Greenwich Boys Hockey Clinches State Tournament Berth

Paul Macken and Alex Liebers scored goals and Ricky Piper stopped 14 shots Monday as the Greenwich boys hockey team clinched a berth in the state tournament with a 2-0 victory over Norwalk-McMahon at the Darien Ice Rink.

Macken tallied in the first period and Liebers sealed the victory with an empty netter late in the third.

Greenwich, which improved to 6-5-1 in the FCIAC and 7-10-2 overall, closes out its regular season on Tuesday at Rye Country Day.

While Piper didn't face a lot of pressure, he registered his third shutout in the last five games. The Cardinals have won five of their last seven games to secure a postseason spot.

The visitors relied on excellent passing and pressure in the attacking zone  to overwhelm the Bears (0-12, 4-14), who were unable to get anything going offensively. 

Greenwich had plenty of opportunities to score, but goaltender Dan Diaz kept Norwalk-McMahon in the game with 34 saves. The Cardinals controlled the first period as the Bears' first shot did not come until 6:08 remaining.

The visitors' domination finally paid off with 2:48 left in the period. Marc Deluca fired a shot from the blue line that was redirected home by Macken, who suffered a hand injury in the second period and did not return.

Norwalk-McMahon had a chance to tie it early in the second period, but couldn't cash in a pair of power plays.  Three of the Bears' four shots in the period came on the two power plays.

Through two periods, Greenwich enjoyed a 26-8 edge in shots but was nursing only a one-goal lead.

Still, the Bears spent most of the third period chasing their opponent, as they did through the first 30 minutes. Mike McRoy had the best chance for Norwalk-McMahon, but his backhand effort was easily saved by Piper.

Norwalk-McMahon called a timeout following an icing with 1:43 left and pulled Diaz for the extra attacker.

However,  the Bears were unable to control the faceoff and Liebers raced through the neutral zone before sliding the puck into the empty net.

Norwalk-McMahon finished winless in league play for the third consecutive year.

Greenwich completed league play with 13 points and now awaits its first-round opponent in the state tournament.