Cheshire Tops North Haven, Advances to Division II Hockey Quarterfinals

Led by 36 saves from junior goaltender Jake Verneris, the Cheshire hockey team topped No. 8 North Haven 5-2 in the opening round of the CIAC Division II state tournament Tuesday night at the Northford Ice Pavilion.

The ninth-seeded Rams (9-10-2) will play top-seeded Conard (15-6) in the quarterfinals Friday night at a site to be determined.

“I had a lot of support on defense,” Verneris told Mike Madera of the Post-Chronicle/GameTimeCT.com. “They pushed everything to the outside and I was able to see the puck. It is so much easier when you get a lead like that.”

Cheshire scored three goals in the first period to put the Indians in an early deficit they were never able to recover from.

“It was just too much to overcome,” North Haven coach Michael Silengo told Madera. “That seemed to be the way we did it this year. It was too little, too late. We will learn from it and move on.”

The Indians finished the season with a 9-8-5 record.

Read the full story at GameTimeCT.com here.