- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 399,255
- Reaction score
- 43
HAMDEN – Cheshire ice hockey coach Anthony Giusto knew that after last year’s loss to the Rams in the Division II championship game, the East Haven co-op would have Sunday circled on the calendar.
It was the date of the Division II state final and once again, Cheshire would face East Haven at Quinnipiac’s M&T Bank Arena.
The result was very different this time around, however – East Haven dominated top-seeded Cheshire, 7-3, to win its first title since 1998.
Shane Ruggiero and Lorenzo DeFilio each had two goals for second-seeded East Haven, which beat Cheshire earlier in the season 5-4.
“They came out with so much intensity, and I don’t think we did a great job matching it early on,” Giusto said. “We knew they had this game circled on the calendar a long time before they even knew if they were playing in it or we were playing in it.
“We knew they were going to come out with something to prove, we saw the way they played in the semifinals, nine goals against North Haven. They were very driven after last year. They outworked us, they outplayed us, they deserved this win tonight.”
Last year, Cheshire won the title 6-3 over East Haven and finished its best season ever at 24-1-1 but lost a number of key seniors from that team.
East Haven led 3-0 after the first period and 6-0 after two periods. The Yellowjackets outshot Cheshire 34-16.
“As much as we challenged them and told them, ‘You’re going to get punched and you got to punch back,’ we are a young team, and I thought that showed a little bit at times. especially early on when we didn’t match their speed and intensity,” Giusto said. “We kept battling throughout the game. I loved the way we played in the third period. It says a lot about a team when you don’t hang your head and you just keep playing.”
Cheshire (20-6) finally got on the board in the third period when Mark Laskin scored and Devin Kelly and Liam O’Dea also had goals for the Rams.
Cheshire goalie Ryan Miller, who had 34 saves in the Rams’ semifinal win over Amity, had 25 saves.
“We kind of hung him out to dry too many times,” Giusto said. “He made some big saves early on to keep it 3-0 after the first period. The scoreboard does not reflect his efforts tonight.”
Continue reading...
It was the date of the Division II state final and once again, Cheshire would face East Haven at Quinnipiac’s M&T Bank Arena.
The result was very different this time around, however – East Haven dominated top-seeded Cheshire, 7-3, to win its first title since 1998.
Shane Ruggiero and Lorenzo DeFilio each had two goals for second-seeded East Haven, which beat Cheshire earlier in the season 5-4.
“They came out with so much intensity, and I don’t think we did a great job matching it early on,” Giusto said. “We knew they had this game circled on the calendar a long time before they even knew if they were playing in it or we were playing in it.
“We knew they were going to come out with something to prove, we saw the way they played in the semifinals, nine goals against North Haven. They were very driven after last year. They outworked us, they outplayed us, they deserved this win tonight.”
Last year, Cheshire won the title 6-3 over East Haven and finished its best season ever at 24-1-1 but lost a number of key seniors from that team.
East Haven led 3-0 after the first period and 6-0 after two periods. The Yellowjackets outshot Cheshire 34-16.
“As much as we challenged them and told them, ‘You’re going to get punched and you got to punch back,’ we are a young team, and I thought that showed a little bit at times. especially early on when we didn’t match their speed and intensity,” Giusto said. “We kept battling throughout the game. I loved the way we played in the third period. It says a lot about a team when you don’t hang your head and you just keep playing.”
Cheshire (20-6) finally got on the board in the third period when Mark Laskin scored and Devin Kelly and Liam O’Dea also had goals for the Rams.
Cheshire goalie Ryan Miller, who had 34 saves in the Rams’ semifinal win over Amity, had 25 saves.
“We kind of hung him out to dry too many times,” Giusto said. “He made some big saves early on to keep it 3-0 after the first period. The scoreboard does not reflect his efforts tonight.”
Continue reading...
