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03/04/2017 11:00 PMPlaying in its second conference final in program history, the Guilford boys’ ice hockey squad faced off against an opponent that had scored a decisive win over the Indians during the regular season. However, Guilford learned from that defeat and displayed great mental toughness in the rematch on its way to making school history.
The Indians entered the SCC/SWC Division II Tournament as the No. 3 seed after losing to Watertown-Pomperaug and Cheshire in the final week of the regular season. Still, Guilford came back to win its semifinal contest and advance to the final against top-seeded East Haven, which beat Guilford by seven goals back on Jan. 14. The conference final told a different story, however, as the Indians earned their first league crown with a 3-2 overtime win versus the Yellowjackets at Bennett Rink in West Haven on March 4. Sophomore forward John Delucia scored the winning goal just 23 seconds into overtime while Guilford was on the penalty kill.
“The game was a great team win. Everyone did their part and it started from Kyle Dwyer playing incredible in goal and our defense doing their job. Our forwards played well together and this all lead to an awesome win that is special for the program. It’s cool to be the team that won the first SCC championship for Guilford and nice knowing that all of our hard work in practice paid off,” said Delucia. “My linemates, Ricky Sandella and Jack Ring, had been working hard all game and we had been getting chances. I saw Ricky and Jack with the puck at the blue line, so I went to the net and the rebound fell onto my stick and hit it in. It was a great feeling and I can’t say enough about the work of my linemates and of this team to win this title.”
Delucia finished the game with two goals for Guilford. Fellow sophomore forward Jack Ring rounded out the Indians’ scoring, while also assisting on both of Delucia’s goals. Senior captain goalie Dwyer made 30 saves in the conference final and was named the SCC/SWC DII Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Guilford outshot East Haven 33-32 and that one extra shot made the difference in the win.
“It’s an unreal feeling winning SCCs. Kyle Dwyer proved to the state what we knew all year—he’s a great goaltender. It was an honor to bring home Guilford’s first league title. Our coaches are great coaches. They told us what had to be done, and we went out and executed,” said Sandella, a senior captain forward who assisted on Delucia’s first goal. “Guilford has had multiple teams with the potential to win this championship, so the fact that we won it today is breathtaking. I can’t thank enough the town and the students of the high school for all their support this year. We do it for them.”
Indians’ Head Coach Ralph Russo was equally enthused about his club’s landmark victory.
“It was really exciting to get the win tonight. The kids knew the opportunity was there to get the first league title,” Russo said. “It was a big challenge going against an East Haven team that had a convincing win over us earlier this year, yet the kids focused really well, and it was an exciting night.
The Yellowjackets (18-4) struck first on a power play score from Joe Lorello just 3:23 into the contest. The Indians (17-5) evened it up when Delucia scored a second-chance goal off a rebound with 7.5 seconds left before intermission. The first period ended in a 1-1 tie as Guilford had 12 shots on net to East Haven’s seven.
Following a scoreless second period, Ring found an open puck in the East Haven zone and took advantage by burying a goal to give Guilford a 2-1 lead 2:47 into the third. The Yellowjackets’ Joe Aloi tied the contest by scoring with a 5-on-3 advantage eight minutes later. East Haven outshot Guilford 14-2 for the period, but couldn’t get the go-ahead goal, and so the game went to an eight-minute, sudden-victory overtime session.
The Indians started overtime down a man after getting whistled for a penalty at the end of regulation. Just 23 seconds into OT, Delucia converted a shorthanded goal to give Guilford its first conference crown.
“A player was called on a tangle up in front of the net near the end of the third. It was a bad break for us, but I kept telling them to just get through the penalty kill. We had some great chances at even strength all game long, so it was a nice surprise,” said Coach Russo on the winning goal. “John had quality chances all night long and I could see before the overtime he was in deep thought in wanting those chances back. His teammates picked him up and he made the most of his chance.”
Two days earlier, the Indians earned a 2-1 win against No. 2 seed New Fairfield-Immaculate (NF-I) in the conference semifinals. Sandella scored 35 seconds into the game to give Guilford a 1-0 lead, after which Jack Kane scored at the 8:45 mark to make it a 2-0 score. Guilford was outshot 30-26, but Dwyer made 29 saves to set the tone for his dominant effort in net against East Haven.
“As good as Kyle played against NF-I, he played better tonight. When East Haven had a two-man advantage, he made some phenomenal saves against a high-scoring line. Winning tournament MVP speaks to the work he’s put in,” Coach Russo said. “He got great help from the defense. Joe Neleber made really good clearing plays, Cam Bagnall played an outstanding game, Jack Ring played strong defensive forward on the 5-on-3 penalty kill with disrupting East Haven, Jack Kane and Tom Cattaneo moved the puck efficiently. We had great back-checking tonight and great effort overall in this game.”
The Indians are the No. 4 seed in the Division II State Tournament and will open up at home at DiLungo Rink in East Haven against No. 13 Trumbull (8-11-1) in the first round on Tuesday, March 7 at 4 p.m. As thrilled as the Indians were to capture their conference championship, Coach Russo knows that they now have to focus forward on states in their quest to bring another trophy home to Guilford.
“We have a generally young team and the excitement was obvious in the locker room throughout the game. We talked in there about pushing through harder to get the win. I could see the passion in their eyes. It was a big moment, but we are going to enjoy this one, and re-gather ourselves,” Russo said. “Our losses this year made us realize that we had to work on team defense and getting pucks to the net quicker. We had chances to work on those things in this tournament and things went our way versus two contending teams. We feel great coming out of this game, but as a coach, I will tell them that we have to get back to work.”
From the Sidelines
Guilford’s only other previous conference final appearance came in the 2010-’11 season, when it took a 3-1 loss to Hand in the SCC Division II title tilt.
Senior captain forward Ricky Sandella was selected for All-SCC/SWC Division II First Team on behalf of Guilford this season. John Delucia and Jack Ring, both sophomore forwards, garnered Second Team honors.
Guilford finished the regular season at 15-5 overall with a record of 8-3 in SCC/SWC Division II.
The quarterfinals of the Division II State Tournament take place on Friday, March 10. The semifinals are on Monday, March 13 at either 5:30 or 7:30 p.m. at Ingalls Rink in New Haven. The final takes place at that same venue on Friday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m.