is scheduled to run in Thursday's editions, which includes the MVP story on Cheshire's Rachel Aliotta.

The boys' indoor track and wrestling all-area teams have already run.

Keep an eye out for both the all-area and all-state boys' basketball teams to run this weekend.

will appear in Sunday's paper.

The 15-person team has 11 schools represented. Four schools have two athletes each.

Check back for more updates on when All-Area teams will run.

Thanks.

Winter sports are over and Register All-Area photos are being wrapped up, so please check back to see when each Register All-Area team will be in the paper.

Will be published in Thursday's edition.

Who will be the Area MVP?

Find out Thursday.

For State Open swim results, click here.

Pomperaug wins the State Open swimming title, dethroning last year's winner Greenwich, which finished second. Fairfield Prep was third.

Amity sophomore Eric Holden won the 100 breaststroke in :57.00. Holden finished 8th last season in 1:00.35.

Fairfield Prep senior Andrew Golankiewicz won the 100 backstroke in :51.01. His seed time was :52.12.

He finished second in the event the past two seasons.

Pomperaug is the current leader at the State Open with 279 points.
2. Greenwich 266.
3. Fairfield Prep 208.
4. Fitch 108.
5. Xavier 107.5.

Hamden wins the Division I title 6-5

Pomperaug is leading the State Open swimming standings through four events.
Greenwich is second followed by Fairfield Prep, Xavier and Ridgefield.

Branford's Alex Lombardi, the top-seed in the third heat of the 50 freestyle, placed fifth overall with a time of :21.57. Lomardi was 12th last season after a swim of :22.27.

Fairfield Prep's Andrew Golankiewicz finished fifth in the 200 individual medley despite being in the third of four heats. Golankiewicz's time was a 1:56.23, besting his seed time by over one second.

Prep outshot Hamden 14-11 in the second period but was Hamden who came away with a one-goal lead.
With goalie Spencer Sodokoff being pressured on the right side, forward Pat Lynch wristed a shot near the post to give Hamden a 3-2 lead at 2:33. Prep forward Darric White responded with a power-play goal at 5:02 to tie the game at 3.
Hamden went on to take a 4-3 lead at the second intermission thanks to a 5-on-3 man advantage - Prep’s Matt Brophy serving a slashing penalty and teammate Lucas Dennison serving an unsportsmanlike penalty.
Adam Devine’s shot from the left wing rebounded off Sodokoff to C.J. Carignan whose rising shot went into the upper right corner to make it 4-3 Hamden at 9:06.

Fairfield Prep's Ed Becker surged late in the 200 freestyle, but couldn't catch winner James Martin of Bristol. Becker finished second. Martin was the top-seed heading into the race with Becker second.

In a wild up-and-down first period, the teams fittingly came away with a 2-2 tie.
Forward Adam Devine put Hamden on the board first only 1:55 into the game. Brandon Dadio sent a pass from the bottom of the left circle to Devine in front of the left post. Devine one-timed a shot 1-0 lead.
Prep tied the game at 1 when center Bryan Puffer’s shot rebounded to Anthony Unker at the left post. Unker wristed a shot into the lower right corner for the goal.
Hamden regained the lead when forward Jim Burt scored on a wrap-around goal at 10:11. He grabbed the puck behind the Prep net and worked it around the left post and jammed it in to give Hamden a 2-1 lead.
Prep’s Darric White stunned the Hamden crowd when he scored off a faceoff with 1.2 seconds left in the first period. At the Hamden right circle, Prep’s Unker won the faceoff, passed Jackson Bargiello who got the puck to White. His slap shot went inside the eight post to tie the game at 2.

For a listing of the pysch sheet, click here.

To follow us at twitter, click http://twitter.com/nhrswimming

We will update this blog and the twitter throughout the meet.

Please click here to follow the Register's Title Tracker page.

