Cheshire Hockey 'Digs' Second Straight SCC Title, Advances To D-II Quarterfinals

March 12, 2010 by Greg Lederer

Cheshire High School ice hockey head coach Jim Riccitelli stresses playing for three periods. So when the Rams took a 2-0 lead into the final period of the Southern Connecticut Conference Final on March 6, the team knew there was still work ahead to defeat top-seeded Amity High School.
Thanks to clutch efforts from senior Mike Diglio and junior goalkeeper Jason Bailin, Cheshire held off their rival at Bennett Rink in West Haven. Diglio (Most Outstanding Player) tallied the game-winning goal in a 3-2 victory and Bailin had 20 saves, as Cheshire defended its SCC title.

“Being a captain, MVP, and helping your team win the championship feels awesome,” said Diglio, a captain with Nate Gaudio, Drew Cunningham, and J.D. Keegan.
The victory represented redemption. Two years ago, Amity won the crown by shutting out the Rams 4-0 in the same building. On Jan. 9 of this year, the Spartans earned a 6-4 road win. That game was actually the first start for Bailin and a lot has changed since. Sophomore goalkeeper Tyler Carbone was injured at mid-season and Bailin's play has been critical to their 11-game win streak.
“Revenge is good. It felt great to get back at these guys and come out with a win in a big tournament like this,” stated Bailin. “I’m glad I was able to prove myself in a big game.”
Bailin couldn’t wait for the rematch and silenced a potent offense for two periods. Amity finally gained life, after junior Sam Noss scored to cut the deficit in half (2-1) with 9:11 left. A little over three minutes later, Amity junior Corey Shea intercepted a pass and skated right to the goal. Bailin turned away the key opportunity.
“He focused hard. He played really well tonight,” said Riccitelli.
Diglio broke free at the other end, yet his shot was snagged by Amity junior goalkeeper Alec Mansfield. He wouldn’t miss his second chance. Sophomore John Cunningham dislodged the puck and Diglio jumped on it, scoring to regain the two-goal lead (3-1) with 4:13 remaining.
“It felt really good,” reflected Diglio. “I skated over to the student section. They really pumped us up tonight.”
Amity received a goal from Kurt Wehr, but there was just 11 seconds left. Cheshire held a 23-22 advantage in shots.
“You have to give it to Amity. You have to play for three periods to beat them,” stated Riccitelli.
In a battle between top seeds, Cheshire was opportunistic. The Rams built their 2-0 advantage by scoring in the final minute of the first two periods. The remaining 28 minutes were a defensive battle highlighted between goalkeepers. Cheshire and Amity each took six shots in the first period, but the power play swung momentum. The Spartans were whistled for two penalties, the second of which set-up the first goal in similar fashion to the semifinal the night before.
Keegan fired a shot from nearly the same place. Senior Mike Devine deflected the puck into the net with 55 seconds remaining.
“There was pressure outside, so I went to the goal,” said Devine. “J.D. shot it and it deflected off my chest.”
“It was really good because we are usually the ones being scored on at the end of periods,” recalled Diglio. “Once we got those goals, they had to think about them in the break.”
Roles reversed during the second period, in which Cheshire was penalized twice. However, the Rams take pride in their power-play kill. Eight saves from Bailin held Amity scoreless.
“We take advantage of our speed and pressure the puck. A lot of teams lay back on the power play and that leaves openings for the opponent,” Riccitelli said.
Moments after killing off the second power play, Cheshire capitalized with 50 seconds left. The second goal showcased the synergy between Diglio and Gaudio. Diglio lobbed a loose puck in the air. An Amity defenseman went air born at middle ice, but the puck flew over him. Gaudio settled it and skated down to score.
“Right when I saw him back hand that, I took off. It was a perfect saucer pass,” said Gaudio. “That was a big momentum boost. We knew we had to get ahead, stay ahead, and wear them down.”
An offensive explosion propelled Cheshire to their 4-2 victory over Daniel Hand (third seed) in the semifinals. Diglio, Devine (assist), and sophomore Spencer Hackett scored in the first 2:06 of the third period, breaking free for a 4-0 advantage.
Cheshire led just 1-0 heading into the final period, however, they had the power-play. It took just five seconds for a goal. Diglio received a face-off pass from junior Matt Dupont on the left side, skating into a hard shot through the upper right corner of the net.
“I had hit the post twice, so I decided I was going to put one inside it,” said Diglio. “You can’t get frustrated and have to keep playing.”
Devine scored a touch pass from freshman Owen Powers. Thirty-one seconds later at the 12:54 mark, Hackett spun around and converted an acrobatic shot. Sophomore Alex Vendetto assisted Hackett.
Hand’s Tyler Bauer prevented a shutout with consecutive goals, the second of which was a power play. Cheshire started aggressively by out-shooting Hand 11-2 (32-14 total) during the first period. But, they couldn’t capitalize.
The power play changed that in the second period. Keegan fired a deep slap-shot that deflected through Hand sophomore goalkeeper Dan Tagliarini. Dupont scored for a 1-0 lead with 12:20 left.
“It felt nice to finish,” added Dupont.
Bailin made seven of his 12 saves in the second period.
“I had to stay focused,” reflected Bailin. “The adrenaline was rushing.”
Cheshire needed a furious comeback three days later in the Division II first round. Farmington’s Connor Burns scored in each of the first two periods for a 2-0 lead. But, the Rams out-shot the Indians (14th seed) 30-11 and posted five consecutive goals for a 5-2 win. Cheshire (third seed; 18-5 record) scored three times in the third period to break a 2-2 tie.
“I told the kids it’s the 22nd game and you can’t panic,” said Riccitelli. “The kids stuck with it and the pucks went in.”
Cheshire's depth started to wear down Farmington by the third period.
“We had been there before,” added Gaudio, of facing a deficit. “We just had to skate and out-work them.”
The third and forth goals were separated by twenty seconds. Gaudio contributed to three scores and netted the game-winner (3-2) on the power play. Dupont controlled the puck off the boards and fired a pinpoint pass to Gaudio cutting across the middle with 3:55 left. The home crowd had just begun celebrating when Diglio took a pass from Keegan and extended the lead to 4-2.
“He (Dupont) made an amazing saucer pass to my stick. So I went to my backhand, made a move on the goalie, and scored,” explained Gaudio.
After Farmington pulled sophomore goalkeeper Januz Podalesk (25 saves), Gaudio hit Devine for the final goal at 18 seconds. Devine has a team-best 34 goals and sparked Cheshire in the second period, scoring a laser shot inside the upper right corner with just under two-and-half minutes gone by. A cross-checking penalty at 7:36 set-up the second goal 16 seconds later. Following passes from Diglio and Gaudio, Keegan scored a slap shot down the middle.
“It’s always great to get us going,” reflected Devine. “We weren’t going to give up.”
Cheshire converted two of five power plays while shutting out three attempts for Farmington. Bailin made nine saves to help Cheshire advance to the quarterfinals tonight, at 7 p.m. The Rams face Branford (11th seed; 9-9-3 record) for the third time at the Trinity Community Sports Complex in Hartford. Cheshire won the first two meetings (6-0, Jan. 30; 5-2, Feb. 18) over their SCC Division II rival.
“You have to beat them either way,” said Riccitelli, of facing each other three times. “We certainly know them.”