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02/25/2017 11:00 PMFor the second straight season, the Blades girls’ ice hockey squad faced off against West Haven-Sacred Heart Academy (WH-SHA) with the SCC Division II title on the line. Unfortunately for the Blades, they came up one win shy of defending their title by taking a 4-1 loss in the SCC DII Tournament final at Bennett Rink in West Haven on Feb. 24.
WH-SHA recorded the game’s first two scores before senior captain Kylie Degrand’s goal made it 2-1 after the opening period. However, WH-SHA netted an insurance goal in the second period and sealed the win by converting an empty-netter in the waning seconds of the third.
Amity-North Haven-Cheshire Head Coach John Peschell felt that his team played progressively better in its three meetings against WH-SHA this season. The Blades lost 4-1 in the first matchup on Jan. 12, but then played WH-SHA to a 0-0 tie on Feb. 18, despite getting outshot 58-25. In the SCC final, the Blades put 27 shots on net and WH-SHA had 28.
“Our goalie Andrea DelVecchio saved us in [the scoreless tie]. West Haven was stronger than us through the whole game, but this was a more evenly matched game. Both teams had great scoring opportunities and West Haven just capitalized on theirs. We came up a little short and just couldn’t put the puck in the net,” said Peschell, whose squad finished 14-7-1. “It was an even game. They’re a great team and their coach, Erin Blake, had them well prepared for everything we threw at them.”
WH-SHA (18-2-2) got on the board just 3:30 into the game when Taylor Nowak scored a goal. Nowak found the back of the net again three minutes later and it was 2-0. Midway through the frame, the Blades cut the deficit in half when senior captain Degrand, a North Haven student, scored on an assist from Cheshire sophomore Meaghan Hogan to make it 2-1.
It stayed that way until the second minute of the second period, when Nowak completed her hat trick by scoring her third goal of the night. Trailing by two entering the final frame, the Blades kept pressing and had some opportunities to make it a one-goal game again. Amity freshman Tess Csejka had a good look at the net, but was denied by WH-SHA goalie Tatum Courtmanche to preserve the two-score advantage. With 31 seconds left in the game, Brooke McNabola scored on an empty net to clinch the conference title for WH-SHA. The Blades didn’t take a penalty in the game, but they were unable to score on either of their power play opportunities.
“In the second period, I felt we were kind of on our heels, didn’t play that well, and they even took it to us,” Peschell said. “But in the third period, we really responded well, played really hard, and had a couple of great scoring chances...We just didn’t catch a break and put the puck in the net. I felt if we got it to 3-2, we could put pressure on them and get back in the game.”
While Peschell and his athletes felt disappointed to lose in the SCC final, the first-year head coach was pleased with the sum total of the club’s campaign. The Blades were 6-5 in the middle of January before winning seven of their final nine regular season games, including victories versus SCC Division I stalwarts like Simsbury and three-time DI champion East Catholic-Glastonbury-South Windsor. Along the way, the Blades endured a taxing stretch of seven games in seven days prior to the SCC final, capping it with a 4-1 win over Hand in the semifinals of the tournament.
“It was a very good season overall. We struggled early and struggled to score goals all year—we had to work hard to score every goal—but East Catholic and Simsbury are two top teams in the SCC, and we had never beaten them, so those were some really big wins,” Peschell said. “We had some tough losses early that kept us out of the State Tournament, but we avenged our loss to Hand [by beating the Tigers twice after losing the first meeting], and played three great games with West Haven-Sacred Heart Academy. So overall, I felt the season was a success, even though we did fall short of our goals. It was a lot of fun. This is a great group of kids.”
From the Sidelines
Prior to the SCC Division II Tournament final, the Blades skated to a 4-1 win versus Hand in the semis at The Rinks at Shelton on Feb. 20. Freshman Melissa Montesi netted the first goal from fellow North Haven student Shannon Reilly, a sophomore, for a 1-0 lead in the opening period. After Hand tied the game, Kiley Degrand scored from Meaghan Hogan a few minutes later and the Blades led 2-1 after one. In the second period, Montesi assisted Tess Csejka for a goal that made it 3-1. Reilly put a bow on the victory by scoring from Montesi and senior captain Jena Casman, an Amity student, for the 4-1 final.
This year marked John Peschell’s fifth season with the Blades and was his first as their head coach. Peschell was assisted by Scott Whyte, who was the previous head coach, and Kate Mrowka.
The North Haven students who played for the Blades this year were senior captain Degrand; juniors Kyla DelVecchio, Maryssa Racino, and Jamie Fredericks; sophomores Reilly, Jackie Howlett, and Katelyn St. Peter; and freshman Montesi. St. Peter started six games in net and won all six games for the Blades this season.