Under the leadership of new Head Coach Michael “Scooter” Richetelli, the Amity Spartans earned a place in the SCC Tournament.
Ranked No. 4 in Division II, the Spartans went up against the #1 Guilford Indians on Thursday, March 1.
First Period
Accustomed to being the top dogs, Guilford was first to score with Jake Watrous making a goal, assisted by Zach Woxland with 4:23 remaining in the period.
Second Period
In the first two minutes, Woxland made an unassisted goal for the Indians and 10 minutes later, Amity answered with a goal by Jason Czejka assisted by Jamie Blum.
Third Period
The Spartans returned to the ice one point behind, yet still determined to stay in the game.
But the Indians wanted to show why they are ranked #1. At 1:55 Jack Dacey scored for Guilford on an assist from Jack Ring. This was followed at 4:22 by John DeLucia’s goal, assisted by Ring. Then, at 6:59 it was Ring’s turn to score on an assist from DeLucia.
Now, with the score at 5-1, Amity really had to put it’s best foot forward, and defense had to step up its game. at 8:21 Joey Schittina scored on an assist from Colin Hughes, and two minutes later Jamie Blum added a point, assisted by Jordan Conn and Jason Csejka. That was good, but could the Spartans score two more points and tie the game in four minutes? It’s been done before.
With 56 seconds left in the game, and one Spartan in the penalty box, Coach Richetelli had to make a tough strategic decision — as he, and many coaches in this situation have done before, he pulled his goalie in order to get another man on the ice, knowing full well that the Indians would take advantage of an empty net.
Sure enough, and sadly for the Spartans, Guilford’s Joe Neleber raced across the ice with the puck and slammed it into the net, securing the 6-3 victory for the Indians and their advancement in the SCC tournament.
Next Up: The Spartans will play in the First Round of the CIAC State Tournament at the Bennett Rink in West Haven on Tuesday.
