All season long it’s been a flip flop at the top of the
rankings with both Masuk and EO Smith-Tolland holding down command of the
division for extended stays. I see no reason why this will be any different
come tournament time. Upsets happen, teams and goalies get hot but the state
would be in for a treat if those two teams were staring across the ice at one
another at 10:00 a.m. on Championship Saturday.
But we have a long way to go before then. To see full @CTHSHockey Predicted Brackets click here!
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| Staples-Weston-Shelton's Ryan Johnson |
The DIII State Tournament kicks off on Monday night at seven
different locations around the state. I will be taking in the always exciting
8/9 matchup in Milford featuring Staples-Weston-Shelton, the 8 seed, and Joel
Barlow, the 9. These two teams didn’t meet this year but if you like offensive
hockey you’ll be in for treat. The Berry brothers, Charlie and Billy along with
sophomore Kyle Converse have been mainstays on the scoresheet all season for
Barlow. Staples counters with a ton of scoring depth as well. Players like Ryan
Johnson, Jesse Greenspun among others bring it every night. The biggest stand
out this year and possible surprise has to be Staples’ freshman Sam New. New
has all but run away with my D3 Rookie of the Year award potting over 30 goals
and dominating stretches of play. Barlow comes in winners of 4 straight to
round out the regular season while Staples won 3 of 4 to end the year and
gained state-wide notoriety for not being allowed to partake in the FCIAC
tournament. Not that they made it anyway, but a story’s a story. This is one of
a few intriguing first round matchups.
The top seeded Bucks get a rematch with Newtown in a
tournament setting. Sure, the Bucks walloped the Nighthawks 9-1 back in early
February but there’s nothing like knocking out the team that knocked you out
the previous year on the grandest of stages. Like Barlow, the Bucks’ Mayer
brothers are fun to watch. Pete, the senior and Nick, the sophomore are
electric skaters with a nose for the net. But the Bucks’ bread and butter is
senior goalie Matt Schoen. Schoen is one of those extremely vital and
meaningful players when looking at it from a developmental, program approach.
His goalie skates will be immensely hard to fill after this season. I would
never count a team out, especially a defending state champ, but Newtown will
need a miracle to topple the mighty Bucks, a D3 favorite to win it all.
NFI drew the #4 seed this year and will host #13 Woodstock
Monday night in Danbury the second of two games to be played there that night
at 7:10. NFI is as strong as any team in the D3 tourney but can’t seem to get
over the hurdle that is Masuk. NFI is 5-4 over their last nine but three of
those losses have come to Masuk. They open with Woodstock, a second year
varsity program who handled itself quite nicely this year. They sputtered down
the stretch though dropping their last three regular season games. The Centaurs
have relied heavily on the skilled pair of hands of Ryan Black and Nathan
Deluca, both sophomores. If NFI can key these two, Woodstock could be in
trouble. This is especially true given the amount of talent on NFI’s side.
Senior Marchello Carlucci anchors the NFI D in net and has been solid all year.
Talented skaters just pour over NFI’s boards. Senior Parker Evans leads the way
along with fellow seniors Andrew Rosenblum, Matt Hooker, and Luke McFadden as
well as juniors Pete Masi and Christian Benzing. This team is dangerous and
luckily for them they wouldn’t have to face Masuk unless both teams reach the
final, a time where all bets are off.
The preceding game in Danbury at 5:00 features #5 BBD and
#12 Shepaug-Litchfield-Nonnewaug. This will be a close, tight affair. Not only
did the 12 seed beat BBD head to head, 4-2 on 2/20, but they notched more wins
over current tourney qualifiers 8 wins to 4 wins for BBD. That said, BBD has
proven they can beat quality teams as they’ve already knocked off two D2 foes
this year including New Milford. Shepaug brings senior Andrew Loya, one of the
state’s most talented and hidden gems.
But he’s not alone. Seniors Christian Stuart and Nick Ganio are the glue
that make the Spartans stick and ultimately tick. In net sophomore Will Slohm
has been their guy all year and has been
more than competent when put in tough spots. BBD has gotten contributions from up and down
the roster all year but look for the seniors to leave their mark, players like
Will Lawrence, John Buckle, and captains Austin Natale and Trevor Powers.
