Torin McGoldrick scores his 100th point and nets a hat trick, and Connor McHugh also scored his 100th point as Conard defeated crosstown West Hartford rival Hall 6-3 on Saturday afternoon.

Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance

By Paul Palmer. Photos by Paul Palmer, Cole Schweiger, Savannah Cote, and Scott Sulkazi

Senior Torin McGoldrick scored twice in the third – including his 100th career point – to wrap up a hat trick as Conard scored three times in the third period to knock of Hall 6-3 in a boys hockey matchup on Saturday.

“One hundred points was my goal coming in as a freshman,” said McGoldrick. “I’m happy I got it and that we won.”

The West Hartford crosstown rivalry game lived up to its usual hype with a packed house at Veterans, and both sides laying some big hits for 45 minutes. The Red Wolves drew first blood just 2:01 into play when Liam Alver cleared the puck from the Conard defensive zone and it was tipped into the Hall zone. Ken Roche chased it down behind the Hall net, and sent a pass in front to Gavin Mangini who one-timed it past goalie Matthew Bonner on the stick side for the quick 1-0 lead.

The Titans had a pair of good chances to even things, but failed to connect on a 2-on-1 chance, and then Sawyer Hollander saw his initial shot and rebound try stopped by goalie Chase Emery. Connor McHugh nearly evened things when he snapped off a quick shot from a faceoff win, but Emery stopped it with his pad.

The Titans’ work would pay off with 8:14 to go when McHugh’s shot was deflected by a Conard defender. Hall moved it back to the point where Ben Goldstein sent in a shot on goal that was tipped past Emery by Ben Putnam to even things at 1. Emery kept things tied with just over 5:30 to play when he made a glove save on Charles DeBassio and moments later it was DeBassio and Charlie Ganey coming in on a 2-on-1, but Ganey’s shot went wide of the net.

Putnam had a chance to get his second when he forced Emery to flash the left pad on a shot ticketed for the far side of the net.

Bonner was also being tested at the other end of the ice by the Red Wolves, stopping Roche on his first shot and his rebound try, then with 90 seconds to go he shrugged off another Conard shot with his shoulder.

Conard would take the lead with just 18 seconds to go in the first when McGoldrick scored his first of the night. It started in the defensive zone when Nolan Reck won the draw and Callan Bankroff cleared it along the boards. It was picked up just over the defensive blue line by a Hall defender but Roche and McGoldrick pressured and as McGoldrick drifted closer to the net, Roche secured the puck and fed McGoldrick. The senior was alone but had his back to the net, so he spun, went backhand to forehand, and slid the puck in past Bonner to make it 2-1.

The second saw a lot of back-and-forth play and a lot of big hits, especially from Sawyer Hollander of Hall in the center ice area. It was McGoldrick getting involved in the next goal of the game when he took a shot that was stopped by Bonner. McGoldrick collected the rebound, went behind the net then found Braden Gainey unmarked in front for the goal.

Conard’s Braden McCabe took the game’s first penalty with 3:56 to go when he was called for roughing in front of the Hall bench. It was the Red Wolves, though, who controlled the first minute of the kill, denying Hall any chances and clearing the puck the length of the ice on several occasions.

With :46 to go in the man advantage, Hall scored quickly when McHugh carried the puck into the zone and started behind Emery’s net. Goldstein caught the Conard defense puck watching and skated into open space. McHugh sent the pass right onto his teammate’s tape and Goldstein deposited it into the net to make it 3-2.

“Eleven of our goals have come on special teams this year, and just nine even strength,” said Hall coach Colin O’Connor. “They get us back into games.” But the lack of even strength scoring has haunted Hall as they came into Saturday having scored just four total goals in their last three games. “I have a group of guys playing at a high level and another group that have to bear down and put the puck in the net,” the coach added.

When the teams entered the final 15 minutes of regulation it was still anyone’s game to win. Conard had some good chances early, first when Mangini had a good rush from the wing, but Bonner tracked him across the net and got his pad on the shot. Less than two minutes later it was Reck with a good snap shot that Bonner stopped.

Players from both teams crashed the net looking for a rebound and Reck and Hall’s Liam Flemming took matching penalties. Neither team would score in the 5-on-5, and Conard had the chance to ice the game when Dillon McDermott took a tripping call with 5:31 to play. But it was the Titans’ Putnam who had the best chance for either side, but Emery made the save.

With the teams back at even strength it was McHugh again with the opportunity, but Conard’s Alver played it perfectly on defense, poking the puck away from McHugh before he could get the shot off.

With just under three minutes to play it would be Goldrick giving his team a little breathing room with another masterful goal. This time it was Jack Eisenberg entering the zone with McGoldrick on his left. He laid off a beautiful pass that McGoldrick ripped over Bonner’s glove to make it 4-2.

“Torin is a big game player,” said Conard assistant coach Ryan Piraneo. “He seems to constantly step up and provide a spark.”

Trailing by two with 1:36 to play Hall took a timeout and decided to pull Bonner from the goal for the extra attacker with the faceoff coming in the Conard zone. The Titans controlled the puck, and put a shot on goal that Emery kicked away. McGoldrick grabbed the free puck, skated it out of the zone and across center ice before scoring into the empty net for his 100th career point and the 5-2 lead with :42 to play. “Getting [100 points] is very surreal, but I am really excited,” McGoldrick said.

The scoring was not over though for Conard or Hall. With Bonner back in the net, the teams were at five a side on the ensuing faceoff. Roche – who played a strong all-around game – came into the zone with Reck. He went wide and sent the puck towards the net and Reck got the tip on it in front of Bonner and 13 seconds after the firth goal, it was now 6 for Conard.

“This is a good example of what we can bring for 45 minutes,” said Piraneo. It is also the result of a new offensive system that Conard put into place after a 0-3 start that saw them score just four goals. “They are buying into it now,” Piraneo said.

With 6 seconds to play, Hall’s McHugh won an offensive zone faceoff and the shot from the mid boards was stopped by Emery, but Goldstein was there to knock in the rebound with :02 on the clock for the 6-3 final.

It was a bittersweet ending for McHugh as he also picked up his 100th career point, but it came in the loss. “He works so hard and deserves the recognition,” said O’Connor of his senior captain. “He is a real bright spot for us.”

With the win, Conard is now 3-3, having won its last three games, outscoring opponents 16-7. Hall’s recent skid continued as the Titans, who started the season 3-0, lost their second straight and are now 3-2-1. “We didn’t get to our game until late in the game,” said O’Connor. “Once we settled in we controlled play until the last three minutes.”

In addition to the performance by the offense, Conard was anchored by the play of Emery in net. “I have a lot of confidence in him,” Piraneo said of his senior netminder. “He has embraced the roll that he has waited for, for three years.”

Game notes

Hall’s Connor McHugh was honored before the game with the West Hartford Wolves Youth Hockey Scholarship presented by the Luke Roux Foundation. It goes to the former West Hartford Wolves Youth Hockey to honor the memory of Luke by supporting a graduating player who exhibits Luke’s characteristics of humility, kindness, discipline, and an exceptional work ethic. Luke was a former Wolves player and played for the Farmington Generals. He was killed by an impaired driver days after his high school graduation.

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