Printer Friendly Version - East Haven Boys’ Ice Hockey Secured 10 Wins as D2 State Quarterfinalist

Junior John D’Albero had four goals in the Yellowjackets’ boys’ ice hockey co-op squad’s 7-3 Division II State Tournament first round win over Guilford on March 7, prior to their quarterfinal loss to North Branford. Photo by Wesley Bunnell/The Courier

Senior co-captain Tyler Weinzimmer and the East Haven boys’ ice hockey co-op team defeated Guilford in the Division II State Tournament before falling 3-1 to North Branford in the quarterfinal round. Photo by Wesley Bunnell/The Courier

Once again, the East Haven boys’ ice hockey co-op team was one of the Sweet 16 with the opportunity to play for a Division II state crown. The Yellowjackets did not emerge with the hardware, though they depart from the 2022-’23 campaign knowing they left it all on the postseason ice.

As the 13th seed in the Division II State Tournament following a 9-8-2 regular season, the Yellowjackets, a team that features athletes who attend East Hampton, Morgan, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, and Valley Regional high schools, kicked off their 36th consecutive state tournament with a 7-3 victory over fourth-ranked rink rival Guilford at DiLungo Rink on March 7.

Then, in the quarterfinal round three days later against another conference foe in #12 North Branford, East Haven saw its season end at 10-9-2 overall with a 3-1 loss at Bennett Rink in West Haven. Despite the exit in the Round of 8, Head Coach Lou Pane was plenty proud of his squad’s progress in taking another leap forward.

“From the beginning of the year until now, they made remarkable improvement,” said Pane. “There was a lot of anticipation with that Guilford game because both teams returned to their home rink this year. To pull off a win versus a senior-laden Guilford team was huge. And then, to have a quarterfinal game within reach with about five minutes to go, it showed a lot about the character of the kids. We had so many positives this year to take the next step to the quarterfinal round. A lot of guys stepped up, and it was really rewarding to make the tournament again and be a touch from being a top four team in the state.”

The Yellowjackets struck first against Guilford when junior John D’Albero, off an assist from junior classmate Griffin McGlinchey, netted a goal 8:40 into the contest. Guilford then had the equalizer two minutes and nine seconds later to bring it to a 1-1 game at the first intermission.

In the second, East Haven regained the lead at 2-1 after senior co-captain Tyler Weinzimmer lit the lamp 4:05 into the middle stanza while freshman Nicholas Perillo had the helper. The Grizzlies again evened the contest just over a minute and a half later at 2-2.

Yet the Yellowjackets went to the locker room with a 4-2 edge after two D’Albero tallies at the 9:49 juncture (from McGlinchey) and with 52 seconds left (unassisted).

Finally, for the third, Guilford cut its deficit in half 86 seconds into the period. But ultimately, it would prove to be the Grizzlies’ final goal of the game because East Haven secured three unanswered scores from senior co-captain Allan Schroeter (at the 10:02 mark of the third from senior Nicolas Ruggiero), D’Albero (at 12:02 with McGlinchey and Perillo assists), and Perillo (at 14:24 with an empty-net goal) to punch its state quarterfinal ticket following the team’s first contest since Feb 26.

“Right off the bat, we gave them a couple days off in a row to recover,” said Coach Pane on the layoff from in-game action. “We took it a little bit at a time with the first practice back and then increased the effort day by day. We went through every aspect of Guilford’s game and watched their film and had a great map on them.”

Against North Branford in the Round of 8, the two sides stood scoreless after the initial period of play. With 10 minutes to play in the second period, the Thunderbirds found the game’s opening goal, which stood as the matchup’s score heading to the final 15 minutes of regulation.

D’Albero then evened the game for East Haven a minute into the third period. But then, with 4:34 left in the frame, North Branford took a scoring opportunity on a 5-on-3 advantage prior to later grabbing an insurance goal 50 seconds later to help send the T-Birds to the state semifinals.

For the regular season, East Haven defeated E.O. Smith-Tolland (4-0), Branford (6-2), Glastonbury (3-1), Eastern CT Eagles (4-1), Milford (7-1), SGWL (5-3), Sheehan (3-1), Lyman Hall (2-1), and Hand (3-0). The Yellowjackets took defeats against Cheshire (5-2), Amity (5-2), West Haven (3-2), Westhill-Stamford (4-2), Masuk (5-3), Guilford (6-5 in overtime), Woodstock Academy (5-3), and North Haven (8-3), plus they also tied against North Branford (1-1) and Watertown-Pomperaug (2-2).

“The Guilford win in states was huge, but beating Hand 3-0 was big,” said Pane. “They were on a roll at that time, and they also made the [Division II] state quarterfinals. Also, beating Branford was big, who made the [D-II] state semifinals. It resurrected us to a point where we knew we could beat the top teams in the state.”

Pane has now just concluded his 36th campaign with the Yellowjackets. He was assisted by coaches Ben Fronte, Bill Demetriades, and Geoffrey Marottolo.

The roster for the Yellowjackets’ 2022-2023 squad was comprised of seniors Jon-Paul Garea (of East Haven), Evan Giovanelli (East Hampton), Aidan Grillo (Old Saybrook), Dylan Ingram (Valley Regional), Giuseppe Monaco (East Haven), Matthew Penn (East Hampton), Nicholas Ruggiero (East Hampton), Allan Schroeter (East Haven), Joseph Vocatura (East Haven), Tyler Weinzimmer (Morgan); juniors of John D’Albero (East Haven), William Fleischer (Valley Regional), Cameron Green (East Haven), Griffin McGlinchey (Old Lyme), Dominic Perillo (East Haven), Joshua Salvati (East Haven), Michael Savo (East Haven), Robert Testa (East Haven); sophomores with Christopher Anderson (Old Lyme), William Demetriades (East Haven), Benedict Frazier (Old Lyme), Cameron LaCroix (East Haven), Salvatore Plano (East Haven), Dilan Robert (East Haven), Quinn Sprankle (Old Lyme), Tanner Walsh (East Haven); and finally freshmen Shane Ruggiero (East Hampton), and Nicholas Perillo (East Haven).

In his parting thoughts on the campaign, Pane boasted about not only the efforts of the boys in the locker room but also championed the home crowd in the program’s return to DiLungo Rink.

“It meant a lot to be back at our home rink this year,” Coach Pane said. “It was nice to have a more stable setting. There were no more practices at 9:40 at night at Northford and then trying to prepare for the next day. Winter is the longest high school sports season, so it takes a toll on your body. The fan support was excellent this year. The crowds at our states games were great because it took our community together as a whole to support a positive thing. The boys did it the right way this year and became one big family.”