Guilford wins the Division III title 7-3

Guilford outscored Brookfield/Bethel/Danbury 2-1 in the second period as the IceCats got a puck past Finucane.
Guilford forward Troy Raccuia scored his first goal off a shot at the bottom of the right circle. He shot high over IceCats goalie Luiz Dibble’s shoulder into the upper left corner for a 3-0 lead at 2:49 of the second period.
Like the first period, the IceCats had their periods of pressure against Finucane and Jared Smenyak got them on the board. Smenyak broke down the right wing on a 2-on-2 breakaway and shot from insed the circle. His rising slap shot just made it inside the right post to cut the lead to 3-1.
Raccuia responded with another goal to give the Indians their three-goal lead back. Dave DeCaprio took a shot from the right circle and Raccuia, camped out in front of the left post, redirected the shot for a goal and 4-1 lead at 10:08.

Shots on goal were close in the first period with the Indians outshooting the Icecats 7-5. Both sides had opportunities to score but Guilford would score two unanswered goals to take early control of the game.
Forward Stephen Petrick took a shot from the right wing. The puck rebounded off IceCats goalie Luiz Dibble to David DeCaprio who wristed a shot in front of the left post for a 1-0 lead 1:06 into the game.
Defenseman Christian Cattaruzza gave Guilford a 2-0 lead 9:42. He broke down the left wing and sent a slap shot from the top of the circle that flew into the lower right corner for the score.
The IceCats missed wide with four close-range shots. But it forward Grant Smith who had the best chance for an IceCats goal. All alone in front of the right post with the puck, he wristed a shot that hit the post. The puck bounced off Guilford goalie Sean Finucane and dropped motionless inches in front of the crease. No Icecats player was there for the rebound and Finucane cleared the puck away.

www.SportingNewsCt.com and ESPNRadio1300 (ESPNRadio1300.com) will show live broadcasts of the CIAC Division I boys' hockey final (Hamden vs. Fairfield Prep) at 2 p.m. and CIAC Division III final (Guilford vs. Brookfield/Bethel/Danbury) at 10 a.m. today at Ingalls Rink.
SportingNewsCt.com will show live video of the games.

Amity defeats St. Joseph 7-5 for the Division II title

Amity continued to give its self chances to score in the second period and outshot St. Joseph 15-10 in the period. But both teams traded goals in the second period to keep the game close.
Conor Crouse sent Pat Corcoran a perfect lead pass down center ice for a 1-on-1 breakaway. Corcoran scored his second goal off a 15-foot slap shot to make it 4-1 Cadets.
Amity kept pressuring Cadets goalie Zach Carrano who kept making saves. But a defensive mistake by Carrano cost the cadets a goal.
Carrano went behind the net to get a loose puck but two Amity players also got to the puck. Amity’s Sam Noss passed the puck to Will Dixon in front of the right post who had a wide open net in front of him. Dixon’s goal cut the lead to 4-2 with 1:17 left in the second period.

Amity outshot St. Joseph in the first period 12-10 but it was St. Joseph who ended up dominating where it counts – the scoreboard – with three quick unanswered goals.
Forward Pat Corcoran, camped out in front of the left post, took a pass from Connor Crouse of West Haven and scored a power-play goal at 5:28 for a 1-0 lead.
Forward Rob Bresnan added a goal to make it 2-0 and the Cadets padded the lead on a short-handed goal from Crouse.
Crouse stole the puck at the Amity blue line and waltzed in on Amity goalie Alec Mansfield. His rising shot caught the upper corner to make it 3-0 at 7:56.
Amity had several solid chances to score but St. Joseph goalie Zach Carrano denied the Spartans each time.

Ingalls Rink is alive with screaming fans as the puck is dropped to start the CIAC Division II boys' championship game.
Most of the early play has been between the blue lines.

Here are complete results from the Class S state swimming championship. To view, click here.

Foran sophomore swimmer Richard Enders placed second in the 100 backstroke in :55.47, and in the process broke the school-record of 55.95, previously held by his father, Rich, since 1983, Thursday at the Class S state championship.

It was the second of Rich Enders' four school-records to be broken on Thursday.

Foran freshman Dylan Swanepoel won the 500-yard freestyle at the Class S state championship. Swanepoel finished in a school-record time of 4:48.83.

