Fairfield Prep No. 1 in final GameTimeCT Top 10 Poll
State championships mean different things to different programs. It’s a once-in-a-generation accomplishment for some.
Other places, not winning is a shock.
After two CIAC Division I hockey tournaments disappeared because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fairfield Prep lost in the 2022 quarterfinals, making it an eternity without a title for the most-lauded hockey school of the past halfcentury: three whole years.
“Coming out last year in the quarterfinals to New Canaan, it really broke me and the boys,” goalie James Heber said. “I never wanted to feel like that again.”
Heber and his fellow seniors ended their high school careers with the entire opposite feeling. They did not allow a goal in the last 100 minutes, 34 seconds of their season, winning the Division I championship on Wednesday with a 3-0 win over Notre Dame-West Haven.
The Jesuits are the No. 1 team in the final GameTimeCT Top 10 Poll.
“We’re a really good team, and Prep beat us three times, so that means they’re even better than really good,” Notre Dame coach Larry Vieira said after the final.
The Green Knights, a
unanimous No. 2 behind Fairfield Prep’s unanimous No. 1, beat Fairfield Prep once: 6-1 on Jan. 7. After that, coach Vin O’Hara said Wednesday, the team worked on its defensivezone coverage and restressed
defensive positioning and transition play. On Wednesday, even allowing 42 shots, they were breaking up passes and blocking shots to contain a potent Green Knights offense.
“They’re my brothers,” Heber said. “They’re always helping me out when I need them the most. They cleared out for me when I needed it. We were able to come out on top.”
The Jesuits beat Notre Dame 5-1 in the regular season on Feb. 18, then 4-3 in a shootout in the SCC/ SWC Division I championship, and then Wednesday.
New Canaan took third place, starting a run of three FCIAC teams. League champion Darien was fourth, and FCIAC runner-up Fairfield, ineligible for the state tournament because of CIAC coop rules, was fifth.
Simsbury was sixth, ahead of Greenwich in eighth, which eliminated Simsbury in the quarterfinals. Between them was Division II champion North Haven, which won its title on Tuesday on Alex Petersen’s overtime goal.
Northwest Catholic, another Greenwich upset victim, was ninth, and Ridgefeld rounded out the top 10.
In all, 20 teams received votes this season, though two did not receive a vote after the preseason poll. Division III champion Masuk received two 10thplace votes this week, the Panthers’ first two points of the season.