Notre Dame finishes the season No. 1

Some teams will flashand-dash you to death, put on offensive shows and roll past you.

It’s not that Notre Dame-West Haven boys hockey couldn’t do that to their opponents this year, at least some of them. What made them champions was simply not giving other teams a chance.

Capping the season on Tuesday with a 4-1 win over New Canaan in which their in-state goalsagainst average went up, Notre Dame-West Haven is the No. 1 team in the final GameTimeCT Top 10 Poll of the year.

The CIAC Division I champion went 14-0 against Connecticut competition and allowed just 13 goals.

“This is one of the most rewarding teams I’ve ever been around,” coach Larry Vieira said. “From the day we started running hills at Notre Dame on July 5 to now, it’s been a team that all they do is punch the clock and go to work.”

A tough out-of-state schedule helped prepare the Green Knights for March. They went 5-4-2 in those 11 games, outscoring opponents 27-26 in those games. In those 14 CIAC games, they outscored opponents 60-13.

Goalie Layne Jackson excelled regularly but gave a lot of credit to the defense. The penalty kill was willing and able to block shots. The Green Knights allowed two goals in-state only four times. The last of those was in the semifinals, when Simsbury gave them a test, taking a first-period lead. Notre Dame scored three late in the second and held on.

“There’s been no controversy. There’s been no meetings. There’s been no phone calls. It’s been a godsend. It really has,” Vieira said. “for the coaching, and for the player. And it shows you, with administration behind you, with parents behind you, good things will happen.”

New Canaan received nine of 10 second-place votes to claim second. The other semifinalists followed, Simsbury third, Darien fourth.

Ridgefield, which had been third coming into the CIAC playoffs after beating Darien and taking New Canaan to overtime in the FCIAC playoffs, wound up fifth after the Blue Wave returned the favor in the Division I quarterfinals. Northwest Catholic moved up to sixth after taking Notre Dame to overtime at the end of the regular season and losing two close ones to Simsbury in the playoffs.

Division II champion Cheshire, which received the other second-place vote, finished seventh. The Rams didn’t get a vote at all until the middle of January.