Misc Hockey News

Sparked by fluke shot from center ice, LH rallies to draw Sheehan at the NIP

Sparked by fluke shot from center ice, LH rallies to draw Sheehan at the NIP

NORTHFORD — Anytime the Lyman Hall Trojans and Sheehan Titans face off on the ice it’s going to be a close game with a ton of intensity.

Last year, both games were decided by a single goal — 4-3 in overtime and 5-4 victory in regulation, both in favor of Lyman Hall.

So far in 2023, dead even. The Trojans and Titans tied 2-2 on Monday afternoon at the Northford Ice Pavilion.

It was a comeback for Lyman Hall. Sheehan (4-5-1) estabished a 2-0 lead on goals in the first and second periods. The Trojans (1-7-1), sparked by a flukey shot from center ice, rallied with two goals in the first five minutes of the final period to tie the score.

Stellar defense the rest of the way carried the SCC/SWC Division II game into overtime, where it remained deadlocked. 

“We knew Lyman Hall was going to come out hard; they kind of had us on our heels the whole game,” said Sheehan coach Dave Festa. “We didn’t get a couple bounces to go our way, we didn’t get a couple calls go our way, but the reffing on both sides was consistent.

“We let them get back in the game on a bad bounce,” Festa added. “I thought we played a good 53 minutes with the OT, but it just didn’t go our way today,”

Sophomore Max Festa and junior Michael Ballough had the goals for Sheehan. Senior Jimbo Cohrs and freshman Connor Zukowski answered for LH.

“I’m very proud of our boys,” said Trojans coach Dave Sagnella. “We’ve been preaching the same thing every year. We haven’t been rewarded, but they’re working hard.

“Even though today was a tie, we’ll take it as a moral victory because they’ve earned it, especially in the third and overtime,” Sagnella added. “I thought we were the better team compared to the first two periods.”

After a competitive first eight minutes of play in which both teams traded roughly an equal amount of shots, Max Festa scored on a power play off of an assist from senior Avery Solan to put the Titans up 1-0.

Festa took the shot from the blue line and ripped it right over the glove of LH netminder Dylan Florio.

Sheehan could have had a 2-0 lead. Festa scored a second goal that got called back. Sheehan outshot Lyman Hall in the first period, 11-5. 

Like the first period, the second began with good defense and much intensity. No goal was scored in the first 11 minutes, with the teams exchanging shots and hits. (For the game, 10 minor penalties were whistled.)

Sheehan took a 2-0 advantage with 3:47 remaining in the second period when…

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