Milford Coop
2012-13 Record: 12-8-0
Tournament Result: 11
seed- lost in First Round 5-3 to (6) Guilford
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| Milford Co-op's Jonathan DePascale |
On paper the Indians look stronger than just about any
returning D2 squad. They return
the services of all-everything forward senior Zach White (30 G, 31 A) and his
11 multi-goal games and senior line mate Will Vitelli (15 G, 11 A). White did lose the services of the
graduated Rob Buskey who chipped in with 42 points of his own last year so
it’ll be interesting to see White gel with another player. Defensively, the Indians are very
secure. Their top two D pairs of
senior Ben Lavallee, juniors Jarrod Butts, Jonathan DePascale and David
McLenithan rival any in the state.
On top of having the state’s best D2 player, the Indians welcome a
freshman who will make an immediate offensive impact. Andrew Gobany comes in with high expectations and will push
for top line action. In net two
goalies are set to battle it out to gain the bulk of the crease time. Seniors John DePalma (663 minutes last
season) and Noah Ericson (232 minutes) bring some experience to a position that
faltered several times last year.
The Indians allowed 4+ goals in 8 of their 9 losses last year. Sal Follo’s team looks strong, they
look deep and have proven bona fide star power. Expect them to erase last year’s first round exit from their
collective memories and make a run this season.
New Milford
2012-13 Record: 13-5-2
Tournament Result: 8
seed- lost in First Round 3-0 to (9) North Branford
With an intact top line returning, a competent replacement
goalie manning the crease and certain success from last year to build on, Dan
Moore’s Wave group should be a team to be reckoned with this year. New Milford welcomes back a top line
featuring leading scorer senior Harrison O’Connell (18 G, 12 A) (CTHSHockey D2 Honorable Mention),
junior Logan Doud (5 G, 11 A) and junior Tommy Nisco (11 G, 1 A). Junior defenseman Jamison Steinhardt
will aim to anchor a strong defensive unit. All is not perfect in Waveland with the graduation of stellar
netminder Matt DePalma (1.46 GAA) (CTHSHockey
D2 1st Team). They
also graduated two of their top four scorers in Lorenzo Stellato (CTHSHockey D2 3rd Team) and
Tyler Kirkwood. The saving grace
for the Wave may be Moore’s strategic use of “back up” goalie Nick Capriglione
last year. The senior saw 465 game
minutes, posted a 1.16 GAA and notched two shutouts spelling DePalma last
year. Capriglione is ready to take
over in net and show, similarly to how he did last year in limited action, that
there will not be any fall off without DePalma in net. New Milford brings in some new bodies
poised to perform in senior Steven Berry, formerly of the CT Chiefs and senior
Cole Case, a forward with excellent vision on the ice. This sets up for another great season
in New Milford. They should be
looked at as one of the stronger teams at the D2 level.
Newington-Berlin-Manchester
2012-13 Record: 14-4-2
(D3)
Tournament Result: 1
seed- defeated (8) NFI 4-2 in Quarterfinals; defeated (5) Masuk 4-1 in
Semifinals; Won D3 State Championship 1-0 over (3) BCR
Newington-Berlin makes the jump to D2 after winning back to
back D3 state titles. Many people
think the jump should’ve happened after the first of the two state titles, but
at this point, it is what it is.
Newington-Berlin just wins, wherever they go, whoever they play. It will be very interesting to see how
they fair at a highly competitive D2 level. They will have to repeat this success without arguably the
best D3 goalie last year in graduate Drew O’Leary (CTHSHockey D3 2nd Team), CTHSHockey D3 Skater of the Year BJ Richard, and CTHSHockey D3 Defensive Defenseman of the
Year Justin Pratte. This talent will not be easy to
replace but plenty of returnees plan on making the transition painless. They bring back four of their top five
scorers highlighted by senior Dan Roberts who in only 12 games last season
notched 20 points, their second leading scorer in senior Matt Harackiewicz (CTHSHockey D3 Honorable Mention) (9 G,
13 A), as well as the DiPaola brothers junior Marco (CTHSHockey D3 Honorable Mention) (11 G, 5 A) and sophomore Luca (CTHSHockey D3 Rookie of the Year) (10
G, 6 A). Also look for freshman
Matt Roberts to fill a second line role as well. While the hole that Pratte and O’Leary leave is large,
defensively this group should be pretty sound with senior Mike Davies and
junior Mitch Pitkin returning. In
net, two goalies, Senior Tom Wood and junior Cam Criniti, are set to battle it
out. The two saw a combined 45
game minutes last year. Until I
see the Indians take a step backwards, I can’t pick against them. They will receive a home game in this
year’s D2 tournament.
