West Hartford’s Hall/Conard girls hockey co-op team won the Central Connecticut Conference Championship Friday night.

Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance

By Paul Palmer

Goaltender Lauren Busi made 33 saves and Paige Sweeney scored two first period goals en route to being named the MVP as the Hall/Conard girls shut out Suffield 4-0 at Trinity College Friday night. It is the first CCC crown for the program in 15 years.

“This championship is the result of the players hard work and commitment,” said first year head coach Jared Cohane. “They worked their tails off, everybody worked, to win this championship.”

Friday’s meeting was the third one of the season for the two teams. Each had won 2-1 on the road, so a low-scoring game might have been anticipated. Before all the fans had settled in their seats, Sweeney sent a message that this game would see scoring. Just 1:10 into the period Sweeney carried the puck into the zone along the far boards and her shot was steered aside by Wildcats goalie Madelyn Lemieux. Hall/Conard’s Avery Wolfe got to the puck  for the rebound try, which also was stopped, but this time Sweeney converted.

“Our team was on a roll as soon as we got on the ice,” Sweeney said. “Avery took the shot and I got the rebound.” Just under three minutes later Wolfe had a chance to double the lead on a nice solo effort, but Lemieux stood strong.

About five minutes in, Suffield started to dial up the offensive chances. Busi set the tone for the rest of the game as she first stopped a shot by Emily Greene that deflected off a Hall/Conard defender and onto goal. Then it was Sweeney’s turn again for Hall/Conard as she found herself alone in front of Lemieux after a shot by Avery Selstad was stopped but not controlled. Sweeney went low, but Lemieux flashed out the right pad to keep it a 1-0 game.

The Wildcats then had a long run of good chances on goal, any one of which could have gone in. Lila Prayzner let a shot go from the blue line that was tipped right in front of Busi, but the sophomore smothered the try. Moments later it was Selstad turning in a gem on defense as she perfectly defended a 2-on-1, deflecting a pass attempt into the corner. Busi and the defense withstood a withering attack for much of the first and set their team up for a late scoring chance.

“In the first Busi was the difference,” said Cohane. “They outplayed us but she was a rock.”

With time running out in the first Fiona Campbell got the puck to Sweeney who used her size and skill to hold off a backcheck as she moved in on Lemieux and slid the puck past the goalie with just :10 to go in the opening period. “Sweeney took over the game,” Cohane said.

Hall/Conard was outshot 17-8, but Busi and the defense shut Suffield down. “My defense was great, clearing pucks and blocking shots,” Busi said of the opening 15 minutes.

At the start of the second it was Suffield nearly returning the favor and scoring the early goal. Riley Shave jumped on a Hall/Conard turnover in their defensive zone and snapped off a wrist shot, but Busi was at the top of her crease and smothered the shot against her chest.

Suffield had a golden chance to get back in the game when they went on the power play as Marin Curran was called for tripping in the defensive zone, but the defense held strong. Later in the period Suffield again found itself on a 2-on-1 break but Campbell played it well and broke up the pass. Busi, whose positioning was strong all game, stopped a pair of Wildcat chances with her glove and once again her teammates responded on offense.

This time while on the power play, Teagan Cohane found sophomore Mia Longman with a pass. Longman had her back to the goal and a defender on her, but she spun and let a shot go that got by Lemieux and the lead was 3-0 just :45 into the advantage. The Wildcats once again turned up the offense and Busi had to make a big save on Grace Pacholski’s shot through traffic that the goalie shrugged off with her right shoulder. The shots were a bit closer in the second with Suffield holding just a 9-7 advantage.

With 15 minutes to go for Hall/Conard to claim its first girls hockey title in 15 years, the team came out loose and ready to go on offense. First it was Teagan Cohane carrying the puck into the offensive zone and centering to teammate Quinn Bacon who saw her wrist shot denied by the pads of Lemieux. Madeleine Bean had a chance for Hall/Conard from point blank range off a defensive miscue, but once again Lemieux made the save.

With 3:37 to go in the game, Hall/Conard would score its final goal to lock up the win. Bacon scored with an assist from Campbell and the Hall/Conard players and supporters could begin to believe they were going to come away champions. The players leaped over the boards and rushed to Busi and the rest of the team to start the celebration.

The post-game honors saw Sweeney named the MVP and when it came time for Coach Cohane to be handed the trophy he deferred and had his captains head to center ice to grab the cup and hoist it high.

When asked after the game how he managed to get his team to this level in his first season, Cohane said he relied on what he had seen them do in the past. “I’ve watched them for two years and I brought in what I thought would work. All the credit goes to the players,” he said.”

In the end Busi would stop all 33 shots she faced and could have easily been named the MVP along with a deserving Sweeney. She said that having faced the Wildcats twice already during the regular season helped her gameplan. “I knew who to look out for and as a team we knew who we had to shut down.”

Sweeney said she was honored but shocked when she was named MVP, adding she didn’t even hear the announcement over the PA. “She gets overlooked for All-Conference and goes out there and earns a well-deserved MVP,” said Cohane of Sweeney. “I guess the rest of the conference knows her now.”

Game notes

• Three Hall/Conard players were named to the CCC All-Conference team: senior co-captain Quinn Bacon, junior co-captain Teagan Cohane, and sophomore goalie Lauren Busi.
• The win was Hall/Conard’s 15th on the season against just five losses.
• Final shots on goal were 33 for Suffield and 26 for Hall/Conard.
• Hall/Conard is ranked No. 4 in the State. Darien is No. 1, followed by New Canaan at No. 2 and Avon at No. 3.
• Hall/Conard and Avon split their two games in the regular season. H/C did not play Darien or New Canaan.
• They get a bye in the opening round of the State Tournament and will face the winner of No. 12 Fairfield vs. No. 5 Suffield. The winner of that game will travel to West Hartford and meet Hall/Conard in the Quarterfinals on Thursday at Veterans Memorial Rink at 6:20 p.m.

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