Successful Season Ends In Nail-Biter—

Hawk Skaters Edged In State Tourney Quarterfinals By Local Rivals

By Andy Hutchison

DANBURY — As Newtown High School hockey team senior captain Rob Norling summed it up, the finish to the season was “bittersweet.”

Newtown was defeated by the Brookfield-Bethel-Danbury IceCats 2-1 in the Division III State Tournament quarterfinals at Danbury Ice Arena on March 11. It was a disappointing finish to an overall successful campaign for the Nighthawks. The Hawks, after all, weren’t far removed from advancing to the semifinals when the final horn sounded in the quarterfinal round.

The IceCats, seeded second in the tourney, got goals just 1:41 into the game and 36 seconds into the third period to escape with a hard-fought win in a battle that was tightly contest from the onset. Newtown, the No. 7 seed, advanced into the second round with an opening-round shutout win over No. 10 Joel Barlow on March 8. It was the program’s first state tournament win in three appearances during the course of nine seasons.

“It’s bittersweet,” said Norling, who joined the team this winter after transferring from Immaculate in Danbury. “We made it to the postseason and we made it further than any Newtown team has gone. But it was an early exit for us.”

The Nighthawks, who skated to a 3-3 tie with the IceCats in the regular season and dominated the play in overtime of that meeting, believed they were good enough to go deeper in the tourney.

Newtown’s season ended andthe Ice Cats went on to defeat Masuk in the semifinals.

All in all, however, this season was one the Hawks could be proud of.

“It’s fun just to make the tournament,” said junior Hunter Dolyak, who scored Newtown’s lone goal in the season-ending defeat.

“They played as hard as they possibly could. They did all of the things we were asking,” Newtown Coach Paul Esposito said.

The Nighthawks forechecked, cycled the puck to generate quality scoring chances and skated hard on every shift, but it just wasn’t enough.

“Driving down here tonight I knew it was going to be a one-goal game,” Esposito said.

The Hawks fell behind 1-0 when IceCat Jared Smenyak lit the lamp for an early strike. Both teams were stopped on scoring chances as NHS goaltender Dylan Deselin and his counterpart, Luiz Dibble, came up with eight saves apiece in the opening stanza. The Nighthawks drew even when Dolyak took a pass from Josh Branchflower on a rush and beat Dibble with 4:56 left in the opening period. Brett Klein, another transfer from Immaculate, had the other assist.

Just 52 seconds after the equalizing goal, Newtown found itself on the power play but could not convert. Newtown’s man-advantage play, which had been sharp during the regular season, couldn’t get anything going against the IceCats. The NHS penalty-killing efforts were strong. Both teams killed off early second period power plays and the game remained deadlocked heading into the third. That’s when the IceCats regained the lead. Maxwell Urso fired a slap shot through a screen in front of the net and past Deselin for what turned out to be the deciding goal.

Newtown was held without a shot for most of the first five minutes of the third period, but came on strong to create scoring chances both midway through and late in the third period. The Nighthawks pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker with one minute left, but couldn’t get the tying goal.

Norling, Dolyak, Parker Rodbell, David Landau and Klein were among the many Hawks to generate opportunities but couldn’t get it past Dibble.

The IceCats finished the game with a 25-21 shots on goal advantage. Newtown finished the season with a record of 13-7-1 and the IceCats, who had won the South-West Conference’s Division II-III championship, improved to 14-6-1.

As if this game wasn’t big enough to begin with, there was a rivalry factor in effect too. Esposito had coached Dibble, among others, at the youth level. Some of the Nighthawks and IceCats were teammates in youth hockey in past seasons. Several hundred fans filled a majority of the spaces in the bleachers and cheered with every hit, goal and save throughout the 45 minutes of play.

Esposito was pleased with his team’s effort, especially given the youth of the Hawks’ lineup. Norling, Deselin and Sean Kennedy are the only seniors and a bulk of the lineup comprises freshmen and sophomores. The IceCats, meanwhile, boast a more veteran lineup that includes nine seniors.

Esposito told his players that this setback should fuel their off-season preparations as they look to come back even stronger next winter.

“I think our time’s coming,” Esposito said. “I think we’re on the verge of becoming a real powerhouse program.”

“They’re definitely going to be one of the stronger teams in the SWC for the next few years,” Norling added.