Fairfield Prep Wins Division I Hockey Title

As part of a believed unprecedented championship doubleheader between two former rivals, there was considerable hype leading into Saturday's Division I hockey title game between Fairfield Prep and .

But the first meeting between the schools on ice never seemed in doubt.

Bryan Puffer scored a pair of goals and John Galiani recorded 25 saves as the tournament-tested Jesuits rolled to a 5-0 victory over the Cadets before a capacity crowd of 3,200 at Yale's Ingalls Rink.

Fairfield Prep and St. Joseph will meet for the Class LL boys basketball state championship at 8:15 p.m. at the Mohegan Sun Arena, and the Cadets will be the favorite in that one.

"This year, from early on, you could tell that they had something special with the way we came together," Fairfield Prep coach Matt Sather said. "It's really where we thought we'd be. We're happy that they played their best in the biggest moment." 

After a two-year absence, the Jesuits (21-3) are back on top, winning their 14th state championship, second in state history behind Hamden's 17. The Jesuits lost to the Green Dragons, 6-5, in last year's final.

"I can't describe it, it's the best feeling in the world," Galiani said. "I'm really happy that we came through and were able to pull it out after last year ended kind of tough."

"To go out like this as a senior, it's really special," Puffer added.

With another state title within their grasp, the Jesuits came out flying with an aggressive forecheck and looking to fire pucks on net. The Jesuits finished with a 46-25 edge in shots.

"Everybody was so fired up until the puck dropped," Galiani said. "We were ready to go. We were amped."

St. Joseph (21-6) has made huge strides with its hockey program seemingly overnight. On Wednesday, the Cadets stunned previously unbeaten New Canaan 6-5 to advance to the state final in their first year in Division I.

But St. Joseph was not ready to take down one of the giants of Connecticut high school hockey.

"We knew we had to play our best game to be competitive and I thought we came up a little short," St.  Joseph Coach Marty Crouse said. "But I'm proud of them for coming this far."

Conor Peterson and Don Carnicky staggered the Cadets early, scoring 70 seconds apart to give the Jesuits a 2-0 lead just 3:24 into the contest.

"(Scoring the first goal) was absolutely huge," Puffer said. "That's all we were working on - trying to get the early lead and bury them early."

St. Joseph showed against New Canaan that it has plenty of firepower, but the fundamentally-sound Jesuits did not allow the game to turn into a shootout. And Galiani was the last line of defense, stopping two breakaways in the second period, when the Cadets looked to climb back into the contest.

"John played a special game," Sather said. "He's a special goalie. He doesn't get a lot of notoreity. I never understood why. I think he's been the best I've seen in Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, you name it, Rhode Island. Anywhere we went, he was the best goaltender on the ice.

"He was awesome today. Not only did he make the big saves in the big spots, but he made it look easy. He was poised, he was confident, he was enjoying himself.  It was beautiful to watch him play."

Peterson tipped Kevin Brown's shot from the point to get the Jesuits on the board. Just over a minute later, Carnicky beat Cadets netminder Zach Carrano with a bullet from the slot.

"We played as well as we could play today and to do that in the biggest moment, is very rewarding for coaches," Sather said. "It's a pretty humbling experience."

But Puffer scored his first from in front with 1:31 left to make it 3-0 after one, then tallied again 5:13 into the  second to give the Jesuits a commanding 4-0 lead.

David Griffin capped the scoring just under five minutes into the third period when he poked a loose puck past Carrano. Puffer picked up the assist.

"I was hoping that we would have had had a better showing and I think we could have had a better effort," Crouse said. "But we had some high points this year. We moved to Division I and made the final. That's quite an accomplishment for an eight-year-old program."