Burke Scores Lone Chatham Goal in Defeat

A Chris Digerolamo goal late in the third period proved to be the difference on Tuesday afternoon in Stockholm, as the Hillsborough ice hockey team advanced to the second round of the Jefferson Tournament with a 2-1 win over .

Despite a slow start, Digerolamo’s rebound goal, combined with a 20-save effort from freshman goalie Tim Sweeney, capped a quality day on the ice for Hillsborough, who improved to 5-2 this season.

But for a young Chatham team, Tuesday was a day marred by an inability to finish, despite consistent pressure in the offensive zone.

Head coach Harvey Cohen attributed his team’s struggles to its inexperience, explaining that a turnover in players from last season has his club still finding its way.

“We’re a young team still trying to find ourselves,” he explained. “If you look at the varsity roster, how many first year varsity players, they’re still trying to find their identity.”

Chatham jumped out in front in the second period behind a Trip Burke goal, but failed to pad the lead, despite a number of opportunities.

“We had quality opportunities we just didn’t capitalize on them,” Cohen said. “We had a 2-on-1 when the score was still 1-0, and we didn’t get anything out of it.”

Hillsborough’s Danny Congiusta evened the score on a power play with just under 11 minutes remaining in the final frame, before Digerolamo followed up the game-tying score by banging in a rebound off a Kyle Burke shot with just over three minutes left to advance in the tournament.

“It was a great game that came down to last second opportunities and they had them at the end,” Cohen surmised.