Titans collect first title since 2007

WEST HAVEN — Thanks to two goals inside the first 2:15 of its SCCSWC Division III final, the Sheehan hockey team couldn’t have gotten off to a better start in ending its title drought.

The Titans finished off the championship in style, too.

Potting five goals in the third period was the exclamation point for Sheehan, which won its first conference crown since 2007 with an 8-3 win over No. 4 Brookfield-Bethel-Danbury at Bennett Rink Saturday afternoon.

A broken finger suffered a couple of weeks ago couldn’t stop blueliner Nick Gonsalves, who notched a hat trick for the Titans (18-4). He scored twice during the third-period explosion that turned a 3-2 game into a rout.

“I was not expecting that at all,” Gonsalves said. “When the first goal went in I thought, OK I have my goal, I’m set for the game because I don’t score a lot. I guess I had the magic touch tonight.”

Sheehan junior Tyler Robertson was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament; the Titans topped Hand 6-2 in the semifinals and led 3-0 before BBD fought back.

“Our defense blocked shots,” said Robertson, who had 17 saves. “Our defense came out in the third and played a great game; the biggest focus (of not facing a lot of shots) is staying mentally ready in the net, watching the game. It’s tough but we got through it.”

The IceCats showed life in the second and had opportunities after Sheehan built its 3-0 lead. Colin MacNevin drew a penalty shot on a breakaway attempt early in the period, but the subsequent penalty shot went over the goal. BBD would score twice late in the period to pull to within 3-2 to give hope heading into the final 15.

“(Sheehan) is a little deeper than us,” BBD coach Rusty Granacker said. “Even though they are younger than us they have some really skilled players. We went out in the third and I think forgot about defense, we were worried about scoring and gave too many scoring opportunities up.”

The Titans extinguished those almost as quick as they did in the first period. Gonsalves and Joseph Romano scored twice in a 45-second span to make the lead 5-2, and Anthony Romano scored less than two minutes later to wrap up the title.

“We went into the locker room after the second period and came together as a team like we always do,” Gonsalves said. “We told each other that we had 15 minutes to prove the state wrong, and we sacrificed everything we had and pulled away.”

MIDNIGHT STRIKES

The IceCats were unable to score their second upset this week after stunning top-seeded LHK in the semifinals in a penalty shootout last Wednesday. Bethel let an early lead slip away before rallying to win in the most dramatic fashion possible.

“We have a very up-anddown roster, we have skill levels at all abilities,” Granacker said. “It makes it tough to compete with certain teams, but on certain nights when everyone gives 100 percent we’re pretty tough to beat.”

Senior Jacob Hopcroft netted his first career goal in the shootout, which proved to be the winner after LHK defeated BBD 8-1 during the regular season.

BBD will visit Wethersfield-Middletown-Rocky Hill-Plainville co-op in the first round of the Division III tournament on Monday. Sheehan is the No. 4 seed and will host Hand.

QUOTABLE

“The chemistry on this team is the best I’ve ever seen,” Robertson said. “We do everything together, I think it really shows on the ice.”

rlacey@bcnnew.com, twitter.com/ryanlacey11

Ryan Lacey / Hearst Connecticut Media Sheehan players celebrate a goal during the SCC-SWC Division III final against BBD on Saturday.