Pacioretty Hit With Three-Game Suspension

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New Canaan's was handed a three-game suspension by the NHL for his high hit on Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins during Saturday's game in Montreal.

Letang, who suffered a broken nose on the hit with 3:14 remaining in the third period, actually returned to score in overtime to give the Penguins a 4-3 victory.

Pacioretty was not penalized on the play, but received the suspension after a telephone hearing with NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan on Monday morning.

Pacioretty, who struck Letang in the head with his shoulder, will sit out Wednesday at Anaheim, Thursday at San Jose, and Saturday at Los Angeles. He will lose $26,351.34 in salary under terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

"I feel terrible that he got hurt and I'm thankful that he came back," Pacioretty said after Saturday's game.

"It's a quick decision there. He's coming across the middle, he's got the puck and is maybe in a scoring opportunity. If I let him go, he could potentially score on us. I knew I had to hit him but I didn't want the result to be like that."

Pacioretty has made an impressive comeback since suffering a fractured vertebra and severe concussion on a hit from Boston's Zdeno Chara in March.

Paciorettty is the Canadiens' leading goal scorer with 10 and ranks second on the club in scoring with 19 points, just one behind team leader Tomas Plekanac.

Pacioretty is on pace to surpass 30 goals and shatter his career high of 14 set last year when he played in only 37 games.

New Canaan's Alexei Spinu has been named to the FCIAC boys cross country second team.

All-FCIAC boys first team

Henry Wynne Staples

Harry Warnick Fairfield Warde

Thomas Moore Danbury

Nicholas Carlsen Danbury

Chris Madaffari Brien McMahon

Charlie Baird Darien

Michael Johnston Darien

Mikolaj Kulis Staples

Sam Lagasse Westhill

Marshall Huffman Darien

Nick Laskos Trumbull

Mickey Kosak Danbury

Patrick Nolan Staples

Alex Ostberg Darien

Marcus Russi Staples

All-FCIAC boys second team

Jack White Fairfield Ludlowe

Patrick Healy Danbury

James Quintanilla Danbury

Austin Held Trumbull

Clint Corso Ridgefield

Alexei Spinu New Canaan

Blake Liebing Ridgefield

Peter Kreuch Darien

Kevin Ford Ridgefield

Malcolm Connor Trumbull

Eli Converse Darien

Edwin Rosales Norwalk

Trevor Hopper Ridgefield

Michael Coe Darien

Kristian Sogaard Ridgefield

All-FCIAC girls first team

Abigail Markowitz Greenwich

Nicole Ambrosecchio Westhill

Alosha Southern Wilton

Grace Loh Darien

Claire Howlett Westhill

Sarah Fountain Greenwich

Sarah Guillaume Ridgefield

Jennifer Goggin Greenwich

Caroline Koenig Staples

Laura Hergenrother Ridgefield

Samantha McCarthy Ridgefield

Caroline Keough Fairfield Warde

Alison Ambrosecchio Westhill

Jillian Tallent Fairfield Warde

All-FCIAC girls second team

Alexandra Foesal Wilton

Emily Brenner Danbury

Marguarette McSpedon Ridgefield

Heather Moriarty Fairfield Ludlowe

Paige Lyons Wilton

Jennifer Ventrella Ridgefield

McKinley Stauffer Darien

Alex Popkin Staples

Keiley Gaston Wilton

Madison Tannenbaum Ridgefield

Elizabeth Markowitz Greenwich

Ellen Baver Darien

Sarah Woxholdt Danbury

Kaliegh Constantine Danbury

Jacqueline Wall Fairfield Warde

The team will be making its 12th appearance in the state playoffs on Tuesday when the fifth-seed Rams visit No. 4 New London in the Class L quarterfinals.

New Canaan, which completed a 9-1 regular season with a 42-21 win over Darien on Thanksgiving, will tie St. Joseph and Bloomfield for the fourth-most playoff appearances in state history. Only Ansonia (25), Hand (16) and Greenwich (15) have made more.

New Canaan is seeking a ninth state championship, which would tie Hand for third on the state's all-time list. Ansonia has won a record 16 titles and St. Joseph is second with 10.

The Rams have appeared in five consecutive state championhip games, but their run of four consecutive titles in last year's Class L final.

Class L clearly is the toughest of the four divisions with three undefeated teams. Masuk (10-0), ranked second in the state behind Xavier, actually is the No. 3 seed.

In other quarterfinals Tuesday, top seed Windsor (10-0) hosts Notre Dame-West Haven (8-2), No. 2 Hand (10-0) entertains No. 7 Coventry/Windham Tech (9-1) and Masuk is home for No. 6 North Haven (9-1).

The semifinals will be played on Dec. 3 at 2 or 7 p.m. and the finals are set for UConn's Rentschler Field in East Hartford the weekend of Dec. 9-10.

New Canaan boasts one of the top offenses in the state, led by senior quarterback Matt Milano, who has passed for 30 touchdowns and just four interceptions.

Tuesday's contest could be a high-scoring affair as New Canaan is averaging 37.3 points per game and New London 35.8. However, the Whalers surrender just 10.4 points per outing and the Rams yield 17.9.

The FCIAC sent four teams in the state playoffs as Staples, Norwalk and Ridgefield qualified in Class LL.

The New Canaan-New London winner will face the Windsor-Notre Dame of West Haven winner in the semifinals.

New London, a traditional power in the lower classifications, moved up to Class L this season. The Whalers handed FCIAC runner-up Greenwich its only regular-season loss with a 51-33 victory.

Like New Canaan, New London will be making its 12 state playoff appearance and has won five titles. The Whalers' most recent championship came in 2008 when they defeated Seymour 27-18 in the Class SS final. Last year, the Whalers lost to Hillhouse 7-0 in the Class M title game.

The Whalers qualied for the Class L playoffs with a 37-17 victory over Norwich Free Academy on Thanksgiving. Kyle McKinnon rushed for 244 yards and scored three touchdowns for New London.

After the girls got under way last week, winter practice began this week for boys basketball and hockey.

Here is a scrimmage schedule for the New Canaan girls and boys basketball teams:

BOYS BASKETBALL

Saturday -- at Derby, 10 a.m.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Saturday -- at Cromwell, 3 p.m.

GIRLS HOCKEY

Saturday -- at Shelton Jamboree, 4:15 p.m.

MONDAY'S RESULTS

No games scheduled

TUESDAY'S SCHEDULE

Football

New Canaan at New London, 6:30 p.m,, Class L quarterfinals

STANDINGS

• Football

283-347

• Boys soccer

• Girls soccer

Field hockey

Girls volleyball