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| Masuk's Bunovsky carries the puck while Dushay follows. |
Masuk gets the Eastern CT Eagles in the 2/15 matchup at 5:30
in Shelton. Masuk should utterly dominate this game the same way they dominated
the SCC/SWC D3 tourney in convincing wins over Sheehan and NFI. Masuk is
loaded. They have a team with the talented to fill my year end awards post but
it’s their elder statesmen that do the most damage. Senior defensemen Connor Bunovsky,
George Andros and Dan D’Angelo are irreplaceable. Senior goalie Conner Muller
and Christian Furce have also been stellar of late. And then there’s the
Panthers’ offense. Seniors Shane Dushay, Charlie Christo and junior Brian
Denham have all shown glimpses of brilliance at more than one time but
underclassmen like sophomores Adam Montague and Elijah Begin have really made
their presence known of late as well. With the senior leadership and
underclassmen contribution, this has to be Masuk’s year. Too much talent to let
this time pass. The Eagles need a prayer. That prayer if it is to be answered
may have to come from underclassmen like sophomores Jimmy Fitzmaurice and Larry
Nolan. Look for seniors Zach Jones and Pete Yapchanyk to pick it up for this
one as well. Their efforts may be futile though.
Sheehan hosts the Redhawks in the 7/10 matchup at Choate at
6:15. The Titans took care of the NFA coop both times they met this year
winning 3-2 and 8-5 recently. However, since that game Sheehan has lost three
straight while the Redhawks have won their last two. This one should be close
and these two teams are very evenly matched. Plus, the old adage says it’s
tough to beat a team three times in a row. Sheehan’s offensive potency is legit
with senior Mike Cerrotti at 52 points on the year as well as the Gozzo
brothers, both juniors, Sal and Paul both having 40+ point seasons. A lot of
Sheehan’s success rests the shoulder’s of the senior goalie Carly Femniak. I’ve
seen her look really shaky this year in a loss to at home to Housy but I’ve
seen her look confident and poised even in a losing effort, most recently
against Masuk. The Redhawks counter with a pair of seniors who think their time
has come. Andrew Gagnon (28 points) and Tyler Faulker (26 points) have both
been players whose names have come up for years when discussing little known,
underrated D3 players. This year it was no different, but these two have led a
very young group to relative success. Freshman Maren Lancaster and sophomore
Bryan Guetens will contribute in this game as well and for years to come.
Westhill hosts Hall-Southington in the 3/14 game. Westhill
doesn’t score a lot. They don’t have to. They play lock down, eliminate
chances, clog up passing lanes hockey. This is a recipe for disaster for
Hall-South, a team who lost 8 of 9 coming into this one. Hall brings some
talented hockey players, things just haven’t quite clicked for them this year.
Junior Jarod Florian has quite matched his 36 point sophomore campaign but his
on ice exploits need to be top notch for Hall-South to have a chance in this
one. Senior goalie Erich Bender will also need to keep Westhill off the board
because there’s no way Hall is going to score at will against the Vikings. Westhill goalie Christian Compolattaro has
been fantastic this season and looks to continue that through the tourney. The
Vikings have a short bench but play a smart systems game and have bought into
what head coach John Santagata has preached. Westhill brings with them wins
over Hand, New Milford, Fermi and Branford as well as a tie against D1’s New
Canaan. Impressive resume´.
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| Ti-Towns 40+ point scorer Ryan Sherba |
Finally, Housy hosts Tri-Town in a scary good 6/11 game that
reads more like an 8/9. The Terrorcats were able to beat Housy 5-3 earlier this
year but more recently the two tied 3-3. This game features to talented goalies
in Housy’s senior Eric Chin and Tri-Town’s senior Phil Nicolescu. Tri-Town sophomore
Ryan Sherba is one of the state’s most talented players and can take over
games. Housy senior James Huften and junior Jason Diamond have combined for 58
points this year while Housy has gotten contributions from seniors Tim Haan and
Wes Reel as well as elusive sophomore Finn Bamberry. This should be a great
tilt. Tri-Town surprised many in the state last year making a run all the way
to the D3 semis. They are more than capable of doing that again. Regardless of
who wins this one, they will likely have a date with a scary good Westhill game
in the second round.
BEST GAME: TIE- (11)
Tri-Town @ (6) Housy & (9) Joel Barlow @ (8) Staples- These two both
feature two evenly matched teams. A battle of two elite goalies paired with a
matchup of two dynamic offenses. Either game is a can’t miss.
BIGGEST BLOW OUT
POTENTIAL- (15) Eastern CT Eagles @ (2) Masuk- Masuk scores at will against
elite teams. We shall see what they do against a bottom tier D3 team.
BEST PLAYER MATCHUP-
Ryan Sherba (Tri-Town) vs. James Huften (Housy)- Senior leader vs. upstart
sophomore talent. I give Huften the slight edge just because of the weapons he
brings with him.
UPSET ALERT- (12)
Shepaug @ (5) BBD- Already beat ‘em once. I can see them doing it again.
D3 FINAL FOUR PICKS-
Bucks, NFI, Masuk, Housy
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