A Chris Digerolamo goal late in the third period proved to be the difference on Tuesday afternoon in Stockholm, as the ice hockey team advanced to the second round of the Jefferson Tournament with a 2-1 win over Chatham.
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, which improved to 5-2 this season.
“We came out slow…we’re going to forget about the first period,” Hillsborough head coach Joseph Bennett said. “But in the second and third period they responded. A couple of guys in locker room stepped up and made some speeches in there and it really fired the guys up.”
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After falling behind 1-0 in the first period courtesy of Chatham’s Trip Burke, Bennett made a few changes on the fly, promoting more aggressive forechecking and more scoring opportunities.
“I think our forecheck was more aggressive [in the last two periods],” Bennett explained. “We moved guys up a little bit more, we switched a couple of guys around position-wise and that gave us a little more energy.”
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The change in philosophy proved effective, as Hillsborough’s Danny Congiusta evened the score on a power play with just under 11 minutes remaining in the final frame.
Digerolamo followed up the game-tying score by banging in a rebound off a Kyle Burke shot with just over three minutes left, surging Hillsborough to its fifth win of the season.
“It’s as good as a slap shot to the upper corner,” Bennett said of the rebound goal. “It counts just as much.”
