Hockey Team Steps Up To D-II, Looks To Keep Making Strides

By Andy Hutchison

Conference and state hockey championships are within reach this year, Newtown High School Coach Paul Esposito believes. Neither goal will be attained with ease, however, the coach recognizes.

The South-West Conference bragging rights, Esposito says, is up for grabs, with the Bethel-Brookfield-Danbury, Watertown-Pomperaug, Masuk of Monroe, and Joel Barlow of Redding teams all in the hunt. “I think the SWC is going to be wide open this year. We’re definitely in the mix,” he said.

At the state level, the competition may be a bit more difficult than a year ago for Newtown. The Nighthawks moved up from Division III to D-II this year, a product of both Esposito raising the bar due to the team’s competitiveness with higher-level competition a year ago, a desire to level the playing field (or ice surface) given the number of multi-school teams the Nighthawks found themselves up against in D-III play a season ago.

Esposito noted that there are less single-school teams at the D-II level than in D-III and believes that some of the multi-school teams, such as the Windsor-East Granby-Avon squad which eliminated NHS from the quarterfinal round of state tourney play last winter, have an unfair advantage in numbers.

Esposito doesn’t shy away from putting his team up against strong competition – as long as it comes in the form of a single-school program. This year’s schedule, in addition to the regular D-III SWC foes, includes a pair of D-II SWC teams, New Milford and defending D-III state champion Watertown-Pomperaug, which also made the divisional jump; and non-conference D-II teams Trumbull, Lyman Hall, Wilton, Guilford, and East Catholic. The coach notes that the Hawks may not win as many games (14) as it did a year ago, but that the tough counterparts will help prepare his team for the playoffs.

“We know that the teams we’re playing this year on the schedule, the D-II teams, they’re going to be more of a challenge but, at the same time, I think when we play tougher teams we play better,” Esposito said.

The Nighthawks jump into the fire from the start. Newtown was also scheduled to take on D-I Notre Dame-Fairfield in the season opener on Thursday (after The Bee went to press), and will host Trumbull at Danbury Ice Arena on Saturday, December 17 at 4 pm.

The team lost four seniors to graduation, and Owen Sandercox to travel hockey, but retained a lot of talent. What’s more, many newcomers give the program two-dozen skaters, enough to field a junior varsity team. Senior goaltender Michael Allwein is back between the pipes, and sophomore Patrick McLoughlin stands to get some time in the varsity net.

Forwards Parker Rodbell, Brett Klein, Chris Erikson, Evan Isaacs, and Ted Benoit are among those Esposito will look to for goal-scoring production. On the blue line, defenders Alex Kelly, Tyler Hanley, and Matt Sabia are all expected to work hard to help keep pucks out of Newtown’s net.

Esposito believes his team is strong all-around. “I think we’re a very well-balanced team. We’ve got plenty of guys that can score. Our defense is solid this year, and our goaltending is phenomenal.”

The state playoff semifinals and championship rounds, once again, will be held at Yale’s Ingalls Rink. The Nighthawks hope to be there.

“Our goals are definitely to win an SWC championship and, I think, the biggest goal is to – at least – make it to Yale and make it far into the Division II tournament,” Esposito said. “We definitely have a team that can make a push for a state championship.”