Nighthawk Skaters Believe Multi-School Opponents Have Unfair Advantage

By Andy Hutchison

Newtown High School’s hockey team, in effect, was shorthanded almost every time it hit the ice, even when there weren’t any penalties — at least, that’s the way NHS Coach Paul Esposito felt this season.

The Nighthawks were one of just five single-school teams to compete among 20 Division III squads this past winter. The other 15 comprised players from two or three schools. That’s something that doesn’t sit well with Esposito, who believes that some school coaches are abusing the co-op opportunity — making for a not-so-level playing field (or should we say ice surface?).

What’s more, Esposito believes that the point system for out-of-state games some teams played gave teams with less in-Connecticut wins an unfair seedings advantage in the postseason.

Newtown, Joel Barlow, Sheehan and Northwest Catholic were the only teams among 12 in the Division III State Tournament to not include two or three schools. Masuk is the other single-school team in D-III.

Newtown, after beating Rocky Hill-RHAM-Middletown in the first round of the playoffs, was eliminated by Windsor-East Granby-Avon in the quarterfinals. Esposito noted that most teams have at least a handful more players than his. Watertown-Pomperaug, for example, has 14 skaters from each school, Esposito said. Newtown’s team, in reality, has more players than some co-op teams do. But the fact is, with 20 skaters, the Nighthawks are behind in numbers compared to most of their foes, Esposito says.

Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) officials mandate that co-ops may include schools with 15 or fewer skaters and three-team co-ops may have no more than 30 players. CIAC officials Fred Balsamo, George Hall and Joe Tonelli point out that 15 is the bare minimum number of players a high school team should have and that it is rare that both schools, or three schools comprising a co-op, include a total of 30 players.

But Esposito argues that coaches and parents of teams with 15 or so players should work harder to build their own programs.

“It’s frustrating for many of us that are working hard to develop our own programs,” said Esposito, who has been involved with youth hockey in the area for many years, and is hoping to establish a junior varsity team at Newtown High as interest and numbers of players from town continue to grow.

“I consider us an underdog when you play some of these teams,” the coach said. “Where’s the fairness when you face a team that’s got twice the numbers? You’re basically playing an all-star team from three different schools.”

A rule is a rule, but Esposito also claims that coaches are bending the rules and taking advantage of the honor system in reporting information about incoming freshmen.

The regulations for schools applying for co-op status indicate that coaches must report numbers of expected incoming freshmen and that cuts are not allowed to be made. Esposito claims that some coaches are asking freshmen to not try out and, instead, stay with their travel teams for one more season — thus enabling their schools to join forces with other schools and create stronger programs comprising solely older players.

The Newtown coach isn’t alone. Shepaug-Litchfield Coach Michael Gorra has heard through the hockey grapevine — from some parents — that there are co-op team coaches asking freshmen to not play for their high school team. This is essentially like making a cut, which is against the co-op team rules, Gorra notes. He adds that, perhaps, there needs to be a procedure in place to prevent coaches from beating the system this way — if, in fact, it is happening, Gorra argues. The problem lies, Gorra points out, in proving that this is actually happening and in determining how to regulate it.

Gorra’s co-op scenario is necessary for the team to have enough players to have multiple lines. He has eight skaters from Shepaug High and four from Litchfield. His team was winless this past campaign. The coach is looking to pick up a third school to give his team enough players for next year. For obvious reasons, he’s a proponent of the co-op opportunity.

“They’d have nowhere to play, and that’s the point of it,” Gorra points out, adding that he believes it’s not a perfect science.

“There are teams out there that are co-ops and have more kids from one school than I have on my co-op team,” Gorra added.

There are a lot of factors that go into co-ops and where they are placed — among the state’s three divisions: I, II, and III. Geographic locations of schools, numbers of players, and success on the ice all come into play in the CIAC’s decisions.

“We allow it to happen to provide opportunities for kids,” said Balsamo, a member of the CIAC’s co-op committee and the executive director of athletic directors for the state.

Tonelli, the director of the CIAC officials association, points out that meetings are held each year to consider which teams belong in which division and which schools should be accepted into co-op status. Generally, schools are granted co-op status for a two-year period in order to encourage the prospective players to participate.

CIAC officials point out that if a team is given only a season of co-op status, it may turn some players away as they wouldn’t know if they would be part of a team for multiple winters. Co-ops are disbanded when the numbers get too high.

The Staples-Weston-Shelton team, another D-III squad, won 14 games, earned the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, and reached the championship game to be held at Yale’s Ingalls Rink on March 19. Too strong for D-III this year? Maybe, but it’s clear as to why the three-school team is in D-III this season. A year ago, the Staples-Weston co-op won just three games and Shelton, on its own, only won a few as well. Weston has just one player representative, six are from Shelton, and the rest are from Staples.

“It’s not really an advantage. It just allows you to compete on a somewhat more level playing field,” said Ralph Unker, coach of the Staples-led team.

“If we take [co-op opportunities] out, we’d be depriving a lot of kids, in a lot of sports, the opportunity to play,” said Hall, the hockey tournament director for the CIAC.

“The co-op program is set up to ensure that kids have the opportunity to play, but my personal belief is that there are teams and programs that are taking advantage of that to build a bigger program,” Esposito added. “I think it’s really being abused. I think the CIAC needs to step in and get teams to take an initiative to build their own programs.”

Newtown’s coaches and players, as much as they dislike the co-op situation, have tried to use it as motivation to succeed. Esposito has said it makes his players believe they need to work extra hard, and take pride in being a single-school team.

“We treat every game the same. It doesn’t matter how many schools there are — it’s one team,” NHS junior Evan Isaacs said.

Concerning the points system, teams are granted extra points for wins against out-of-state teams against what are considered comparable opponents to D-I, II, and III Connecticut teams, with more points earned against higher-level teams. The Brookfield-Bethel-Danbury (BBD) team ended the year with just two more wins than Newtown, but accrued 28 more points than the Nighthawks as a result of playing five non-Connecticut teams. BBD earned the top seed in the D-III playoffs, whereas Newtown was seeded sixth and had a much tougher path to the finals, Esposito argued. The Newtown coach also adds that teams are able to feast on weaker out-of-state teams to take advantage of earning extra points.

Hall points out that CIAC officials keep track of Connecticut teams and divisions and assume teams from other states have a comparable setup. He and Tonelli noted that the points system is something the CIAC can consider reviewing, however, for upcoming seasons.

At the end of each season, the CIAC will review the divisional and co-op status of teams and determine where to place them. Tonelli said coaches and athletic directors may appeal if they object to a divisional move, or if a team wants to change divisions. Esposito said he will consider arguing for the Nighthawks to be bumped up to D-II, which, this year, includes 19 teams, most of which are single-school squads.

Esposito has contacted CIAC officials and will meet with them later in March to discuss the co-op and points regulations.