The East Haven co-op boys' ice hockey team is coming off of a season that saw the squad finish with a record of 8-14 and earn a berth in the Division II State Tournament. With only four players having graduated from last year's roster, Head Coach Lou Pane is hopeful that the Yellowjackets' veteran presence will take them back to the top of the pack among Connecticut's Division II clubs.

The East Haven co-op features athletes from East Haven, Old Saybrook, Morgan, Valley Regional, East Hampton, and Old Lyme high schools. East Haven's Logan Hamilton, Joe Consiglio, and Shane Hanson all graduated from the team, as did Old Lyme's Alec Spiers. Hamilton and Speirs were team's captains, and Hamilton was also the starting goalie.

This season, the Yellowjackets will be led by a trio of senior captains in forward Dave Amatruda and defenseman Rocco Plano, who are both from East Haven, along with defenseman Cory Benni, an Old Saybrook student. Plano served as a junior captain for the Easties last season.

"All three of them are leaders on the ice. They always work hard in practice. They all have everything a coach could want in a player. All three of them—their work ethic is impeccable," Coach Pane said. "The underclassmen really look up to those guys and follow their lead. It's important that we got three quality captains. Those are the guys who have carried us in the past."

On the defensive side of the ice, East Haven is returning three juniors and a sophomore who each saw significant playing time last season. East Haven's Michael Robert, fellow juniors Dylan Ingram and Duncan Rider of Valley Regional, and Morgan sophomore Tyler Weinzimmer all made an impact last year and are slated to step into bigger roles alongside Plano and Benni on defense this winter.

East Haven is also adding senior defenseman Cam Grillo of Old Saybrook to its roster. Coach Pane said that Grillo is one of the premier defensemen in Connecticut and has the potential to play Division I hockey in college.

When it comes to offense, the Yellowjackets are returning East Haven senior Chad Feola, East Hampton junior Josh Berg, and East Hampton sophomore Nick Ruggiero at the forward position. Coach Pane said all three players will likely see minutes on the first two lines.

East Haven sophomores Joe Vocatura and Alan Schroeter are expected to play on the third and fourth lines. The Easties are also adding East Hampton senior Josh Penn to the forward mix.

With Hamilton having graduated, East Haven junior Ethan Roach is taking over the starting goalkeeper's role. Coach Pane described Roach as a technically sound goalie who has earned his opportunity to start between the pipes.

Pane believes that having so many returning players is crucial for his team in terms of both depth and experience. Through the first week of practice, Pane saw the Yellowjackets putting in a great effort in the ice, because they don't want to be overlooked this year.

"I feel like we got better and better each night. Our guys started to get their skating legs in. We're starting to make guys jell together," said Pane. "Our passes were a little off, but we'll only get better. You just saw the effort was really there. The guys are putting in a thousand percent. You know they're motivated to work hard and do the right things."

East Haven will begin its season by facing North Haven at Northford Ice Pavilion on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 8:30 p.m. The Yellowjackets have made states in 34-consecutive seasons, but there won't be any state tournaments this year, as conference tournaments will instead serve as the culmination of the 2021 campaign.

Coach Pane wants to Yellowjackets to take a game-by-game approach to the season. He knows that every contest is going to be a battle and that his team needs to work hard each night in order to come out on the winning side.

Pane is also emphasizing the importance of keeping everyone safe and healthy throughout the season. When it comes time for the puck to drop, he wants to see his team play balanced and be consistent in all phases of game.

"If you can have a full squad safe and healthy with the talent we have, you've got better chances against the competition. So, staying safe and healthy will be the first thing," Pane said. "We want to focus on a good balance throughout. We want to know that we can come into games and score three, four, five goals a game. Have a balanced defense and only give up a couple goals a game. Good goaltending. If we have good balance, we'll do very well."

With so many returning players, Coach Pane said that East Haven's goal is to win any league tournament that takes place at the of the season. Even more than winning, Pane is hoping that opposing teams know they are always in for a hard-fought battle whenever they have a matchup with the Yellowjackets.

"Other teams are going to know prior to playing us that they're facing a good hockey team. That's always the biggest compliment, knowing they've got East Haven tonight and they're going to be in a dogfight," said Pane. "When they leave the rink, we want them to understand how good a team they just played."