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03/30/2015 12:00 AMThe Guilford boys’ ice hockey team saw success with getting back to the state tournament this winter and felt extra satifaction by using a workhorse mentality to reach the postseason.
After missing the playoffs the previous campaign, Head Coach Ralph Russo’s squad opened this season with an 0-4 record. Despite its sluggish start, Guilford recovered to go 9-6-1 the rest of the way in punching a ticket to the Division II State Tournament as a No. 12 seed and then losing to No. 5 Newington/Berlin/Manchester 3-1 in a hard-fought contest. Coach Russo explained that aside from achieving that clear-cut preseason goal, the Indians took it one step further by leaving it all on the ice.
“Our goal all year long was to be competitive. It’s nice to talk about state tournament appearances, but if you set the goals of being competitive and improving as the year goes on, then you will have a chance for the postseason,” said Russo, who was named the SCC/SWC DII Coach of the Year. “We knew we would be undermanned and that the upperclassmen would lead us in getting the younger guys acclimated. We had a little bit of a slow start at 0-4, yet they just got more effective as time went on.”
Coach Russo added that one shining feat which glared out to him through the Indians’ 21 contests was that the squad never gave up despite their limitations.
“In high school hockey, you can be an effective team if you are consistent and competitive on a steady basis and I liked the approach this team took in practice with competitive drills,” said Russo, whose team finished 9-11-1 overall and 3-6-1 in SCC/SWC DII. “They also showed it in games as the season wore on with a short bench. They became bound by the short bench and embraced the idea that we could win with it.”
The Indians were led by senior head captain and forward Jack Petrick (10 goals. 20 assists), who also garnered the team’s Sportsmanship and Hobey Baker awards, in addition to being named to the All-SCC/SWC DII Second Team. Petrick was unquestionably one of Guilford’s most selfless and dedicated leaders.
“Jack was a complete leader in the locker room and he worked with the other seniors and teammates to make sure things got done both on and off the ice, like making sure everyone had rides home from practices. He was definitely a character leader and effective on the ice,” Russo said. “Jack was one of the best face-off guys in the state, in my opinion. He was a great architect of getting the team ready for games and practices and always looked out for his teammates.”
Right there with Petrick were the other two members of the senior class and co-assistant captains in forward Kevin Gaudio and defenseman Ryan Brand. Brand also saw Second Team All-SCC recognition, along with sharing the squad’s Most Valuable Player honor and taking the Defensive MVP distinction.
“Kevin really showed maturity in his approach to the game because he was always working hard and showed a quiet passion every game. He never got off his game as, in our game against East Haven [a 4-3 win on Jan. 17], he scored the first goal, made a mistake that led to one of their goals, but he kept working and got the game-winner,” said Russo, whose team was penalized only 77 times with its opponents being sent to the box a combined 90 times this winter. “Ryan played like a warrior. Our last three games of the year, we played with three defensemen, so he played more than 35 minutes in each of the three. He had a great athleticism and passion. He was a pleasure to watch.”
Guilford, which scored 82 goals on the campaign and allowed 79, also boasted an upstart underclass that included All-SCC/SWC DII Third Team junior forward Chris Cafiero—the winner of the team’s High Scorer Award with 17 tallies and 19 assists—alongside junior forward Stephen Thibault, plus defender Matt Clifford and forward Alex Corso; sophomores in netminder and co-Team MVP Kyle Dwyer, forwards Austin Booth (sharing the Team Spirit Award with Thibault), and Rick Sandella (15 goals, 14 assists); plus freshman defenseman and Rookie of the Year Joe Neleber. Freshman defenders Kai Dowling and Tom Cattaneo also saw time on the ice. With such a plethora of young talent that grew into the varsity shoes this season, Coach Russo feels optimistic that the Indians can go one step beyond this year’s successes in 2015-’16.
“Our three freshmen defenders in Joe, Kai, and Tommy gained a lot of experience this year and will be effective next year. Matt Clifford increased his level of play as time went on and was able to match speed with his opponents,” Russo said. “Alex Corso was able to cover his wing, plus Thibault and Cafiero added a scoring punch. They were able to put a punch in net. Sandella also put a point production that was on par with top scorers in the area. Kyle was new to the sport and was in his first year as starting goalie, though he made a strong number of wins and saves to keep us in close games, such as a 3-1 loss to [DII state finalist] North Branford. I can’t say enough good things about him. Hhe really put the time into learning his position.”
While Russo and the Indians would’ve liked to drive deeper into the DII state bracket this year, the coach can look back on the season with a great deal of pride as he knows his boys held nothing back.
“I feel that our team played at a high and competitive level in each game and they can feel a sense of accomplishment with that. You hate to see a team lose games with that, but we can say that we worked hard every night,” said Russo. “You can’t control every bounce of the puck, yet you can control hard work and they worked as hard as they could.”