Swanepoel broke the record previously held by Rich Enders, who swam a 4:49 in 1983. Enders' son, Richard, will attempt to break his father's school-record in the 100 backstroke later during the Class S competition.

Darien’s Richard Gregory gave the Blue Wave a 1-0 lead in the first period at 7:33. But it was all Hamden in the second period as the Green Dragons outshot the Blue Wave 16-3.
Adam Devine got the Green Dragons on the board with a goal at 2:10 of the second period. Jim Burt made it 2-1 Hamden off a rebound for a power-play goal at 6:08 and Nick Amarone padded the lead with a goal at 10:08 for a 3-1 lead.
Hamden outshot Darien 29-8 overall after two periods.

Foran sophomore swimmer Richard Enders will attempt to break the school record in the 100-yard backstroke at the Class S state championship.

His father, Rich, currently holds the record.

We will find out later tonight if the younger Enders is indeed successful in his quest.
To read the preview story, click here.

Prep goalie Spencer Sodokoff was the story in the second period, making 14 saves and stopping breakaways, slap shots and two multiple rebound opportunities for New Canaan.
Prep wasted no time in taking the lead when Lucas Dennison scored 18 seconds into the period for a 2-1 score.
Jimmy Joe Granito tied the game at 2 for New Canaan on a long-range slap shot from about 30 feet in front of Sodokoff who was screened by three players in front of him. The puck flew over Sodokoff’s leg pad into the net at 4:45.
Prep regained the lead at 3-2 when Anthony Unker grabbed a loose puck and shot between the two circles. The puck went into the lower left corner for the one-goal lead at 7:51.

CIAC DIVISION I SEMIFINALS: PREP VS. NEW CANAAN

Although Prep had its chances to score first in the first period it was New Canaan that got the lucky bounce for the first score.
Jimmy Joe Granito took a shot from the bottom of the right circle that bounced off Prep goalie Spencer Sodokoff’s chest right to Tim Robustelli at the bottom of the left circle. Robustelli quickly wristed a shot inside the left post for a 1-0 lead at 2:42 for the Rams.
Both sides continued to get shots off but Prep’s Bryan Puffer would end up with the equalizer. He stole the puck from a New Canaan defenseman at the Rams blue line and broke for Rams net. He took a rising slap shot between circles that flew into the upper left corner to tie the game at 1 at 12:21.

Branford finished fifth at the Class M state swimming championship. For complete results, click here.

Jerry Gargano, Tyler Olt, Kevin Gell and Alex Lombardi teamed to win the 200-yard freestyle relay in a time of 1:29.05 at the Class M state championship.

Lombardi was also second in the 100 freestyle and third in the 50 freestyle.

Amity sophomore Eric Holden broke the meet record in the 100 breaststroke in the Class L championships. Holden finished in 57.30 to eclipse the previous mark of 58.08 set by Cheshire’s Jared Proto in 1996.

"(The record) was always a goal at the end," Holden said. "I was thinking maybe a 57 high, I didn’t think I was going to go that fast. The record was always a goal, but to go that far under is just icing on the cake and I’m pretty excited about that."

Cheshire, which finished seventh overall last season here, finished a surprising second behind winner Pomperaug, holding off third-place Newtown by one point. Amity was fourth.

"We started talking about this a few weeks ago," Cheshire coach Fran Connolly said, "that (finishing second) was a possibility. To have it happen, everybody is thrilled."

To see the results from the Class L state swimming championships, click here.

To see complete results from today's Class LL state swimming championships, click here.

Fairfield Prep finished second for the third straight year behind Greenwich at the Class LL swimming championship held Wednesday at the Freeman Center on the campus of Wesleyan University in Middletown.

Fairfield Prep senior Andrew Golankiewicz won the 100 yard backstroke in 52.12 seconds.

Ed Becker, Tyler Pramer, Ryan Cahalane and Kristof Toth teamed to win the 200 freestyle relay.

That 200 individual medley had an area feel as four swimmers placed in the Top 6. Leading the way was Xavier junior Kevin Kosciuk, who was second (1:56.27). In the process, Kosciuk broke the school record in the event. The previous mark was 1:57.50.

Check out the brackets at the CIAC Web site:
http://www.casciac.org/hoc.shtml

NEW HAVEN — Behind 2-0 after the first period, defenseman Christian Cattaruzza had two goals and an assist and forward Dave DeCaprio added two goals to lead No. 1 Guilford to a 7-3 win over No. 4 Northwest Catholic on Tuesday in the semifinals of the Division III tournament at Ingalls Rink.
Guilford (17-4-1) outshot Northwest Catholic 40-22, and Guilford goalie Sean Finucane made 19 saves. It will face No. 2 seed Brookfield/Bethel/Danbury in the championship game on Saturday at 10 a.m. at Ingalls Rink. Brookfield/Bethel/Danbury defeated No. 6 Masuk 3-2 in overtime in the other semifinal. Guilford’s only other appearance in a state championship game was in 1994, when it won the Division II title.
"I was concerned falling behind 2-0," said Guilford coach Ralph Russo, who played hockey at Yale (1988 graduate). "I thought we were a bit out of synch defensively in that first period."
Guilford outshot Northwest Catholic 12-4 in the first period, but goals by Taylor Waybright and Matt Rode gave the West Hartford school (15-4-3) a 2-0 lead.
Guilford continued to pressure Northwest Catholic goalie Tim Waltman in the second period, and the momentum finally turned. Guilford’s Jordan Drake scored at 1:33 and Troy Raccuia tied the game at 2 on a power-play goal at 10:17.
Guilford wasted no time taking control of the game in the third period. Goals by Justin Gilloran 54 seconds into the period and a power-play goal by Cattaruzza at 2:03 made it 4-2. Northwest Catholic’s Zack Boorman cut the lead to 4-3 only 52 seconds later. But a goal by DeCaprio at 4:40 and another by Cattaruzza at 4:53 put the game away at 6-3.
"We knew it would take a lot to come back and win this game," Cattaruzza said. "Two goals and an assist is a pretty good game for me."

Due to a water main break at the Freeman Athletic Center on the campus of Wesleyan University in Middletown, the Class M and S state championship swim meets, scheduled for today at 3 and 7 p.m., respectively, have been postponed.

The meets will now take place on Thursday at the same site. Class M at 3 p.m. and Class S at 7 p.m.

It is anticipated that the facility will be available for the LL and L meets on Wednesday.

The State Open championship is also expected to go off as scheduled on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Yale's Kiphuth Pool.

Check out the schedule on the CIAC Web site
http://www.casciac.org/scripts/display_bracket16.cgi?sport=ihoc&class=I&year=2010

The CIAC Division I hockey semifinals scheduled for Wednesday have been moved to Thursday at Ingalls Rink in New Haven with Fairfield Prep facing New Canaan at 5:30 p.m. and Hamden facing Darien at 7:30 p.m.
According to a CIAC spokesperson, damage in Fairfield County caused by the recent rain caused power outages, power lines that fell to the ground and obstructed roadways forcing school to be closed at New Canaan. The result was the hockey team hasn’t been able to practice and the CIAC decided the extra day off would give the Rams an extra day of practice.

PLEASE NOTE: Recent high school schedules that have appeared in the newspaper have listed Hamden-Darien at 5:30 p.m. and Prep-New Canaan at 7:30 p.m. Actually, Prep-New Canaan is the first game at 5:30 p.m. and Hamden-Dairen is at 7:30 p.m.

Check out the high school hockey brackets at:
http://www.casciac.org/hoc.shtml


In the CIAC Division II boys’ hockey tournament, as expected No. 1 Amity rolled over No. 13 Trumbull 9-3 at Ingallas Rink on Monday. But No. 11 Branford gave No. 2 St. Joseph a real scare as the Cadets needed OT to win 6-5
Forward Joe Bianchi had a hat trick and three assists to lead the Spartans to their one-sided win.
The Spartans took a 4-2 lead after the first period with Bianchi scoring two of his goals in the period. Bianchi scored a power-play goal 46 seconds into the second period to give the Spartans a 5-2 lead and Marcel Shteirman scored at 4:45 to pad the lead at 6-2.
"Joe really put on a show for us tonight," Amity coach Gary Lindgren said. "He’s a sophomore sensation on our first line with Corey Shea and Anthony Aprile."
Trumbull’s Cory Watson scored a power-play goal at 5:35 of the second period to cut the lead to 6-3. But that’s as close as it would get.
"I was pumped up," Bianchi said. "It was great to get six points but I just did what I always do. I just tried to score and help the team."
In the other semifinal game, behind three goals entering the third period, the Hornets rallied to send the game into overtime. But the exciting rally fell short as forward Kevin Riley scored at 7 minutes, 21 seconds of sudden death overtime to give No. 2 seed St. Joseph the 6-5 win.
With a scramble in front of Furbush, three Branford players and two St. Joseph players battled for the puck. The puck squirted loose for a second and Riley jammed it into the net for the score.
Riley scored the game-winning goal in OT in last season’s Division III championship win over Staples.
"That was awesome, one of the best goals I’ve ever scored," Riley said. "I just battled for the puck and jammed it in with my stick."
St. Joseph will face No. 1 seed Amity in the championship game on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Ingalls Rink.
"At 3-0 it looked like a comfortable lead," St. Joseph coach Marty Crouse of West Haven said. "But their goalie was playing great and they came out flying in the third period."
Brian Kelly scored two first period goals and Christian Keator scored at 7:18 of the second period to give the Cadets (18-4-2) what appeared to be a commanding 3-0 lead heading into the third period.
But goalie Andrew Furbush’s hard work to keep the Hornets in the game paid off as they finally found some offense in the third period.
Branford’s Nick Blake scored a power-play goal 16 seconds into the period and Pat Murray scored at 1:16 to quickly cut the lead to 3-2. The Branford (10-10-3) crowd jumped to its feet when Austin Hackett tied the game at 3 at 5:25. But 14 seconds later St. Joseph answered when Pat Corcoran made it 4-3.
Branford tied it at 4 on a Blake goal at 7:03 but St. Joseph forward Connor Crouse of West Haven scored at 12:36 for a 5-4 lead.
The Hornets never quit and Bill Quinlan tied it at 5 with 1:51 left in the third period to send the game into OT.
Furbush ended up with 42 saves and St. Joseph goalie Zach Carrano made 28.
"I’m very proud of my players," Branford coach Adolph Brink said. "They proved they can play with anyone in the state."

Click on the links below to see the results:

Class LL
http://www.casciac.org/bswim10ll.shtml
Swimming Championship Meet - March 17 (Warm-up at 2:15, competition at 3:00) at Wesleyan

Class L
http://www.casciac.org/bswim10l.shtml
Swimming Championship Meet - March 17 (Warm-up at 6:15, competition at 7:00) at Wesleyan

Class M
http://www.casciac.org/bswim10m.shtml
Swimming Championship Meet - March 16 (Warm-up at 2:15, competition at 3:00) at Wesleyan

Class S
http://www.casciac.org/bswim10s.shtml
Swimming Championship Meet - March 16 (Warm-up at 6:15, competition at 7:00) at Wesleyan

It was a wild 24 hours for first-year Darien boys' hockey coach Larry Vieira following his team's 4-3 upset win over No. 1 West Haven in the first round of the CIAC Division I tournament on Wednesday night. Darien is seeded No. 16.
Vieira teaches at West Haven High and resides in Milford.
"In terms of my night (Wednesday), I did not go to sleep till 2 a.m.," said Vieira, a former longtime boys' hockey coach at Branford. "This is the biggest win ever for me including the 1988 state championship game (Branford defeated Shepaug for the title). Everyone counted our players and coaches out after our 0-5 start this season. The day-to-day improvement and continued work ethic by these players has been refreshing to see."
Vieira said Thursday at Westie High was strange.
"First and foremost, I respect the coaches at West Haven and love the hockey players and students alike," Vieira said. "All the players on that West Haven team are hard working kids on and off the ice. They have always shown the utmost respect for me as a teacher and a coach.
"We had CAPT testing today (Thursday) so I only saw a couple of players. I did not kid with them because they were upset at losing. I would only compliment their discipline and hard skating they did throughout the game."
Overall, there were mixed emotions for Vieira.
"To be honest, it felt strange being in the school because this hockey team means so much to the school and the community that I support and teach at," Vieira said. "But at the same time I am devoted to the Darien High hockey team and my total loyalty is to that team.
"The teachers were supportive of my team's effort but were upset that a lot of great kids at West Haven lost."

Kudos to Darien boys' hockey coach Larry Vieira who teaches at West Haven High and resides in Milford. His No. 16 seeded Blue Wave pulled off the biggest upset of the 2009-10 season by stunning No. 1 West Haven 4-3 in the first round of the CIAC Division I tournament.

Check out the brackets for all divisions at the CIAC Web site at http://www.casciac.org/hoc.shtml

Richard Gregory scored the game-winning goal with 8 seconds left in the third period and goalie Will Love made 34 saves as Darien beat West Haven 4-3 at Bennett Rink in West Haven on Wednesday.
Gregory also scored at 11:28 of the third period to tie the game at 3.
The Blue Wave improves to 11-11.
Tim Baylis scored twice for the Blue Devils (17-4), ranked third in the Register Top 10 poll.
Goalie J.P. Withington made 25 saves for the Westies.
No. 2 Hamden 4, No. 13 Xavier 3: The Green Dragons scored four times in the third period in this first round home victory.
C.J. Carrignan scored twice and had one assists for No. 2 Hamden (14-5-1), while Connor Walsh and Jim Burt also scored.
Mike Samek, Dan Walsh and Brandon Reid scored for the Falcons (8-13).
No. 2 Fairfield Prep 3, No. 15 Trinity Catholic 1: Lucas Dennison, Darric White and Bryan Puffer scored for the Jesuits in this first round win at the Wonderland of Ice in Bridgeport.
Puffer also had two assists for top-ranked Fairfield Prep (16-3).
No. 5 Notre Dame-Fairfield 6, No. 12 Fermi 2: Tyler Schmarr and Peter Gintoli each had a goal and two assists to lead the Lancers to their first round win at the Milford Ice Pavilion.
Goalie Eric Sugrue of New Haven made 18 saves for the Lancers (16-6). Dan Haber and Ryan Guhne scored for the Falcons (11-10).
division ii
No. 1 Amity 5, No. 16 St. Bernard 2: Corey Shea scored twice for the Spartans in this first round win at Bennett Rink in West Haven.
Eric Carrano, Joe Bianchi and Anthony Aprile also score for No. 9 Amity (19-2-1).

Below are the pairings for the boys' swimming state championship meets:

Class LL
http://www.casciac.org/bswim10ll.shtml
Diving - March 11 (Warm-up at 3:30, competition at 5:30) at HamdenSwimming Qualifying Meet - March 13 (Warm-up at 1:30, competition at 3:30) at HamdenSwimming Championship Meet - March 17 (Warm-up at 2:15, competition at 3:00) at Wesleyan

Class L
http://www.casciac.org/bswim10l.shtml
Diving - March 11 (Warm-up at 3:30, competition at 5:30) at BulkeleySwimming Qualifying Meet - March 13 (Warm-up at 1:30, competition at 3:30) at YaleSwimming Championship Meet- March 17 (Warm-up at 6:15, competition at 7:00) at Wesleyan

Class M
http://www.casciac.org/bswim10m.shtml
Diving - March 10 (Warm-up at 3:30, competition at 5:30) at East LymeSwimming Qualifying Meet - March 13 (Warm-up at 1:30, competition at 3:30) at East HartfordSwimming Championship Meet - March 16 (Warm-up at 2:15, competition at 3:00) at Wesleyan

Class S
http://www.casciac.org/bswim10s.shtml
Diving - March 10 (Warm-up at 3:30, competition at 5:30) at PlainvilleSwimming Qualifying Meet - March 13 (Warm-up at 1:30, competition at 3:30) at PlainvilleSwimming Championship Meet - March 16 (Warm-up at 6:15, competition at 7:00) at Wesleyan

Shelton’s Pat Gillen dominated the field in the 215-pound weight class at the New England Wrestling Championships Saturday at the New Haven Athletic Center.

Gillen, a junior, defeated James Collins of Reading (Mass.) 7-0 in the championship final. He was the only area champion.

Gillen, who improved to 49-0 this season, did not give up a point the entire tournament.

Alex Carpenter of Amity finished fourth at 160. He lost an 8-0 decision to Nick Lawrence of Timberland (N.H.) in the consolation match. Nick Giulietti of Sheehan lost in the consolation match at 140 to Dave Pinto of Milford (Mass.) 3-1.

Mike Diglio scored what proved to be the game-winning goal and goalie Jason Bailin made 20 saves to lead No. 2 Cheshire to a 3-2 win over No. 1 Amity in front of an estimated crowd of 900 at Bennett Rink in West Haven on Saturday.
Diglio’s goal at 10:47 of the third period gave the Rams a 3-1 lead. Diglio broke alone down the right wing and sent a rising shot from the bottom of the right circle that caught the inside of the left post.
It was Cheshire’s second straight SCC title and third overall with a championship in 1999.
“I was fortunate to get a goal and pad our lead (3-1),” Diglio said “As it turned out, it was an important goal.”
Cheshire improves to 17-5 and Amity falls to 18-3-1.
Behind 2-0 at the end of two periods, Amity’s late rally fell short and it was a tough blow for the Spartans.
“That was a heartbreaker,” Amity coach Gary Lindgren said. “We played hard, we played well and it was a great hockey atmosphere overall. But that third goal was the backbreaker. We fought back but we just ran out of time.”
Both teams had chances to score in the first period but it was the Rams who got on the board with the only goal of the period.
With Amity’s Joey Ciancola serving a hooking penalty, Cheshire defenseman J.D. Keegan took a shot from the left point. Cheshire forward Mike Devine was camped out near the left post and redirected the shot past Amity goalie Alec Mansfield for a 1-0 lead with 55 seconds left in the first period.
The Rams padded the lead with another late goal in the second period and Diglio was involved in the play with an assist. Diglio sent a lead pass to Nate Gaudio breaking down center ice. Gaudio split two Amity defenders and wristed a shot past Mansfield for a 2-0 lead with 50 seconds left in the period.
Amity, ranked eighth in the Register Top 10 poll, has been dominant in the third period this season and the trend continued. With a faceoff at the right circle in the Cheshire zone, Amity’s Sam Noss took the faceoff and scored unassisted at 5:49 to cut the lead to 2-1.
After Diglio scored to make it 3-1, the Amity pressure increased and Bailin became a very busy man between the pipes. As the time wound down and Bailin kept making saves to preserve the lead, Lindgren pulled Mansfield with just over a minute left in the game. The sixth man on the ice paid off with Kurt Wehr scoring to cut the lead to 3-2. But there were only 11 seconds left in the game. After the ensuing faceoff, Cheshire controled the puck and killed the time for the win.
Mansfield also ended up with 20 saves in the game.

Here's a link to the CIAC hockey pairings.

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, the governing body of high school sports in the state, released the pairings today for the Division I, II and III boys' hockey tournaments.
Looking at the competition, matchups, seedings and brackets, the titles will likely come down to the chalk (favorites, top 3-4 seeds) in each division.

When it is all said and done, this year's CIAC tournament could be a special one for the Southern Connecticut Conference in all three divisions. An impressive 14 of the 16 teams in the SCC (all divisions combined) have qualified for the postseason.

In Division I, who can beat top seed West Haven, No. 2 seed Fairfield Prep or No. 4 seed and defending champion Hamden? All three SCC teams have depth, strong goalies and are coming off strong regular-season schedules that have prepared them for this point in the season.

No. 3 seed New Canaan has been on a roll this season and should be the toughest team to represent the southern part of the state. No. 6 Glastonbury and No. 8 Tri-Town will be the teams to beat in the north. But with due respect to those teams who are all extremely well coached, their strength of schedule doesn't quite match up to the aforementioned SCC teams of Prep, Hamden and West Haven.

The D-I wildcard? No. 5 Notre Dame-Fairfield. But the Lancers have struggled against top ranked teams with all six of their losses to teams ranked in the Register Top 10 poll. The key will be talented goalie Eric Sugrue who can get hot and carry the Lancers on his back.

In Division II, No. 3 seed and defending champion Cheshire and No. 1 Amity, who won the D-II title in 2008, are in different brackets and could be headed for a rematch in the championship game. Both teams will face off tonight in the SCC Division II tournament championship game at Bennett Rink in West Haven at 7 p.m.

Although the Spartans have arguably the best goalie in Division II this season with Alec Mansfield, both Amity and Cheshire are strong front to back and should roll through the tournament.

Watch for Cheshire freshman forward Owen Powers to provide some key goals or assists, a player who complements the Rams' balanced scoring attack and has emerged as a solid scorer and playmaker.

The team that could put a damper on the Spartans' and Rams' hopes for a title is No. 2 St. Joseph. The Cadets won the Division III title last season and have the talent and depth, led by forward Conor Crouse of West Haven, to beat even the top Division I teams. No one will be surprised to see the Cadets win the title, but St. Joseph would have to get by Cheshire in the quarterfinals and then potentially face Amity in the final.

No. 4 Suffield/Granby/Windsor Locks will be a tough out with its experience and talent. But the team to watch as a sleeper will be another SCC team - Lyman Hall. The Trojans are 0-4 combined against Amity and Cheshire this season. But the last two games with each team have been close 1-goal losses that could have gone either way thanks to Lyman Hall goalie R.J. Negri.

The Division III tournament looks wide open with only 10 teams qualifying for the post season (teams need a 40 percent regular-season record to qualify). Top seed Guilford of the SCC has talented forwards and defensemen, but it will likely be goalie Sean Finucane who will lead the Indians to the promised land of the championship game.

A hot goalie at this D-III level is usually the key to the title and Finucane can easily take on that role.

Fairfield Prep senior Ed Becker won the 200-yard freestyle, the 500 freestyle and was a member of two winning relays, while senior Kristof Toth captured the 50 freestyle and senior Andrew Golankiewicz the 200 individual medley as the Jesuits won their sixth straight SCC title Wednesday at Yale’s Kiphuth Pool.

The Jesuits compiled 866 points to easily outdistance runner-up Xavier (693). Amity (419) was third, Branford (4-7) placed fourth and Cheshire (384) finished fifth.

Becker won with a time of 1:46.10 in the 200 freestyle. He finished with a 4:50.78 in the 500 freestyle. Becker teamed with Toth, Brian Dougherty and Tyler Pramer to win the 200 freestyle relay, and with Pramer, Golankiewicz and Ryan Cahalane to capture the 400 freestyle relay.

Amity sophomore Eric Holden won the 100 breaststroke (:59.04), was fourth in the 200 IM, and was a member of the fourth-place 200 medley relay team and the fifth-place 400 freestyle relay team. Holden was named the meet’s most outstanding performer.

Hamden's Peter Cyr won the SCC diving title on Tuesday at Hamden High.
Here are the Top 5 finishes:

1. Peter Cyr (Hamden), 447.60; 2. Tyler Pramer (Fairfield Prep), 433.85; 3. William Conte (Branford), 414.0; 4. Jacob Carloni (Branford), 413.05; 5. Dale McElroy (Hamden), 380.55.

The SCC swimming championship will take place on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Kiphuth Pool at Yale (Payne Whitney).

Fairfield Prep has won the last five titles.

Some swimmers to watch include:
Ed Becker, Fairfield Prep (200-yard freestyle, 500 freestyle); Eric Holden, Amity (200 individual medley, 100 breaststroke); Andrew Golankiewicz, Fairfield Prep (200 individual medley, 100 backstroke); Alex Lombardi, Branford (50 freestyle, 100 freestyle); Kevin Davila, Xavier (100 butterfly); Kristof Toth, Fairfield Prep (100 freestyle); Justyn Alexandre, Sheehan (100 backstroke); Tyler Naumann, Xavier (200 freestyle, 100 freestyle).