Cheshire Rams upend Sheehan Titans to reach Southern
Connecticut Conference High School Hockey final
By John Pettit
Meriden Record-Journal
February 29, 2008
NORTH BRANFORD, CONNECTICUT - Cheshire senior Steve Farrel picked the perfect time to find his scoring touch.
A left wing, Farrel netted a pair of goals Thursday night to lead the No. 3 Rams to a 4-2 win over second-seeded Sheehan in the semifinals of the Southern Connecticut Conference’s Division II hockey playoffs at Northford Ice Pavilion.
“Farrel stepped up,” Cheshire coach Jim Riccitelli said. “He only had two goals on the (regular) season and he scored two (Thursday).”
With the win, the Rams (15-5-1) advance to tonight’s SCC final against top-seeded Amity, a 7-4 winner over No. 4 Branford in Thursday’s first semifinal.
Cheshire was able to exact some revenge Thursday night against Sheehan, the defending SCC D-II champs. The Titans beat the Rams 4-3 in a regular season tilt Feb. 13.
“We told the kids we’d get them when it counts,” Riccitelli said. “Not that the regular season doesn’t matter to us, but this is the league tournament.”
Cheshire out-shot Sheehan 22-19 on Thursday, but the Titans had an 8-4 edge after a scoreless first period. The Rams came out fired up in the second period.
“We just got pumped up in the locker room by the coaches and the captains,” Farrel said.
Riccitelli said he simply urged his team to play with more emotion.
“It’s something we haven’t done in a while,” he explained. “I said, ‘That’s what’s going to win the game.’” Senior center Cully Naramore gave Riccitelli and the Rams the emotional lift they were looking for with an unassisted goal 12:47 into the second period.
“We just needed something to get ourselves going,” Naramore said. “We got that with the first goal and we just carried that through the rest of the game.”
Farrel gave Cheshire a 3-0 advantage on back-to-back goals in the third period, with his second score coming on a wrist shot over the left glove of Sheehan goalie Cameron Sidwell (18 saves).
“Every practice I usually shoot top right corner,” Farrel said. “I’m just used to it.”
Bryan Sidwell got the Titans on the scoreboard with a power play goal, but senior right wing Dennis Mc Sherry answered to push Cheshire’s lead to 4-1.
Sheehan’s Brendan Kane cut the Rams’ lead in half when he finessed a backhand score by Cheshire goalie George Donnarumma (17 saves) but, with 1:31 remaining, it wasn’t enough. “Hopefully we’re getting back to the way we played in the beginning of the year,” Riccitelli said. “Just that little bit of emotion was missing. We lost it somewhere, but I’m glad we found it (Thursday).”
Sheehan dropped to 15-6-0 with Thursday’s loss, its third in a row.
“We had a goal in mind and that goal was to get back to the SCC final game,” Sheehan coach Ralph Shaw said. “We just came up a little short.”
Instead, Cheshire moves on to tonight’s 7 p.m. championship game at the Ice Pavilion. The Rams lost to Amity 40 during the regular season.
“We out-shot them, but they’re well-coached and they’re a good team,” Riccitelli said. “It’s going to be a battle.”
Amity, Cheshire to play for Southern Connecticut Conference
High School Hockey Title
By Dan Nowak
New Haven Register
February 29, 2008
NORTH BRANFORD, CONNECTICUT - Cheshire's defense shut down Tyler Timek, the area's leading scorer with 55 points (22 goals, 33 assists) and Cheshire goalie George Donnarumma and Sheehan goalie Cameron Sidwell made some outstanding saves to keep the game scoreless for the first 28 minutes.
But momentum switched the Rams' way when Cheshire's Cully Naramore was able to sneak the puck inside the left post to give the Rams a 1-0 lead with 2:13 lrft in the second period.
Farrel made it 2-0 only 54 seconds into the thrid period and gave the Rams control of the game with another goal at the 6:11 mark.