In the championship game at Quinnipiac University, the Rams withstood a fierce third-period rally from the Yellow Jackets to win 6-3.
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HAMPDEN, Conn. — The last time Cheshire High School won the CIAC Ice Hockey Championship, the seniors on the current roster had just laced up their skates for the first time at ages 4 and 5. Fast forward 13 years, and those little toddlers found themselves on the home ice of defending NCAA champion Quinnipiac University, facing a six-school co-op team that had dominated the first three rounds of the Division II tournament. state finals.
The Rams defeated the East Haven Yellow Jackets 6-3 in front of a near-capacity crowd at the 3,570-seat M&T Bank Arena, led by senior Biagio Pepe's four goals and a stellar performance from goaltender Ryan Miller. did.
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Top-seeded Cheshire withstood a ferocious comeback from East Haven and cut a 4-0 deficit to one point at the 3:44 mark of the third period.
Miller made some big saves early in the game, but it wasn't until Pepe scored from an awkward angle to the right of Yellow Jackets goaltender Michael Fritz with 1:01 left in the first period that either team It also dented the scoreboard.
The Rams found the back of the net on a breakaway by Evan Vasilievs early in the midfield, but moments later, Drew DePodesta beat an East Haven defender on a long pass from Ryan Frazier and tucked the puck behind Fritz for Cheshire. They led 2-0.
On the next shift, DePodesta was dragged in with a partial breakaway, resulting in a minor penalty on the Yellow Jackets pair for a 5-on-3 Cheshire advantage. Pepe quickly opened the scoring with a nifty pass between Charlie Golden and Vasilyevs, scoring his second goal of the game.
With just over two minutes left in the session, Pepe had a golden chance to complete his hat-trick, but his escape was thwarted by Fritz.
Four-and-a-half minutes into the third period, Vasilievs appeared to put the final nail in East Haven's coffin with a rebound of Frazier's shot from the left point, but he was taken down by a Yellow Jacket defender.
It's not that fast. East Haven, which had outscored its previous three opponents by a combined 17-3 margin, finally showed its offensive potential on Griffin McGlinchey's power-play goal with 6:22 left. Just under two minutes later, Lorenzo Defilio scored on the rebound of McGlinchey's shot to make it 4-2.
A tripping penalty on East Haven's Preston Kantele seemed to halt his team's momentum, but Defilio had a close-range short chance blocked by Miller before coming back and getting the puck near the middle of the ice. He stole things, broke in on his own, and found out what was wrong with the team. He scored the net, making it a 4-3 game with 2 minutes and 38 seconds left in regulation time.
However, the excitement of Yellow Jackets fans quickly disappeared as Pepe completed his hat trick after being left alone in the box during a waning moment on Cheshire's power play. Fritz brought on a sixth attacker and with a minute left Pepe scored his fourth goal of the game into an empty net.
Cheshire defeated East Haven 37-31.
The Rams won their fifth state championship. The Yellowjackets, made up of players from East Haven, Morgan, Old Lyme, Sheehan, East Hampton and Valley area high schools, were seeking their first state title since 1998.
