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03/24/2019 12:00 AMThe Guilford boys’ ice hockey team entered the 2018-’19 season with several uncertainties. However, the Indians answered those questions by playing with heart and hustle, while developing a solid foundation for the future. When the final horn sounded, Guilford had totaled 15 victories in a campaign that featured a great deal of growth.
Guilford finished with a record 14-6 during the regular season, rattling off a nine-game winning streak that spanned from Dec. 27 through Feb. 2. After that, Indians took a loss to Branford in SCC/SWC Division II Tournament semifinals in a game that came down to a shootout.
Guilford then entered the Division II State Tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Indians defeated No. 15 seed Amity by a 5-1 score, before dropping a 4-3 overtime decision against No. 10 Farmington Valley in the quarterfinals. Head Coach Ralph Russo’s club finished its season with an overall record of 15-8.
“When you start the year, you always start with some question marks, and we did this year again. We returned veterans, but lost a lot of players to graduation, including our goalie,” said Russo. “It was great to see the kids come in with a competitive attitude. The kids really worked hard all year and kept battling back. This whole season, we had a great core of kids, which led to exciting hockey.”
Senior captain forward John DeLucia capped off his high school career with 270 points after recording 34 goals and 36 assists this season. DeLucia was named to the First Team for both the All-Conference and All-State squads. He was also selected as the SCC/SWC Division II Player of the Year and the state’s Division II Player of the Year.
Fellow senior forward Jake Watrous had 15 goals with 36 assists, finishing his Indians’ tenure with more than 100 points. Watrous was honored with All-SCC/SWC Division II Second Team accolades this year.
Assistant captain Mike Letourneau and fellow defenseman Greg Litvyn, forward Xander Mason-Mann, and goalie Alex Attruia rounded out Guilford’s successful senior class. The Indians posted a record of 72-24, won two conference titles, and also claimed a state championship throughout a stellar run these past four seasons.
“It will be sad to see this senior class leave. They were a part of a lot of exciting hockey,” Coach Russo said. “Alex showed improvement all year in goal. He worked hard to battle through injuries. Mike had a great work ethic and increased playing time as a great assistant captain. Greg showed improvement on defense. Xander helped behind the scenes with his team spirit. Jake contributed more and more every year as an unselfish player. John had a storied high school career. They set a good bar for future teams to shoot for.”
The Indians’ underclassmen followed the seniors’ lead, headlined by junior forward Jack Dacey, who scored 39 goals and recorded eight hat tricks. Dacey made the Second Team for both All-Conference and All-State. Guilford also received key contributions from forward EJ Vickerman and fellow junior Tyler Considine, a defenseman who was in his first season on the team.
Guilford featured a few sophomore stalwarts on defense with Shea Thibault, who had 16 goals and 13 assists; along with Steven Tortora. Freshman forward Connor Hagness enjoyed a nice rookie season by scoring 16 goals to go with 12 assists.
“Jack had a great year and already broke the 100-point career barrier as a junior. We had nice contributions from EJ and Tyler,” Russo said. “Steven was a versatile player, and his strength was on defense and logged a lot of time there. Shea was our most offensive defenseman. Connor was a great competitor, as well.”
Guilford stood at a crossroads with a record of 2-2 through the first four games of its campaign. The Indians used the fire inside them to take a turn for the good and ultimately become an offensive powerhouse that put plenty of wins in the books.
“We had an exciting start to the year with a win over a Division I team in West Haven. We hit a couple of bumps and were 2-2 at one point. Then we hit our stride to get a nine-game winning streak going,” said Coach Russo. “We worked on team defense and maintained a high scoring production. We were disappointed we didn’t advance in states, but they put their best foot forward, and left it all out on the ice.”
From the Sidelines
The Guilford boys’ ice hockey team’s varsity roster featured senior captain John DeLucia, senior assistant captain Mike Letourneau, and fellow seniors Jake Watrous, Greg Litvyn, Xander Mason-Mann, and Alex Attruia; juniors EJ Vickerman, Jack Dacey, and Tyler Considine; sophomores Steven Tortora, Zach Sperry, Shea Thibault, Matt Corso, and Ethan Bertrand; and freshmen Gavyn Litvyn, Thomas Booth, Connor Hagness, and James Murray.
This was Ralph Russo’s 18th season as head coach of the Indians. Bill Graves was the assistant coach for Guilford this winter.
During the regular season, Guilford earned two wins versus West Haven (8-7 and 5-4) and the Eastern CT Eagles (9-8 in OT and 7-4), in addition to one victory apiece against E.O. Smith (9-6), Yarmouth, Maine (7-1), St. Joseph (10-6), North Branford (8-6), East Haven-Old Lyme-Old Saybrook-East Hampton-Morgan-Valley Regional (5-1), Watertown-Pomperaug (5-3), Amity (5-2), Hand (8-6), Farmington Valley (6-5 in OT), and North Haven (6-3). The Indians’ losses came against Hand (5-4), Watertown-Pomperaug (3-1), New Fairfield-Immaculate (5-3), Branford (5-0), Cheshire (5-3), and Westhill-Stamford (7-3).