with the class leaving last year, people were a little skeptical about us. But deep down we had the guts, the heart and the will to go back and make a run. This really sucks, but I am proud of what we have done as a team. No one can take away our FCIAC championship.”
After a scoreless first period, Big Red lit the lamp in the second. With 5:10 to play in the period, Owen Johnson gained control of the puck and darted up the middle. He then passed to Calvin McKinney in front of the net, who then one-timed the puck home for the 1-0 lead.
After the Cardinals committed back-to-back penalties, Hamden finally capitalized. With 10:39 to play in the third, Jake Blackwell fired a shot from just inside the blue line. Tyler Webb was in front of the GHS net and deflected the shot past GHS goalie Nick Buzzuto for the goal and 1-1 tie.
Webb wasn’t done. Just over a minute later, he took the shot from the high slot and blasted a shot top shelf for the 2-1 advantage.
“Maybe if we didn’t take that second penalty, we wouldn’t have given them some momentum in the third,” Russel said. “That certainly hurt us. Before that we were shutting down their chances and we kept getting more and more chances. But our team bounced back and tied it. I thought we reclaimed the momentum at that point in time.”
Big Red kept its composure, just like they did throughout the season, and scored the equalizer with 8:09 to play in the third. Ben Pratley worked the puck into the Dragon’s zone and fired a shot from a few feet inside the blue line. Alex Mozian, positioned in front of the net, was there for the deflection and tallied the goal.
“When the seniors are able sit back and have a couple of days to reflect, they will remember that they had an outstanding season,” Russel said. “They will certainly cherish an FCIAC title, which is really important when you’re in lower Fairfield County. They’ll remember last year’s run right to the finals. All in all for them, it’s been an outstanding couple of years. It ended way too fast, but that’s the nature of the game.”
To read more on the game and to hear more from Kelly and Russel, check out Friday’s Greenwich Sentinel.
