Following an 8-1 start and on the heels of a four-game winning streak, the Newtown-New Fairfield (NNF) co-op hockey team dropped a pair of road games against tough foes, falling 7-4 to New Milford at Canterbury School on January 17 and 6-1 to E.O. Smith-Tolland at the University of Connecticut in Storrs on January 20.

When the banged up NNF squad took on a solid group from New Milford the mounting injuries finally caught up with the Nighthawks who fell behind 3-0 after one period and went toe to toe with the Green Wave the rest of the way. New Milford came out flying and was on the attack immediately cashing in on poor defensive zone play and coverage and peppering the NNF net with quality chances, lighting lamp three times in the opening five minutes before the Hawks called time out.

Pat McLoughlin — assistant/ X’s and O’s coach — reminded the boys of their individual responsibilities while Head Coach Paul Esposito gave the emotional plea of “attention to detail” with the passing and checking. The words of wisdom seemed to help as it slowed the roll of the Green Wave while the NNF squad started to get some offensive zone play of their own but initially couldn’t sneak one by the New Milford goaltender.

The middle frame was much more evenly played with Alex Schmidt getting the boys on the board on the power play with a top-shelf snapshot from the circle over the shoulder of the netminder. The goal came after some nice corner work and an assist from Jared Ku. New Milford extended the lead with the next two, the second coming on a misplay on the powerplay allowing a break and shorthanded goal against, further diminishing the hopes of the Hawks. Schmidt once again tried to lift the Hawks, scoring an almost identical goal to his first, but this one coming unassisted. Off the ensuing faceoff New Milford took charge once again and responded quickly off an odd-man rush and high slot feed for a 6-2 lead. The goal eluded the outstretched pad of a very busy Garrett McCollam, the NNF goaltender. All the New Milford goals came from what is referred to as “royal road” in the hockey circles, or a high percentage goal scoring area directly in front of the goaltender. The period ended 6-2 in favor of the home team.

The third-period scoring began when a puck found its way through traffic and past a screened McCollam. The Hawks closed the gap slightly scoring two additional power play goals with Sebastion Cilia picking up a loose puck and firing one low and in on a frustrating night that saw him ring the crossbar twice in each of the earlier periods. Ku capped the scoring for NNF and the night as he drove home a rebound from in tight, assisted by Schmidt and Luca Moura.

The score wasn’t indicative of the play by McCollam who, although he wanted a few goals back, was praised by the New Milford coaching staff and as he collected 38 stops on 45 shots while the NNF team mustered 31 total shots. The loss was only the second against eight wins in the season as the ice hockey co-op hits the midpoint in the season. With a short bench and a difficult opponent this was a battle, but the team is looking forward to a possible meeting again when fully healthy in the playoffs.

In a season that lasts 20 games plus playoffs it is a marathon rather than a sprint and the players understand that adversity makes a team stronger, NNF coaches said. The group traveled up to UConn to take on E.O. Smith-Tolland at the new Toscano family Ice Forum. An incredible experience for all involved. In addition, the annual Bender Classic between the Newtown Police Department and UConn PD took place and raised in excess of $17,000 for Special Olympics.

The Hawks fell behind just three shifts into the game allowing a Bucks skater to find free ice in the offensive zone and pick the upper corner of the net over the right shoulder of Hawk goaltender Max Browne. Several minutes later that lead was extended. The Hawks responded when Schmidt gained the zone and blasted one off the far pad of the opposing goalie with the rebound going directly to the stick of the driving Moura who snapped it in. The home team responded only seconds later on a picture perfect tic-tac-toe play through center ice and into the Hawk zone ending with a back-door pass and finish to jump back to a two-goal lead at the end of the first period.

The second and third period brought a bit more back-and-forth and a couple quality scoring opportunities for the hobbled Hawks but they couldn’t find a way to light the lamp and get closer as the hosts added two more tallies.

As the third period began Coach Esposito decided to allow as many players as possible to enjoy the experience and juggled lines to make that happen. Opportunities to play in D-I college facilities don’t come often. The Hawks surrendered one additional goal late in the contest, again coming after a few saves right on top of the crease, this time by Garrett McCollam. Browne picked up 24 saves on 29 shots and McCollam ten saves on 11 shots. Both goalies have split games this season and have responded with solid if not spectacular goaltending at times.

With the return of a few players this week and two more expected to return at the end of the week the team is looking forward to getting fully healthy and the Hawk hockey family back together to make a push heading into the playoffs. The squad is looking to regain momentum in the next several weeks as they better their postseason positioning.

On January 18, the JV squad took to the ice at the friendly confines of Danbury Ice Arena and fell 3-2 in extra time to the Joel Barlow-Weston-Abbott Tech (JBWA) co-op. The JV squad is also a little short due to the injury bug and pulled a few regular varsity players down for an informal JV contest. After a scoreless first period the JV group got on the board first as Quinn Harris deposited a well-placed wrist shot glove side high from the slot after a steal in front.

JBWA was quick to respond with two quick ones off a neutral-zone takeaway and drive to the cage as well as another from in close proximity after a turnover in the defensive zone. Patrick Moody returned the favor slamming home a cross-ice feed from Harris to knot the contest at 2-2 only moments after JBWA had taken the lead.

The third period featured a good amount of back and forth and several good quality scoring chances from each squad, but no one was able to break through as both goaltenders remained stingy in any rebound offerings. At the conclusion of the third period and with a few minutes remaining in the ice slot both sides agreed to a three on three situation to attempt to break the tie and it was JBWA coming away victorious after a drive and scramble in front of the NNF cage that ended as the puck trickled through sprawling goaltender Carter Bisson.

Although not the desired result Bisson made several good stops throughout the day and concluded the contest with 25 saves. Vince Schuchat was active on the blueline in this contest with several good decisions trying to keep the puck moving forward and out of harm’s way. Cameron Longhi also made his presence known a few times throwing solid body checks.