DANBURY — Coming off a 2-1 overtime victory over the Joel Barlow-Weston-Abbott Tech (JBWA) co-op a week earlier, the Newtown-New Fairfield high school hockey team again appeared destined for a low-scoring battle to the finish with JBWA when the teams met at Danbury Ice Arena on February 27.

Nighthawks struck three times in the span of less than a minute late in the second period and, before all was said and done, got a hat-trick from James Celentano to post a 5-1 victory. Newtown-New Fairfield improved to 1-2-1.

The game was scoreless as the second period clock ticked down when the Nighthawks proceeded to score more times in 55 seconds than they did in 45 minutes of each of their first four contests.

They broke the ice with 1:11 left in the stanza, struck again just 13 seconds later, then again with 16 seconds showing on the scoreboard clock. Newtown-New Fairfield was oh so close to a fourth goal in the waning seconds.

“We kind of exploded. We pretty much just clicked,” said Celentano, who scored the second goal and lit the lamp two more times in the third period to help put the game away.

The first goal was the product of some coaching strategy and capitalizing on a mask break, which not only allows players to catch their breath during stoppages of play this coronavirus-impacted season but also gives coaches a chance to make adjustments.

Looking for a spark on offense in the final minute-plus of the middle period, the Nighthawks moved defenseman Ronan McAllister up to play wing, head coach Paul Esposito said.

That move, in addition to assistant coach Pat McLaughlin’s set play, led to the game’s first tally.

Newtown scored when centerman Cam Gouveia won an offensive zone faceoff forward and McAllister crashed the net to pounce on a loose puck that deflected off the JBWA goaltender.

Part of Newtown’s game plan coming in, Esposito said, was to get pucks to the net and that play initiated the scoring barrage.

“That was the spark that got us going,” Esposito said.

Celentano, assisted by McAllister and Gouveia, scored off the ensuing faceoff after the Celentano skated the puck across the blue line and battled for a loose puck in traffic near the net.

Makris made a move to get behind the defense and scored on a backhander to cap the flurry.

“It was incredible. Our offense has been struggling recently but led by Celentano we bounced back,” Makris said.

“We’ve been on the doorstep so many times, in the crease, and the puck just wouldn’t go in,” Esposito said of the team’s early-season scoring struggles before this game. The coach is hopeful this is a turning point for the offense.

“Kudos to the kids for not taking their foot off the gas pedal there,” he added.

The intermission did not slow down the Hawks. Celentano was assisted by Jack Benzing only 54 seconds into the third period to make the score 4-0. Celentano finished off the hat trick when he was set up by Eddie Faircloth for a shorthanded tally later in the final period.

Esposito noted that Faircloth had three solid penalty kill shifts and his shot block led to that third-period tally.

JBWA broke up goaltender Markus Paltauf’s shutout with 6:23 left. Paltauf made 28 saves and had good support from the defense, including Eli Kirby and on-ice leader John O’Sullivan, Esposito said.

Gouveia had a solid game on both sides of the ice, the coach said. Celentano, in addition to notching his first high school hatty, was strong all around.

“He was forechecking. He was taking bodies. A lot of good stick-handling — taking pucks to the net,” Esposito said.

McAllister, one of New Fairfield’s representatives, is too valuable on the blue line to move up to forward except when a rare opportunity strikes, as it did in this game, Esposito said.

“He had a tremendous game. He broke up multiple rushes, good stick work, good poke-checking,” the coach said of McAllister.

This was Senior Day for the Nighthawks, and NHS captains Makris and Eli Kirby, assistant captain Tyler DiMartino, and Matthew Berard, Carter Ballard, and New Fairfield’s Benzing were all honored.

The Nighthawks improved to 2-2-1 with a 2-1 victory over New Milford, at Danbury Ice Arena, on March 1. McAllister was assisted by Makris and Celentano, and Celentano scored a goal set up by Benzing and Gio Cucco. New Fairfield’s Christopher Ligouri was stellar in net, making 27 saves, and O’Sullivan had another great defensive game.