North Branford
2012-13 Record: 12-7-1
Tournament Result: 9
seed- defeated (8) New Milford 3-0 in First round; defeated (17) Newtown 5-1 in
Quarterfinals; lost to (13) Fairfield Warde-Ludlowe 3-1 in Semifinals
The Thunderbirds were a tough out last season. They put together a solid regular
season largely on the back of CTHSHockey
D2 1st Teamer Dylan Podbielski and even ran off a couple of wins
in the D2 state tournament before falling to the eventual state champ Fairfield
Warde-Ludlowe. Podbielski, Nik
Castaldi (CTHSHockey D2 Honorable
Mention) and goalie Kyle Saroka have graduated. Mark Russo has also transferred out heading to Notre
Dame-Fairfield. But the T-Birds retain some excellent talent. They will be lead by junior Alec Martone
(20 G, 17 A) (CTHSHockey D2 Honorable
Mention), a forward with an excellent nose for the net who will need to
step up now that his linemates Podbielski and Russo are gone. Also returning is a solid defensive core headed by the big
bodied senior Nick Johnson (4 G, 9 A) and senior Brendan Appi. Junior Will Burke inherits Saroka’s net
and will try to hold down the spot being pushed by some younger bodies. We will find out a lot about the
T-Birds early when they start their season with the daunting task of facing
Newington-Berlin, Milford (twice), New Milford, Hand and Fairfield Co-op. Martone is set to break out as a legit
D2 star. The questions in net and
in terms of complementary players are the only things causing me to be a little
hesitant in my expectations of North Branford this year.
North Haven
2012-13 Record: 4-14-2
(D1)
Tournament Result: did
not qualify
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| North Haven's Andrew Graziano |
North Haven is going to try this whole thing all over again
at the D2 level. The Indians have
an exuberant young coach with boat loads of potential, a solid returning group
of players led by senior captain Vin Fasulo (13 goals last season) and are on a
much more level playing field now at the D2 level. Don’t be fooled by their final D1 record, however. North Haven lost four one goal games
last year and beat the likes of Cheshire, Watertown-Pomperaug, Branford and Guilford,
all teams expected to be at the top of end D2 this year. I think it’s safe to say this is where
they belong. I expect the Indians
to have a strong year. Sure, they
lost senior leading scorer Karl Anderson and undersized but talented defenseman
Jimmy Piscitelli but they return a decent amount of talent, enough to be able
to compete legitimately at the D2 level.
In net, the lengthy junior Andrew Graziano is back for his third year
manning the Indians’ pipes. Senior
forwards Chris Lion and Phillip Gauvin look to move into more pivotal roles
while juniors Cam Owens and Tyler Luedee wll need to accelerate their
development as well. The Indians
will need to find consistent scoring up and down the line chart in order to
have success this year but with Fasulo, a blossoming star, and the experienced Graziano
in net, I like their chances at a good seed come tourney time.
Rockville-Bolton-Coventry-Lyman
Memorial
2012-13 Record: 17-1-2
(D3)
Tournament Result: 3
seed- defeated (6) E.O. Smith-Tolland-Windham 3-0 in Quarterfinal; defeated (2)
NFA-St. B-Bacon 2-1 (2 OT) in Semifinal; lost to (1) Newington-Berlin 1-0 in D3
State Championship
Some big shoes are left to be filled for BCR this year with
the graduation of their rock, goalie Cam Earle (CTHSHockey D3 Goalie of the Year). How will new goalie Connor McGrath answer the bell? A lot of their success this year,
paired with their move to D2, will land on his inexperienced shoulders. Earle posted 7 shutouts last year
propelling BCR to a record season.
Without him, BCR would’ve struggled to be a .500 team. The coop also lost senior forward
leader J.R. Pirritti (CTHSHockey D3 Honorable
Mention) and defenseman Matt Zawislinski to graduation. That’s about it. With the exception of Earle’s
departure, BCR returns a strong cohort of solid options. Back for more are junior Kevin Morton, senior
Eddie Bates, both CTHSHockey D3 Honorable
Mention. They will also look
for contributions from Liam McGrath,
Hunter Byram, Nate Tonzi and Bruce Smith.
Defensively BCR is very strong with four key cogs returning. BCR could see some struggles with the
learning curve that comes with moving to a competitive D2. With the unknowns that are glaringly
evident, it’s hard to think you’ll see a repeat of last year’s success. There are enough weapons there, however,
to think BCR will lock up a tourney bid.
Coming tomorrow... Part IV: Division 2 Team Preview Capsules!
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