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03/19/2019 12:00 AMThe Branford boys’ ice hockey team has been one of the state’s top squads in the Division II ranks for several years. This year, the Hornets took the final step by proving that they are unquestionably Connecticut’s elite Division II team. Branford solidified that achievement with a 2-0 victory versus Glastonbury in the championship game of the Division II State Tournament at Ingalls Rink on March 18.
The Hornets have generated some excellent results in recent seasons, winning conference championships in 2012, 2014, and 2015. However, Branford was unable to grab the brass ring and claim a state title in any of those years. Entering this season, the last time the Hornets had won a state championship was in 1988.
Branford brought that drought to an end this winter by putting together a multi-banner campaign that saw the Hornets capture both their conference and state crowns. First, Branford won the SCC/SWC Division II Tournament, rallying from a three-goal deficit to beat Guilford in a shootout in the semis, followed by a 2-1 win against Watertown-Pomperaug in the final.
Then in the Division II State Tournament, the Hornets tore through the bracket by winning all four games by multiple goals, capping their run with a shutout over Glastonbury in the title bout. Head Coach Jim DiNapoli’s club finished the year with an overall record of 20-3-3 after winning its last 12 matchups.
“To win an SCC championship and a state championship in the same season is a hard thing to do. It’s a tough task, and it was really special to do it,” Coach DiNapoli said. “It’s something we were targeting, it’s something we thought we could achieve, and I’m really proud that we were able to achieve both of those goals. It all came down to the commitment level of the team and their ability to get it done.”
No. 4 seed Branford and 6th-seeded Glastonbury faced off with the state title at stake at “The Whale” in downtown New Haven. The Hornets had taken a 4-0 loss to Glastonbury during the regular season, but the rematch in the final told a much different story. Following two scoreless periods, Branford netted a pair of goals in the third to defeat the Tomahawks and secure the Division II title.
Junior Spencer Engstrom gave the Hornets a 1-0 lead when he scored on an assist from fellow junior Jake Rivera with 11:24 remaining. Branford hung on to its one-goal edge until junior Jack Manware put the game away by scoring an empty-net goal to make it 2-0 with 32 seconds to play. Junior Max Manware and Engstrom had the assists. Sophomore goalie Jared Yakimoff made 20 saves for the Hornets, who outshot Glastonbury 22-20 for the game and by a 9-6 margin in the third period.
Senior captain Max Bunton said it was a surreal feeling to leave Ingalls Rink with the state championship. While Glastonbury presented a formidable challenge, Bunton’s club came away with the win by playing a great game on both ends of the ice, especially during the decisive final frame.
“We played really strong defense and blocked a lot of shots and, when we got our opportunity on offense, we capitalized,” said Bunton. “Glastonbury came on strong, and they’re a solid team, but we were deeper with stronger players, and came out with the win.”
Branford and Glastonbury (14-8-2) both took a few penalties during a first period that saw each team thwart a 5-on-3 power play by the other side. On one of those penalties, Glastonbury was whistled for a five-minute major for kneeing that forced Hornets’ junior Chris Donadio to leave the game with an injury. Glastonbury took another penalty a few minutes later, giving Branford a two-man advantage for 38 seconds, although the Tomahawks killed it off. Yakimoff made a clutch save on a breakaway to prevent Glastonbury from scoring a shorthanded goal on the power play. With Donadio out, Coach DiNapoli put senior captain Robbie Lionetti on defense and had junior Zach Jones move up to the top two forward lines.
Later in the first period, the Hornets were called for two penalties within a 20-second span, resulting in a 5-on-3 advantage for Glastonbury for the next 1:40. Branford’s penalty kill was true to the task and kept the Tomahawks off the board as the game went to the second period in a scoreless stalemate.
“We’ve had a great penalty kill all year. We kept shots to the outside, blocked shots, and just gutted it out. It was great to see,” DiNapoli said. “There was no panic. They knew they could do it, and they got it done, just like they did all year.”
Five minutes into the second period, Yakimoff came up with another big save by stopping a point-blank shot from the Tomahawks. The Hornets were called for a penalty later in the frame, but they killed off this one, too, setting the stage for a dramatic third period.
Branford came out of the locker room with gusto for the final stanza. The Hornets started to gain the upper hand by swarming to the puck and putting pressure on Glastonbury goalie Brendan O’Connor, who made a save on a shot by Bunton three minutes in. About 30 seconds later, Engstrom took a pass from Rivera and weaved his way down the ice, slipping past a few Glastonbury defenders, before beating O’Connor to his upper-left for a goal that gave Branford a 1-0 advantage.
