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03/02/2019 11:00 PMThe Branford boys’ ice hockey team pulled off an improbable comeback to advance to the championship game of the SCC/SWC Division II Tournament. When the Hornets arrived in the final, they made good on their appearance and took the title by earning another nail-biting victory. Branford claimed the crown with a 2-1 win versus Watertown-Pomperaug (W-P) in the conference final at Bennett Rink in West Haven on March 2.
Branford entered the SCC/SWC Division II Tournament as the No. 1 seed after posting a record of 14-3-3 during the regular season. To open the tourney, the Hornets went up against No. 4 seed Guilford in a semifinal matchup at Bennett Rink on Feb. 28. Branford trailed 4-1 with about nine minutes left in the game, but tied it up by scoring three straight goals to make it 4-4. The game stayed that way through the rest of regulation, sending it to a shootout. The Hornets won the shootout by a 3-2 margin to get the 5-4 win and move on to the final.
Two days later, Branford faced No. 2 seed Watertown-Pomperaug for the conference title and used a pair of power-play goals to emerge victorious. With the game tied 1-1, junior Spencer Engstrom scored the go-ahead goal on assists from fellow juniors Jack Manware and Blake Kustra to give Branford the lead with 8:08 to play. The Hornets hung on for the 2-1 win to solidify their fourth conference championship in program history.
Sophomore goalie Jared Yakimoff made 22 saves for Branford and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. Head Coach Jim DiNapoli’s squad went on to earn a 6-2 win versus Woodstock Academy in the first round of the Division II State Tournament to improve to 17-3-3 overall.
“Two things we’ve been targeting since the beginning of the year were to compete for the conference championship and, hopefully, the state championship. Those are two goals that we set, and it’s good to see,” said DiNapoli, whose team has won eight games in a row. “They are just a group of kids that don’t want to accept a loss. They work real hard, they’re committed to each other, and it’s showing in their play. They’re a fun group.”
Junior Jack Manware got Branford on the board when he scored a power-play goal just 3:44 into conference final. A few minutes after that, Yakimoff came up with a big save after W-P (16-4-2) had pulled its goalie for an extra skater following a delayed penalty call. Later in the period, the Indians scored the tying goal to make it a 1-1 game with 2:01 to play. W-P appeared to have scored another goal with 37 seconds left in the period. However, the referees disallowed it, because it was ruled that the net came off of its moorings, keeping the score tied. Yakimoff made 11 saves for the Hornets in the frame.
In the second period, Branford went on the power play when the Indians were whistled for a penalty with 7:43 remaining. The Hornets took a penalty right after that, putting W-P on the power play. Branford killed off the penalty to keep the game tied at 1 with a little more than 3:30 to go in the second. Yakimoff made two huge stops for Branford during the final minutes of the period. The Hornets took a penalty late to give W-P a power play entering the third.
Branford thwarted the Indians’ power play, and the score stayed deadlocked during the early stages of the last stanza. With 8:08 remaining in the game, Engstrom gave Branford a 2-1 advantage when he scored a power-play goal on helpers from Manware and Kustra. In the final minutes of regulation, Branford was called for a penalty, which, coupled with the Indians pulling goalkeeper Ryan Fleming (20 saves) for another skater, resulted in a 6-on-4 advantage for W-P with just 55.8 seconds to go. The Hornets hunkered down on defense, prevented the Indians from getting the tying goal, and walked off the ice with the conference title in their grasp.
Branford had previously taken a 4-1 loss versus Watertown-Pomperaug during the regular season. The two teams could potentially meet again in the Division II State Tournament semifinals.
“Watertown is an outstanding team. They’re so strong defensively and came out strong offensively, too. It was a good win,” said Coach DiNapoli. “I think we just committed to some good team defense. Jared had a strong game in net, and the kids fed off the saves he made. It was a defensive battle on both ends, and we were just fortunate to come out on top.”
DiNapoli was also glad that Branford scored two power-play goals after the Hornets had made the man-advantage a point of emphasis during recent practices.
“That was really big for us. We’ve been struggling on the power play throughout the season, so we’ve been working on it a lot lately, and it paid off tonight,” DiNapoli said. “We were patient with the puck and had good passes and good movement to get some pucks to the net.”
