March 22, 2023 / By mobanmarket
HAMDEN, CT — Prior to this season, Masuk High School had never won a state ice hockey championship, and in fact, had only made one previous appearance in the title game. That all changed Monday night at the M&T Bank Arena at Quinnipiac University, when the Panthers parlayed three goals from Andrew Scalia into a 6-3 victory over the defending champion Newington co-op team in the Division III finals.
Scalia opened the scoring just 1:33 into the contest, assisted by Nick Kondub. Newington tied it at 1-1 just 21 seconds later on a goal by Josh Beaudoin, but the Panthers took the lead back just past the midway point of the opening period when Kondub finished off a nifty three-way passing play between himself, Scalia and Luke Kondub.
Just 1:29 into the second period, Nate Thomas tied it for the Nor’easters, assisted by Harrison Ranger. A minute later, Angelo Michetti broke in alone on Newington goaltender Jeremy Wagner, but his shot sailed wide of the net.
Scalia put the Panthers back in front to stay with 3:37 left before the second intermission, stealing a pass and executing some fancy stickwork before beating Wagner. He completed his hat trick with less than two minutes remaining in the period, converting passes from Nick Kondub and Austin Braiewa to give Masuk a 2-goal advantage after 30 minutes.
Click Here: st george illawarra dragons shirt
Kyle Sutfin added an insurance tally early in the third period, poking in a loose puck from beside the Newington net. Nor’easters coach Dave Harackiewicz pulled his goalkeeper in favor of a sixth attacker with 2:47 to play, but Michetti scored into the empty net to seal the championship for the Panthers.
Josh Grimm scored in the final second for Newington, as Masuk had already begun celebrating their title.
Newington had been seeking its fourth state title overall.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
Categories: