Notre Dame-Fairfield boys ice hockey advances in state tournament with win over Fermi

The Notre Dame of Fairfield boys ice hockey team came from behind twice on its way to a 6-2 win over Enrico Fermi High School of Enfield on Wednesday. The victory propelled the Lancers into a third matchup tomorrow with fourth-seeded Hamden in the second round of the state Division I boys ice hockey tournament.

The turning point came in the second period, when the Lancers' scoring output was the lowest of the evening. They had to score two come-from-behind goals to end the first period in a 2-2 tie. Sharp passing and excellent offensive patience gave them a 3-0 scoring edge in the third. But Ben Viccari's breakaway goal and goaltender Eric Sugrue's heroic save in the second shifted the game's momentum.

"We came out to play hard," said Lancers Head Coach Martin Roos. "In the beginning, we probably had a little jitters because we've got a lot of guys who have never been in the playoffs before, freshmen, sophomores, even seniors who have never played at this stage."

Any Notre Dame jitters were short-lived.

Fermi had opened the scoring with a quick goal at the 1:47 mark and kept pressing Sugrue, who managed to keep his nets clear. With just under eight minutes left in the first, Conor Walsh evened the score after a centering pass from Nick Dupuis.

In less than a minute, Fermi struck back, but their lead lasted less than two minutes as Lancers Peter Gintoli, behind the Falcons' net, found captain Tyler Schmarr waiting in front to even the score at 2-2.

Notre Dame's 1-0 scoring advantage in the second belied their 14-5 shot offensive domination of the period, largely due to a defensive shift.

"We just isolated their best player, No. 19 [Mike Cherpak]," said Schmarr. "That was pretty much our game plan the second and third periods and it seemed to work out the best, cause he got less shots those two periods."

The muting of Cherpak aside, Fermi enjoyed the first man-up advantage of the game. Just after the two-minute mark, a Lancer crashed into Fermi's goalie Andrew Silva, drawing a penalty, and the Notre Dame penalty killers went to work.

Freshman Charlie Zuccarini took center stage with his aggressive forechecking, eating up critical man-down seconds as the Falcons tried to shake him.

"I'm just trying to get the puck before they do," said Zuccarini, "or I'm just working hard and trying to get the puck back."

The penalty killers did more than defensive maintenance. Ten seconds before Notre Dame returned to full strength, Viccari found himself alone with the puck, headed for the Fermi goal.

"I got a great pass from my teammate [Christian] Blais, a perfect pass, that started me on the breakaway," said Viccari. "I had noticed he [Silva] was cheating over to his right hand side and left his glove hand open, and I could take advantage of it and put it in."

Viccari's shot stretched the upper right corner of the net and would prove to be the Lancers' winning edge, although the convincing moment came about a minute later, when Cherpak penetrated the Notre Dame defense for an uncontested solo.

Well, almost uncontested. He still had to deal with Sugrue in the Notre Dame nets.

"I just put the two goals behind me," said Sugrue. "The first goal was over my glove, so I knew that they were going to keep going glove. I tried to stay up a little more and be patient."

Cherpak bore down as the intrepid goaltender reduced his angle and finally deflected what could have been the tying shot off his shoulder into the boards.

Lancers fans howled with delight; the Falcons stands were silent.

In the third period, the Notre Dame shot advantage (12-6) did not reflect the Lancers' domination. Colin Fox assisted Brian Sanca for a 4-2 lead. Kevin Bettini soloed in for the Lancers' fifth score. Peter Gintoli finished the scoring in a scramble with assists from Viccari and Schmarr.

In tomorrow's quarterfinal game, the Lancers will have the opportunity to beat Hamden's Green Dragons for the first time this season.

"It's amazing," said Schmarr, delighted at the prospect of avenging two regular-season losses. "We get to play Hamden on Saturday. They'd better be ready to play cause I know we are."