New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Twice as nice
North Haven rallies past Lyman Hall, repeats as champs
WEST HAVEN — Back on Dec. 13, North Haven opened its hockey season with an 8-1 loss to Lyman Hall.
It took nearly three months, but the Nighthawks avenged that loss when it mattered most, coming from behind in the third period to beat the Trojans, 4-3, to win the Southern Connecticut Conference Division II championship Saturday afternoon at the Edward L. Bennett Rink.
“We wanted to prove to everyone that we were better than what happened in that first game,” said North Haven’s Alex Peterson, who had a natural hat trick, the first of his career. He had a hat trick earlier in the year against Branford. “Today just meant a whole lot more because it was against them.”
And it gave North Haven its second title in a row.
“It’s very nice to have back-toback SCC championships,” North Haven coach Chris Avena said.
North Haven (20-2) trailed, 3-1, just 3:48 into the second period and there were some thoughts going back to opening night.
“Opening night crept in a little bit, but we’ve grown so much since then,” Avena said. “We just tried to stay the course. It was a lot different than it was in game one.”
And Peterson would have none of that.
With the Nighthawks putting a ton of pressure on Lyman Hall goaltender Dylan Florio, Peterson was able to take a swat at the puck from low down in the right circle. The puck went off the back skate of Florio and trickled into the net.
That changed the momentum and North Haven came out flying in the final 15 minutes, peppering Florio, who made a host of great saves.
But Peterson got loose right in the middle of the ice in front of the net and tied the game at 3-3 with 7:23 to play.
Just 1:54 later, Peterson completed the natural hat trick when he got his stick on a rebound off Florio and put in into the top
right corner of the net.
Despite pushing his team hard at that point, Lyman Hall coach Dave Sagnella wasn’t that concerned.
“The way we were playing, there was nothing to get concerned about,” Sagnella said. “It was just a matter of time.”
Lyman Hall had a big chance to send the game to overtime when North Haven’s Nolan Cole was whistled for roughing with 1:40 to play. With the power play in effect, plus Florio being pulled for the extra attacker, the Trojans had a handful of opportunities, but North Haven goalie Jared Anderson was up to the task, turning every shot away.
The victory not only gave North Haven its second consecutive SCC Division II title, but it was the 18th straight victory for the Nighthawks. They haven’t lost since Dec. 31 when they dropped a 3-1 decision to Farmington Valley.
“We love to win, to the point we’ve almost forgot
what it’s like to lose,” Avena said. “I hope we don’t we ever experience that the rest of the year.”
Lyman Hall managed to score in the open minute of each of the first two periods.
Just 16 seconds into the game, a blast off a faceoff by Kenny Mackenzie was deflected by Jack Roberts right in front of Nighthawk goaltender Jared Anderson. It landed in the top right side of the net to make it 1-0.
Despite outshooting Lyman Hall, it took another 6:26 for North Haven to deadlock things. On a scramble in front of Florio, Ben Gilbert got his stick on the puck and banged it home.
Again, Lyman Hall opened the second period with a quick goal.
Just 40 seconds into the period, Dylan Gay rushed up the left side and popped the puck past Anderson to give the Trojans a 2-1 edge.
Lyman Hall continued to put a ton of pressure on the North Haven defense and took advantage of another deflection in front of the net. This time it was Louis
Allanson who got credit for the goal with 11:12 to go in the second period to make it 3-1 before the Nighthawks made their comeback.
Anderson had 23 saves for North Haven, while Florio stopped 33 shots for Lyman Hall.
Lyman Hall fell to 17-5 with the loss.
“I wish I had an answer for you,” Sagnella said. “We played not to lose, and we ended up losing. We dominated the first five minutes of the first period and the same thing happened in the second period. They just wanted it more than we did.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Alex Peterson of North Haven scored three goals and added an assist.
QUOTABLE
“I’m 52 years old and doing this for over 25 years. I don’t know if I realize what we’ve accomplished over the course of the last three months,”
— North Haven coach Chris Avena said about his team’s 18-game winning streak.