“I came down and went to the left side, saw their kid was screening his own goalie, and just shot it to the right. It was a great shot, and I was thankful that it went in,” said Engstrom, an alternate captain who also scored the go-ahead goal in the third period of Branford’s 2-1 win in the conference final. “We had to make sure that everyone knew the game wasn’t over and that they could still come back, but we had a lot of adrenaline.”
Indeed, the energy level on Branford’s bench went off the charts following Engstrom’s goal. However, there was still 11:24 to play, and so the Hornets needed to contain both themselves and the Glastonbury attack. The Tomahawks hampered their cause when they took a penalty less than a minute after Engstrom lit the lamp. When the teams returned to even strength, Glastonbury pressed to get the equalizer, although Branford limited the Tomahawks’ scoring opportunities, and Yakimoff stood tall by making the save whenever they did get one.
Glastonbury took a timeout with 1:49 to go. Following the timeout, the Tomahawks pulled their goalie for an extra skater, leaving their net wide open. Glastonbury kept the puck in the Hornets’ zone, but couldn’t get a clean shot on Yakimoff. Max Manware blocked a couple of shots for Branford during the frenzy of the final minutes. As time ticked down, Jack Manware got his stick on the puck and flicked it home for an empty-net goal that sealed the win by giving Branford a 2-0 lead with just 32 seconds left. When the final horn sounded, it became official: The Hornets were Division II state champions.
“I’m just really proud of the group. They’ve worked hard from day one,” Coach DiNapoli said. “It was their collective goal as a group. They set a goal to win SCCs and win a state title, and they were able to achieve their goals. To say it at the beginning of the year is one thing, but to go out and execute it for 26 games is an outstanding effort on their part.”
Bunton knew that Branford had what it took to reach the Division II mountaintop this winter. The fact that he got to take the journey alongside such a dedicated collection of teammates made the experience even more memorable for the senior captain.
“All the boys were super close this year. We came together as a family and committed to each other,” Bunton said. “I wouldn’t have wanted to do it with anyone else.”
The Hornets demonstrated their commitment to one another following a 3-0 loss versus Conard in early February. It was night where things just weren’t clicking and emotions started running high for the Hornets. Coach DiNapoli talked to his captains about the direction they wanted the team to take the rest of the way. After that discussion, everyone on the squad doubled down on the mission to bring a pair of championships to Branford. The Hornets didn’t lose another game.
“They never let up from that point on. It was their commitment to play together and overcome any adversity that came their way. They decided that it’s not the individual things, but a complete team effort, that will help us win,” said DiNapoli. “It’s just a special group of kids. I couldn’t be prouder of them, and I couldn’t be happier for them. They were destined to be a group you will never forget.”
From the Sidelines
The athletes on the Branford boys’ ice hockey team are senior captains Max Bunton and Robbie 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 was 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 finished its regular season with an overall record of 14-3-3 and also went 6-1 in SCC Division II to win the division title. The Hornets posted two victories over Lyman Hall/Haddam-Killingworth/Coginchaug (5-3 and 8-5), as well as 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 against North Haven (2-2), New Fairfield-Immaculate (2-2), and the Eastern CT Eagles (2-2). The Hornets took losses against Glastonbury (4-0), Watertown-Pomperaug (4-1), and Conard (3-0).
Branford claimed its fourth conference title in program history by winning the Southern Connecticut Conference/South-West Conference Division II Tournament this year. The top-seeded Hornets recorded a 5-4 (3-2 in a shootout) victory versus No. 4 Guilford in the semifinals and claimed a 2-1 win against No. 2 Watertown-Pomperaug in the championship game.
In the Division II State Tournament, the 4th-seeded Hornets posted a 6-2 victory over No. 13 seed Woodstock Academy in the first round, notched a 3-1 win against No. 5 South Windsor in the quarterfinals, routed No. 9 Wethersfield-Middletown-Rocky Hill-Pomperaug 6-1 in the semis, and earned a 2-0 shutout over No. 6 Glastonbury in the final to finish the year at 20-3-3 overall.
Branford had last won a state title in 1988, when the Hornets defeated Shepaug Valley by a 5-3 score in the Division II final. In 2012, Branford advanced to the Division II final and took a 5-3 defeat versus Trumbull.
Jack Manware won 18 of his 25 face-offs to help Branford defeat Glastonbury in this year’s Division II state championship game.