Fairfield Prep knocks off No. 1 Notre Dame-WH

BRIDGEPORT — Well, look who’s back.

An up-and-down start for a new era of Fairfield Prep hockey included a rough loss to Notre Dame-West Haven on the road last month. On Saturday, the Jesuits turned it around and decimated No. 1 Notre Dame 5-1 at the Wonderland of Ice.

The Green Knights won that first meeting 6-1 in West Haven on Jan. 7. The goaltending matchup was the same Saturday.

“I took this game personally a little bit,” said Fairfield Prep’s Justin Lewis, who made 25 saves. “After 6-1 earlier this year, which I started, I felt it necessary to get locked in and play a good game. My teammates in front of me did a really good job making sure (Notre Dame) didn’t put the puck in the net.”

Lewis made a few saves that got the crowd chanting “J-Lew” and kept the Green Knights from creeping back into the game.

The entire evening at the Wonderland of Ice honored former Fairfield co-op goalie Charlie Capalbo, who died last spring; the co-op was set to retire Capalbo’s No. 30.

Late in the game, Capalbo’s father, Anthony, tweeted that he’d just learned that Fairfield Prep’s Justin Lewis was the son of a classmate at Greenwich High.

“I didn’t know that until like a week ago,” said Lewis, the Jesuits’ own No. 30. “I didn’t know Charlie personally, but I definitely wanted to honor him in this game.”

The Jesuits (13-6-0), ranked fifth in the most recent GameTimeCT Top 10 Poll, have won four in a row and seven in a row in-state.

“We knew what we were playing for,” said Jesuits junior forward Blake Baksay, who scored three goals. “Notre Dame hasn’t lost a state game in the last two years.”

Notre Dame (13-2-1), a unanimous No. 1 for most of the past 13 months, had won 22 games in a row against Connecticut competition, including the CIAC Division I title last spring; its last loss to a state team was to New Canaan in December 2021.

“I’ll give (the Jesuits) all the credit in the world. They had an edge. They won a lot of battles. My hat’s off to them,” Notre Dame coach Larry Vieira said.

“Obviously I didn’t prepare our team well enough for this game, this environment, so I get an ‘F.’ Maybe we’re not as good as we all thought. We have to get back to what got us here.”

After a scoreless first, Notre Dame broke on top on Griffin Libero’s goal early in the second.

In some games, the underdog might go away quietly at that point. The Jesuits answered back within four minutes and made it 3-1 by the end of the period.

“That’s as complete a 45- minutes as we’ve played,” first-year Jesuits coach Vin O’Hara said. “The boys executed the game play. They kept it simple, but those moments that were 50-50, I felt the puck was going our way because we were working as hard as we could, as hard as we have all season.

“Not to take anything away from (Notre Dame); they’re the class of the state. It felt good be on the other side of that.”

That’s a statement, because Fairfield Prep has been the CIAC gold standard for decades. The banner over one corner of the rink shows 18 championships since 1977 and 11 since Matt Sather became coach in 1999; O’Hara played for him early in that tenure. Sather and his staff retired after last season.

Under new management and without an interminable championship drought of four years (there’s been only one CIAC tournament in that time, but who’s counting), this year’s Jesuits have a signature win after a nondescript start.

“It’s evident we’re better on the offensive with the puck,” Lewis said. “We’re putting pressure on the goalie. Also on the back end, they’re protecting me.”

Player of the Game

Fairfield Prep’s Blake Baksay scored three goals and assisted on another.

Though James Murphy had a goal and two assists.

You know, Will Huntington...

The Jesuits played a pretty complete game as a group, but that line combined for all five goals, including a Murphy goal at four-on-four (the game-winner), a Baksay power-play goal and Huntington’s shorthanded goal.

“The secret, I guess, would be that they’re hungry on both sides of the puck,” O’Hara said. “They complement each other’s skill sets. They’ve really learned to play well together in our (defensive) zone, which gives them more opportunity to transition into the offensive zone.”

Quotable

“I just felt we haven’t been as gritty, haven’t been as focused as we need to in practice and games. This beating — quite frankly, it was a beating of all sorts — I think this will get our dander up and get us back where we need to be.” —Notre Dame-West Haven coach Larry Vieira