On a cold and windy Monday afternoon, the Bobcats of South Windsor traveled to the Northford Ice Pavilion to take on the North Branford Thunderbirds. Both teams have had disappointing seasons, especially considering the history of both programs, but the two squads both looked to end their season on a high note with a win.
Prior to the game, Bobcats head coach Nick Gionfriddo reminded his players to play this game for the seniors on the team. Gionfriddo spoke to The Prowl after the game about his message to the team, “Last game of the season, you’re playing for the guys who will no longer be with us and they did just that.”
When the opening puck drop hit the ice, the Bobcats started falling into what they’ve done most of the year, being on the defense. The Thunderbirds fired off several shots early on and had multiple breakaways, but South Windsor senior goalie and captain Noah Sampson stopped the puck every time.
Sampson made several huge saves to keep North Branford scoreless for the entire first period. The pressure would be taken off of Sampson a couple minutes into the period and would instead swing to the Bobcats offensive zone.
The ‘Cats fired off several near misses before freshman Matteo Heredia would find his older brother Junior who would not be denied, netting his second goal in the last nine days to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead that would last until the horn sounded at the end of the period.
While a one goal lead may seem minute, it marked the first time the ‘Cats entered an intermission with a lead since their upset over Wethersfield way back on December 30th. The Bobcats locker room was much more relaxed and excited than it had been in months.
The second period was all South Windsor. Senior captain Mason Trombley and junior Josh Willoughby scored back-to-back goals to give the Bobcats a 3-0 lead.
Just when things started getting good for the ‘Cats, a slew of controversial penalties were called that saw three ‘Cats all spend time in the box together, with juniors’ Evan Dunn and Cameron Lawler getting four and five minute penalties respectively, while Trombley had to serve two minutes.
Having a 6-on-3 advantage, North Branford scored their first goal of the game in the waning minutes of the middle period. When the horn sounded, the Bobcats led 3-1 with just one period of hockey left for the seniors of the squad.
The third period quickly got very fiery and chippy. Two ‘Cats remained in the penalty box to begin the period. When they returned to the ice, they swapped with Willoughby and junior Nolan Hathorn, who both received penalties for their involvement in a skirmish, while one Thunderbird also received a penalty.
Having yet another advantage, North Branford finally became able to score again and cut the Bobcat lead to just one goal. With the clock ticking down under a minute, and a faceoff in front of the Bobcats own goal, the opportunity to tie the game was the best it could have been for the Thunderbirds.
With their backs against the wall, the ‘Cats stepped up. The South Windsor defense jarred the puck free several times to kill the clock and let the horn sound.
All the Bobcats players jumped on Sampson in celebration. “It was a very gritty game, back and forth with [the] penalties, but we continued to battle and pull out a win to end the season,” Sampson said.
Following the game, The Prowl spoke to head coach Nick Gionfriddo, saying “A season of ups and downs, we finished on a very high note. Last game of the season, you’re playing for the guys who will no longer be with us and they did just that.”
With the abundance of penalties on both sides, Gionfriddo was most proud of the ‘Cats ability to kill the power play, “Being able to deal with adversity with penalties, killing off a 5-on-3 for two and a half minutes in the third gave us a bunch of momentum to keep the 3-2 lead,” Gionfriddo said.
After a rough season, the win in the final game was a nice ending for the senior class. “It was nice to end the season we had with a win,” Trombley said.
While the season wasn’t at par with recent Bobcat hockey records, there were flashes that show a bright future for the South Windsor hockey team. With a full off-season ahead for Gionfriddo, the coach will look to hopefully mold the ‘Cats back into their previous playoff form.
