Hockey previews: Eastern Catholic looking for a better ending | high school sports

Unfortunately for the Eagles, their season had come to an abrupt end the night before with a 3-2 loss to CCC foe Glastonbury in the first round of the Division II tournament.

Coach Joey Trenholm and his players were looking for a rebound in the 2020-21 season.

East Catholic finished 9-2-0 and was about to score a point in the CCC North tournament. The 2021 winter state tournaments were also canceled due to the pandemic.

But the Eagles entered a two-week quarantine on March 17, ending their season five days before the start of the tournament.

With state tournaments back this year, East Catholic looks set to avoid another heartbreaking end and take a deep run in Division II.

Elsewhere, the Newington co-op is looking to have another strong season as it comes off a CCC South tournament title and the Suffield co-op hopes to continue improving as it returns to the Nutmeg Hockey Conference after being in the CCC last season. have spent.

The Wildcats girls co-op enters the season as the reigning CCC tournament champion and moves on to another title.

2020-21 RECORD: 9-2-0 (9-1-0 CCC North)

RETURNS: Seniors: Kevin Kolodziejczyk, F; AJ Bushnell, F; Cole Usseglio, F; Kael Bailey, F; Mason Cormier, G. Junior: Colin Turer, D. Sophomore: Tyler Bartlett, D.

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Senior: Jack OConnor, F. Juniors: Andrew DeCorleto, F; Brady Hemenway, D; Ben Sarner, D. Sophomore: Luke Kennedy, F.

OUTLOOK: The Eagles will have to look for new faces for production as they lost their top two scorers from last season. Still, Trenholm gets the services of Kolodziejczyk and Bushnell, who both had double figures last season. Defensively, Turer and Bartlett will lead the charge for Cormier, who gets his first chance to start in the net. Last season he went 2-1 as a backup.

2019-20 RECORD: 6-8-0 (6-6-0 CCC South)

RETURNS: Seniors: Cam Sterling, F; Quentin Wry, F; Keegan Hodgkinson, F; Caleb Van Hoorn, F; Conor OBrien, D; Zack Stoltenberg, D; Pat Brennan, D; Dan Polgun, G.

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Senior: Cole Schoen, F. Junior: Damian Till, F.

OUTLOOK: It will be a year of returns for the Bucks. The team returns to the Freitas Ice Forum in Storrs after playing at the South Windsor Arena last season due to construction work. It is also back in Division III for the first time since 2014-15. That year, the Bucks won the state title. Hodgson has the services of 11 seniors, including all-conference forward Hodgkinson and newcomer Schoen. He hopes that both players will have great years offensively.

2019-20 RECORD: 5-8-0 (5-7-0 CCC South)

RETURNS: Seniors: Kyle Cox, D; Declan Higgins, F. Juniors: Luke Arseneault, F; Nick Morrell, G; Tommy Terhune, G; Ethan Ambrosino, F; Logan Humiston, D.

OUTLOOK: The Enfield, East Granby and Stafford co-op should be solid in the defensive zone. Morrell and Terhune will compete for playing time in the net. Genovese hopes his team can continue to play strong in special teams, but said multiple players will need to play a bigger role in attack.

COACH: David Harackiewicz

2019-20 RECORD: 11-1-1 (6-1-1 CCC South)

RETURNS: Seniors: Braeden Humphrey, D; Tyler Leavitt, F; Blake Blackwood, D; Niko Giotsas, D. Juniors: Mike Deegan, F; Josh Grimm, F; Evan Howard, D; Evan Oliver, F; Harrison Ranger, F; Jeremy Wagner, G.

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Senior: Jack Reynolds, F. Junior: Andrew Stribling, F. Sophomore: Kyle Klimas, F. Freshman: Jack Petronio, F.

OUTLOOK: Coming out of a CCC South tournament title, Harackiewicz thinks the Newington, Berlin, Manchester, Canton and Cromwell co-op will be competitive every game. Defense will be the bread and butter of Noreasters this season, led by two-way defenders Humphrey and Howard. Junior goalkeeper Wagner will serve as the teams starter this season. Harackiewicz said he has been good in the preseason and has the technical skills to be one of the better goalkeepers in the conference.

