Fairfield Prep Hockey Avenges Two Straight Losses To Hamden

For the Fairfield Prep hockey team, the third time was the charm.

Donald Carnicky and David White scored late in the second period Tuesday night as the Jesuits defeated two-time defending state champion Hamden, 4-2, in an intense affair at the Wonderland of  Ice.

The Jesuits (10-2) avenged a 3-2 overtime loss to the Green Dragons earlier this seas0n and a 6-5 setback in last year's Division I state title game.

The highlight of  a tense first period that produced few chances came when Hamden's Patrick Lynch fanned on a three-on-one attempt.

But things really sprung to life in the second, and the visitors took the lead 1:10 into the frame when Mike Lee snapped a shot from the blue line that found its way through traffic and into the corner of the net.

The Green Dragons appeared to have the momentum going in their favor but took a pair of costly penalties that swung the tide of the contest.

Connor Walsh threw a sucker punch following a whistle, sending him to the box almost immediately after Hamden opened the scoring.

From the ensuing power play, A.J. Unker weaved his way through the Hamden defense and found the back of the net, which provided the spark the home side was looking for.  

After the teams exchanged goals to make the score 2-2, the Green Dragons' R.J. Ugolik swung his stick into the face of a Prep skater after the whistle, giving the Jesuits a chance to take the lead.

Carnicky found himself alone in front of the net and took full advantage, beating Matt Hoff with a wrist shot. White extended Prep’s lead to 4-2 with 1:50 remaining when he calmly finished off a two-on-one breakaway.

Fairfield Prep almost had a fifth goal in the period.

With the Jesuits on the power play to close the second, White made an incredible move to spin from the corner to the front of the net and fire a shot past Hoff. However, the referees ruled that the net had been dislodged immediately before the puck crossed the line.

After all of the excitement of the second period, both squads settled down to begin the third.

Hamden had a chance to close the deficit with an early power play, but John Galiani was on hand to stop any shot that came his way.

Later on in the period, Prep had an opportunity to extend its lead with a two- man advantage for a full two minutes, but the Jesuits failed to capitalize.

Hamden was unable to take advantage of this lifeline and only mustered a couple of chances down the stretch.

The Green Dragons pulled Hoff with 1:29 left and were able to put pressure on their opponents, but Galiani helped secure the win with his usual solid goaltending.

Galiani made 18 saves for the Jesuits and Hoff stopped 16 shots for the Green Dragons.

As the game was coming to a close, the teams traded hits at a furious pace.

Constant scrums following each whistle became the norm with the referees becoming very busy to ensure sure nothing got out of hand. After all, the teams appear destined to meet again, next time with much more on the line.

Fairfield Prep went 2-of-5 on the power play while Hamden was 1-of-3.

The Jesuits are  back in action on Wednesday when they welcome Seton Hall Prep of New Jersey to the Wonderland Of Ice.