It’s been just over a year since the South Windsor Bobcats overtime upset over the Wethersfield Eagles, thanks in large part to Josh Willoughby’s hat trick and game winning shot. Fast forward to today, both teams entered their January 10th game in very similar ways to that game one year ago.
The Bobcats are 1-5, having won their first game earlier in the week against East Catholic. Wetheresfield entered undefeated, already having four shutouts including one over the Bobcats in the second game of the season.
Both of which are very similar to how they entered the game at South Windsor last season, with the one difference being Willoughby out of the lineup. The senior is serving a one game suspension for a questionable game misconduct call because of a hit during the Bobcats win over East Catholic.
As the puck dropped, the Eagles were quick to move into the offensive zone. Just as it seemed they may get one in early, the puck would get tipped out of the zone and into the hands of ‘Cats sophomore Matteo Heredia.
Heredia skated down the ice and found fellow sophomore Gavin Plunske alone in front of the net. Plunske fired a shot that found the back of the net. In just over one minute, the Bobcats took the lead.
Wethersfield had shutouts in four of the last five games, but would lose a possible fifth in just one minute.
For much of the rest of the period, the Eagles tried to get their offense going but would be unsuccessful every time. Most of their shots would come from near the blue line, with Bobcats sophomore goalie Owen Sampson saving every close look.
South would have some good looks on offense but couldn’t convert on a second goal before the horn sounded. As the teams headed to the locker rooms after the first period, the Bobcats held a 1-0 lead.
With the start of the second period, the teams continued trading blows but neither could find the perfect moment. After a few minutes, the Bobcats would get their best opportunity to extend the lead.
The ‘Cats had heavy pressure on the Eagles goalie, Nathan Rydeki. Senior Landon Ayotte, back in the lineup for the first time all season after dealing with a lingering back pain, would fire a pair of shots that would rebound back out to him.
After being denied multiple times, the senior would fire a shot that went right past Rydeki and into the net for the ‘Cats second goal. In his first game of the season, Ayotte provided a pivotal goal in a must-win situation. The home crowd erupted as the score read 2-0.
Ayotte spoke to The Prowl after the game about his return, saying “I thank my coaches for giving me the time to heal and I thank my teammates for hyping me up for my first goal back.”
The Eagles were in a position they hadn’t really been at all this season: trailing by multiple goals. It wouldn’t help that Sampson was locking down their offense in net, stopping anything and everything that came his way.
The period would end with the ‘Cats ahead by two. Both teams headed to their locker rooms with completely different vibes.
As they returned to the ice, the Eagles knew they had to act quick or else they could be in danger. Wanting to keep the pressure on, the Bobcats would spend a bulk of the early minutes of the period on the attack.
With the clock continuing to run down, the Eagles were stuck having to play defense. Everytime they’d get the puck free and seem to have a chance, they’d lose the puck en route to the net, and for the few successful shots they got off, Sampson denied every single one of them.
When the pressure got heavy on Wethersfield, they’d commit a crucial mistake when they’d be called for a penalty. Now they had to spend two minutes down a man and make their offensive attack plan halt as the clock drained under five minutes.
At around the 2:30 mark, the Eagles emptied their net and put a sixth skater on the ice. The Eagles rifled off a few good shots but the ‘Cats defense stepped up and prevented many of the shots from getting near the net.
Sampson made a strong save with under a minute to go as the upset win started to be felt among the crowd. As the clock ran under ten seconds, the Bobcats pushed the puck into the corner and tied it up as the horn sounded. The bench emptied as everyone poured onto Sampson. The sophomore officially earned his first career shutout as the ‘Cats pulled off the huge upset.
Bobcats head coach Nick Gionfriddo, now having upset the Eagles in both of his first two seasons, spoke to The Prowl about the game. “We knew coming in that we were playing an undefeated team who’s already beaten us. They’re well coached, they compete hard, and if you give them any momentum, they’ll make you pay,” Gionfriddo said.
Gionfriddo added, “Our focus was on starting the right way, playing with pace, being disciplined, and setting the tone early.” Plunske’s goal a minute into the game defines exactly what the ‘Cats coach preached to his team.
Sampson had the best game of his high school career, much to the liking of Gionfriddo. “Our goaltending was unbelievable. Our team knew number one had our backs back there when we needed it. A well deserved shutout and a well deserved team win,” Gionfriddo stated.
Despite starting the season 0-5, the ‘Cats are rolling. After the massive upset over Wethersfield, the Bobcats will look to push their win streak to three games when they host Hall on Wednesday, January 14.