2019-20 RECORD: 0-12-0 (0-8-0 CCC South)

RETURNS: Seniors: Alex Frommer, D; Patrick Frommer, F. Juniors: Jack Campbell, D; Carter Dalrymple, F; Lucas Gorcensky, D; Austin Jonas, D; Austyn Morin, D; Nate Ojala, F; Jason Tew, D. Sophomore: Dominic Fusco, F; Ross Sutherland, D; Maison Tyc, D.

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Senior: Tyler Szegda, F. Junior: Conor Johnson, F. Sophomore: Griffin Beach, D; Jack Bell, G; Landon Bell, F; Bauer Cordeiro Larkin, G; Jamie Keleher, F; Sean Kelly, F; Shane Pourmaleki, F; Sam Segar, D. Freshmen: Ryan Murphy, G; Carson Sward, F.

OUTLOOK: After a few tough seasons, Byram hopes that a change in the attitude of Shamrocks will bring some success this year. The Rockville, Bolton, Coventry, RHAM, East Hartford and Windham Tech co-op will have many new faces this season. Half of the Shamrocks roster is new to the team. Of those new additions, all three teams include goalkeepers in sophomores Jack Bell and Cordeiro Larkin and freshmen Murphy. Byram said all three are currently about the same level meaning there is some depth to the position.

2019-20 RECORD: 5-5-1 (3-5-1 CCC South)

RETURNS: Seniors: Jordan Blais, F; Ryan Martineau, F; Dylan Gazdik, F; Sam Banever, D; Colby Esposito, D. Junior: Elliot Demers, F. Sophomore: Austin Renggli, F; Ben Wosko, D.

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Sophomore: Ryan Hughes, F; Hunter Bascove, G.

OUTLOOK: King said the Suffield, Granby and Windsor Locks co-op has its smallest roster in the past decade with 17 skaters and one goalkeeper. Still, he’s excited about his team’s prospects as they return to the nutmeg hockey conference after a year in the CCC amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps the biggest change from last season is the loss of three-year-old novice goalkeeper Cam Begley at graduation. King said newcomer Bascove is fundamentally healthy with a good glove and hopes he will gain confidence every game. On the offense, King gets the services of Blais, who led the Wildcats in scoring a year ago (11 goals, 3 assists).

2019-20 RECORD: 6-8-1 (4-5-1 CCC)

RETURNS: Seniors: Meghan Croyle, F; Mary McKiernan, D; Molly Edgington, F; Olivia Lonski, D; Katie Fradin, F; Anna Pasterick, D; Maren Riley, G. Juniors: Anabella Pacheco, D; Norah McCauliffe, D; Jessica Pollack, F; Emily Malouin, D; Leila Espirito-Santo, F; Kelsey Kowal, G. Sophomore: Alexis Pacheco, F; Mallory Pierz, F; Audrey Molin, F; Alexa Wolf, F; Maddie Archambault, F/D.

OTHER KEY PLAYERS: Freshmen: Liliana Ficaro, F; Kate McKiernan, D; Edith Hayes, F; Maya Visser, F; Karolina Prytko, D.

OUTLOOK: The combination of veteran and new talent has got Usseglio excited for the season. Storm, which is made up of players from East Catholic, Glastonbury, South Windsor, Rockville and Tolland, will return some key components in 2021-22. These include all-state defender Mary McKiernan (10 goals, 6 assists last year), all-CCC forward Croyle (9 goals, 13 assists), defender Bella Pacheco (2 assists, plus-9 rating) and goalkeeper Riley (2.16 goals against average, .916 savings rate). Usseglio expects his team to play well defensively in all three zones of the ice.

2019-20 RECORD: 9-6-0 (6-6-0 CCC)

RETURNS: Seniors: Sophia Blais, D; Kylie Downs, F; Hailey Gomez, G; Konelin Wierdsma, D. Juniors: Natalie Ewald, F; Teagan Mabrysmith, G; Lila Whitney, D. Sophomore: Caroline Doyle, F; Janine Eitel, F; Annabelle Krueger, F; Rosie LaRochelle, D; Zoey Pietras, F.

OUTLOOK: Two all-CCC players return to the co-op from Suffield, Ellington, EO Smith, Granby, Canton, Windsor and Northwestern. Ewald scored 12 goals and Mabrysmith posted a 2.30 goals against average and .930 save rate when the Wildcats captured the CCC tournament title last year. Downs also have key defensive pieces back in Blais and Wierdsma, and the pairing play of Kylie Downs, who scored two of her three goals in overtime last season in the CCC tournament, including the tournament final.