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02/15/2020 11:00 PMThe Yellowjackets' ice hockey team has qualified for the Division II State Tournament in each of the last 33 years. Head Coach Lou Pane's squad needs just one victory to make this season No. 34.
The East Haven co-op team holds a record of 7-8 on the campaign. With five games left in the regular season, the Easties are in hot pursuit of that eighth win that will guarantee them a place in the playoffs.
"We've been in 11 one-goal games. I think we have been playing decent defensive hockey," Coach Pane said about his club's play thus far. "We could use some more scoring, but all in all, we come out and give a great effort every night. No matter who we play, we are competitive."
The Yellowjackets have 25 athletes on their roster this season. Aside from East Haven, there are players from Morgan, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Valley Regional, and East Hampton who compete for the team. Although the Easties feature people from six different schools, Coach Pane views his squad as one cohesive unit.
"Players are players. It doesn't make a difference where they're from," said Pane. "You look at the private schools, and they have kids from more towns than we do. We're no different than what a private school is doing, fielding a team with all different players. We treat them all equal. It's no different than when we had all kids from East Haven."
The Yellowjackets have been dealing with multiple injuries and illnesses in their defensive unit this year. The team has been playing with just four and, at times, just three defensemen in the rotation.
Of those defensemen, junior captain Rocco Plano and sophomore Michael Robert have been seeing the most minutes. Plano is playing an average of 33 minutes per game, while Robert averages 28 minutes on the ice each night.
"They have been pretty much the mainstay. I give them a lot of credit," Coach Pane said. "They have the skill level we need on defense."
East Haven's last line of defense is senior goalkeeper Logan Hamilton. A captain, Hamilton has a goals-against average of 2.00 with a save percentage of .937 and two shutouts on the season.
Offensively, the Yellowjackets are led by senior captain Alec Speirs, who has recorded 15 points through the team's first 14 games. Speirs's linemate, junior Dave Amatruda, has 13 points this year.
East Haven started off the 2019-'20 season by winning just two of its first six contests. However, after earning a 2-1 victory at Division I opponent West Haven on Jan. 11, the Yellowjackets started to get things going. The team went on a four-game winning streak that included a 1-0 home victory against Cheshire along the way.
"Once we beat West Haven, we realized that we could beat anyone in the state," said Pane. "It's important to know that we can win."
Unfortunately for the Yellowjackets, their win streak came to an end when they took a 3-1 defeat to Woodstock Academy at Patsy DiLungo Ice Rink on Feb. 11. The game was tied at 1-1 entering the third period, where the Centaurs scored the go-ahead goal before sealing the win with an empty-netter late in the game. Sophomore Cory Benni scored East Haven's goal in the game.
The following evening, East Haven hosted Hall-Southington for another non-conference matchup and dropped a 3-2 decision in overtime. Senior Alec Speirs and sophomore Duncan Rider netted goals for the Easties.
"It was difficult, but hindsight is 20/20. You never look back. You look ahead," said Pane about the two losses. "These players are resilient. We're just preparing for that next game. That's where we are at."
That next game was a rematch for the Yellowjackets, who faced off against Woodstock Academy for the second time on the week on Feb. 15. Woodstock Academy came away with a 4-2 victory over East Haven at the Pomfret School, breaking open a close game by scoring an empty-net goal in the final minutes. Benni and Speirs had East Haven's goals in the game.
For the rest of the way this season, East Haven has home games against Hand, the Lyman Hall/Haddam-Killingworth/Coginchaug co-op, and Guilford, along with road games versus Branford and Sheehan. As his team strives for its 34th-straight playoff appearance, Coach Pane knows that his athletes are going to bring their best effort to the rink on a game-in, game-out basis.
"They work hard in practice, they work hard in the games, they compete every night," Pane said. "They don't let down no matter if they're playing a team that people might feel that they're better than us. They come to play every night."