St. Joseph Advances To Division I Hockey Semifinals

The boys hockey team wanted another crack at undefeated New Canaan, and the Cadets got their wish.

Conor Crouse scored two goals and Zach Carrano recorded 33 saves Saturday as St. Joseph held off Ridgefield 3-2 in the Division I quarterfinals at the Terry Conners Rink.

The win sends the Cadets (20-5) back to the "Yale Whale", their second home, according to Crouse, to face the Rams in the semifinals on Wednesday for the fourth time this season.

"We get to live another day," St. Joseph coach Marty Crouse said. "We've been doing it one day at a time, but now that it's New Canaan, I'm really looking forward to it. Playing at Yale is an honor."

The Cadets will be making their fourth consecutive appearance at Ingalls Rink, the site of the semifinals and finals, and they think the odds are on their side since New Canaan won the previous three meetings.

On March 5, the Rams rallied from a two-goal deficit entering the third period to beat St. Joseph 4-3 in the FCIAC title game. Carrano made an astonishing 61 saves in that contest.

"That's going to be the game of a lifetime (against New Canaan)," the younger Crouse said. "We let up a little against them (in the FCIAC final). They came back, they're a good team, they showed no panic. They probably were never in that position. Kudos to them, but hopefully this time, the ending will be a little different." 

The Cadets certainly started strong Saturday, scoring on two of their first three shots as Crouse and Pat Corcoran each beat Ridgefield goalie Nate Gliedman to the stick side in the first five minutes.

"That's a tell-tale sign that (Gliedman) was nervous," Marty Crouse said. "But we didn't pressure him. Thank goodness we had Zach Carrano because (we had) four shots in the first period."

Ridgefield (17-6-1) settled down after coach Shaun Gallagher called a timeout and out-shot St. Joseph 10-4 in the first period. Carrano made some big saves early to allow the Cadets to hold on to their 2-0 lead after one.

"We know we can always count on Zach," Conor Crouse said. "We know he can't do it all, but he always finds a way to play spectacular in net. There's no greater time for him to be be hot right now. We need this coming into the game against New Canaan."

After recording four consecutive scoreless periods in the state tournament, Carrano finally allowed a goal, as Ridgefield's Matt Flanagan banged in a rebound to pull Ridgefield within 2-1 1:43 into the second.

The contest then settled into a goaltending duel. Each team had 10 shots in the second period before the Tigers out-shot the Cadets 15-9 in the third for a game edge of 35-23.

"Zach is that kind of goalie," Marty Crouse said. "He loves the excitement. It's tough on the coaches. We just have to pile on our leads and try not to protect them as much."

The Tigers nearly tied it a minute into the third period, but Carrano made a diving glove save on Sean Wilkinson, Ridgefield's best player, from close range.

"The third period put me in the zone," Carrano said. "The third period, they just pelted me. It kept me in the zone, it kept me focused, which I need."

At 6:43, Conor Crouse scored the eventual winning goal off a strong individual effort. He picked up a loose puck  inside the Ridgefield blue line and used his speed to cut around a Tigers' defender. Crouse then broke in alone and beat Gliedman hit to the stick side.

The Cadets needed the extra goal because Wilkinson made things interesting when he scored on a breakaway with 3:39 left to pull Ridgefield within 3-2.

Ridgefield didn't apply a ton of pressure after pulling Gliedman, but Carrano did make a pad save on Ryan Parsons' drive from the left faceoff circle with a minute left.

"He's just a great athlete," Marty Crouse said. "He makes the athletic saves. There's no style. I  don't care how he does it, just as long as does it."

St. Joseph won the rubber game against Ridgefield this year. The Tigers won the regular season meeting 4-1, but the Cadets answered with a 3-2 win over the Tigers in the FCIAC semifinals.