BBDI upsends Masuk on Smeriglio’s overtime goal

HAMDEN — Who needs a power play? The penalty kill is just one of a bunch of reasons why BBDI will play Thursday for the CIAC Division III boys hockey title.

So is four-on-four play, actually, which decided a 5-4 win over defending champion Masuk on Monday night at M&T Bank Arena in the semifinals.

Sasha Gelfand and Jovanni Smeriglio: yeah, them too.

That duo hooked up for the tying goal midway through the third period. They nearly connected for a go-ahead goal with five minutes left.

A pretty similar rightto-left break won it, Gelfand to Smeriglio in the left circle, 2:36 into overtime after a trade of penalties, and the co-op of Brookfield, Bethel, Danbury and Immaculate pulled out a backand-forth victory.

“I knew Sasha Gelfand was going to pass to me. No-brainer,” Smeriglio said. “I knew I had to finish the deal.”

Top-seeded BBDI (21-3-1) will face third-seeded Conard (22-2-1) in Thursday’s championship game here at 7 p.m. BBDI added Immaculate to its co-op this season; BBD had played in one championship game, losing the Division III final to Guilford in 2010.

Conard has won 11 games in a row after a 4-1 win over SGWL in the early semifinal. BBDI has won eight in a row, though the prospects for that looked dicey late.

Masuk goalie Maddex LaFountain and BBDI’s Max Pawloski traded big saves late in the third period, but Smeriglio was called for charging in the last minute of regulation. BBDI killed that off, but T.J. Miller received a double minor soon after: Masuk’s fifth and would-have-been sixth power plays against none for BBDI.

Smeriglio said there were no worries. His coach agreed.

“We knew what we had to do. We had a goal,” Smeriglio said. “Our goal is to win states. That’s what we do. No hesitation. No anything. We kept being positive and came out with a ‘W.’”

Off the draw, Smeriglio broke out up the right side, and Luke Kondub was called for tripping to even the manpower.

“We knew they had speed. They broke free,” said Masuk coach Terry Stroz, whose team, the fourth seed, finished 15-9-0. “We had the opportunity to get the upper hand with the power play. They called a time out. We talked about not letting them break free off the weak side, and they did exactly that.”

It was a game of strange and often brief momentum. Masuk led 2-1 and 4-3. BBDI led 1-0, 3-2 and, when Masuk couldn’t take it away again, 5-4.

“The kids played their hearts out tonight,” Stroz said. “We came up one goal short . ... I’m very happy with the season.”

Player of the Game

BBDI junior forward Jovanni Smeriglio scored two goals — the tying goal and the winning goal — with two assists.

Kondub power

Masuk’s Nick Kondub scored the 55th goal of his senior season in the second period. He scored 11 of those in three CIAC playoff games.

“The kid’s unreal,” Stroz said. “He has been like Superman all year. Every time we need something, he comes through. It’s one of the best high school seasons I’ve seen in a long time.

“The way he leads on this team, carries people: He’s been a great role model to the underclassmen.”

Honoring Henrici, McCarthy

The CIAC hockey committee’s annual tournament dedication was to the memory of former chairman Ken Henrici, who died in November. Henrici was a teacher, principal and superintendent over his career in education and was also a past president of the Yale Youth Hockey Association.

There was also a moment of silence before both games for Ed McCarthy. The longtime football coach at St. Joseph and West Haven died Saturday.

Quotable

“We came in here for overtime and weren’t scared at all. This is who we are. All we had to do was get shots. It makes for great TV ratings.” —BBDI coach Bill Garvey

BBDI 5, Masuk 4 (OT) Masuk ................................... 0 2 2 0—4 BBDI ...................................... 0 1 3 1—5 First period: No scoring. Second period: 1, B, Sasha Gelfand (Jovanni Smeriglio), 1:24. 2, M, Nick Kondub (Luke Kondub), 2:41. 3, M, Christian LaBella (Luke Kondub), 5:42 (pp). Third period: 4, B, Austin Hoadley (Smeriglio), 1:04. 5, B, Zach Kappus (Hoadley), 3:36. 6, M, Luke Kondub (LaBella), 3:43. 7, M, Luke Kondub (Nick Kondub), 6:21. 8, B, Smeriglio (Gelfand), 7:36. Overtime: 9, B, Smeriglio (Gelfand), 2:36. Goalies: M—Maddex LaFountain (20 saves); B—Max Pawloski (22). Shots: M—26; B—25. Records: M 15-9-0; B 21-3-1