Semifinal Shootout
Branford had reached the SCC/SWC Division II Tournament final by rallying for a 5-4 victory (3-2 in a shootout) over Guilford in the semis. Following a scoreless first period, senior Rob Lionetti scored a goal to give Branford a 1-0 lead with 7:36 remaining in the second. Guilford’s Jack Dacey tied the game with 6:20 to play in the frame and then gave the Indians a 2-1 lead when he scored another goal with 1:36 remaining. Just 28 seconds into the third period, Dacey scored his third goal of the game to give Guilford a 3-1 advantage. About four minutes later, John DeLucia scored to increase the Indians’ lead to 4-1 with 10:25 to go in the game.
Manware got the Hornets’ comeback started when he scored off an assist from Kustra to make it 4-2 with 9:13 remaining. Three minutes later, Engstrom scored from fellow junior Zach Jones to cut it to 4-3. Manware tied it up when he scored on an assist by Kustra with just 3:01 to play. The game remained in a 4-4 stalemate through the rest of regulation. In lieu of an overtime period, Branford and Guilford went to a shootout to determine the winner.
Dacey scored the first goal of the shootout, but Lionetti promptly tied it up by netting a goal for Branford. After DeLucia’s goal put Guilford up 2-1, Manware scored for the Hornets to knot the score at 2-2. Yakimoff made a save to deny Guilford’s Shea Thibault on the Indians’ next attempt. Kustra followed by scoring a goal to give Branford a 3-2 lead. With the Hornets on the verge of the final, Yakimoff came up with another save to turn aside Guilford’s Jake Watrous and secure the victory. Yakimoff had made 39 saves for Branford during regulation.
“That game was a great example of the character that we’re showing,” Coach DiNapoli said. “That second goal just ignited us, and we really carried the play for the next six or seven minutes to put those two other pucks in the net. It was a great comeback against a dangerous offensive team.”
Earlier in the week, Branford posted a 5-2 road victory versus Hand in its regular-season finale at Northford Ice Pavilion on Feb. 25.
Branford opened play in the Division II State Tournament as the No. 4 seed this week. The Hornets hosted No. 13 seed Woodstock Academy for a first-round game at Northford Ice Pavilion on March 4 and prevailed by a 6-2 final. Branford will play the winner of No. 5 South Windsor and No. 12 North Branford in the quarterfinals on Friday, March 8. The semis are at Ingalls Rink in New Haven on Tuesday, March 12, and the Division II state final takes place at that same site on Monday, March 18 at 7 p.m.
From the Sidelines
The Branford boys’ ice hockey team’s roster features senior captains Max Bunton and Rob Lionetti; fellow seniors Greg Lucente, Theo Kirby, and Eli Schlesinger; junior alternate captain Spencer Engstrom; fellow juniors Chris Donadio, Jack Manware, Max Manware, Zach Jones, Blake Kustra, and Jake Rivera; sophomores Billy Linder, Declan Ross, Finnegan Thompson, Sawyer Moriarty, Connor Erickson, and Jared Yakimoff; and freshman Dominic Viscuso.
This is Jim DiNapoli’s third year as Branford’s head coach and his sixth season with the program. DiNapoli’s assistant coaches are Zach Boorman and Chris Annino.
Branford posted an overall record of 14-3-3 during the regular season and also won the SCC Division II title by notching a mark of 6-1 in divisional action. The Hornets recorded two victories against Lyman Hall/Haddam-Killingworth/Coginchaug (5-3 and 8-5), along with one win apiece versus West Haven (2-0), Milford (5-0), Cheshire (5-1), Amity (5-1), Conard (4-2), North Branford (9-3), Wethersfield-Middletown-Rocky Hill-Plainville (4-0), Guilford (5-0), New Milford (3-1), North Haven (3-1), East Haven-Old Lyme-Old Saybrook-East Hampton-Morgan-Valley Regional (4-1), and Hand (5-2). Branford also earned ties versus North Haven (2-2), New Fairfield-Immaculate (2-2), and the Eastern CT Eagles (2-2).
Branford won its three prior conference titles in 2012, 2014, and 2015. The Hornets also played in the conference final in 1999, 2007, and 2013.