Boys' Hockey Prepares for Postseason Tournaments

When Cheshire head coach Jim Riccitelli walked off the ice Wednesday afternoon at the Champions Skating Rink in Cromwell he said "We stole one."

Stole one in that his boys hockey team had played nearly 53 minutes even with East Catholic of Manchester and then found an opening with 42.9 seconds left. Freshman Matt Muzyka intercepted a pass at mid-ice and passed to his left to junior Spencer Hackett who deftly rifled home

The Rams also received goals from Muzyka, Luke Vendetto and Ryan Powers.

Before the game Wednesday, Riccitelli impressed on his players how important performance and consistency are as the Rams approach the end of the regular season.

"I told the kids 'This is the time of year, you can't have a bad period, you can't have a bad game because the season will be over quick,' " Riccitelli said.

On Saturday, Cheshire (12-5-2) defeated Lyman Hall 7-3, and earlier in the week on Monday the Rams lost to St. Joseph of Trumbull 4-1 at Shelton Rinks.

The Rams finish their regular season against Wethersfield at Trinity College on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. Cheshire will then play in the Southern Connecticut Conference Division II Tournament in a semifinal matchup Friday at Bennett Rink in West Haven against an opponent to be determined. The CIAC Division II Tournament begins on March 7.

Girls' Hockey

Brittany Muzzolo scored at 10:43 of overtime to lift the Amity/Cheshire/North Haven/North Branford co-op (13-7) to a 2-1 victory in the first round of the Central Connecticut Girls Hockey League playoffs Monday. Bailey McGinnis scored the co-op's other goal.

Boys' Basketball

Cheshire lost twice this past week to Hillhouse-New Haven, the sixth ranked team in the state, first in the Rams' regular season finale Monday 52-33 and on Saturday in the SCC Tournament quarterfinals, 67-45.

Junior Nate Howard scored 17 points and had 14 rebounds to lead the Rams (13-9) on Saturday.

Cheshire reached the quarterfinals with a The No. 10 seed Rams' Matt Bailey scored a game-high 19 points, Greg Leonetti added 15 and Howard 13 as Cheshire outscored No. 7 seed Branford 25-9 in the fourth quarter after trailing 38-35 after three. Howard scored a team-high 16 points for the Rams in Monday's loss to Hillhouse.

Monday was also Senior Night during which co-captains Bailey and Leonetti were honored along with Gil Lassen, Nate Trumbo, David Wright and Justin Zovas.

Girls' Basketball

Cheshire (11-11) is seeded 25th in the CIAC Class LL Tournament and will play a first-round game at Ridgefield Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Senior Julia Strobel and freshman Missy Bailey were honored as SCC All-Housatonic selections at halftime of the SCC Championship game Tuesday.

Wrestling

Scott Tomlinson weighed in at almost one pound over his 135-pound class so was held out of the CIAC State Open Championship finals at the New Haven Athletic Center Saturday.

Last week, Tomlinson (30-4) was runner-up in his weight class at the SCC Championships, advancing for the first time in the postseason during his career. Tomlinson was seeded No. 8 at the Open.

Boys' Swimming

The SCC Boys Swimming and Diving Championships are Wednesday at Moore Fieldhouse at Southern Connecticut State at 6 p.m.

Trials for the finals are Monday at 4 p.m. at Hamden High School, and the diving competition is Tuesday at  5:30 p.m. at Hamden High.

Fencing

The Cheshire fencing team earned three berths for the State Open March 5 at East Lyme High. The Rams' boys qualified as third seed in foil competition and sixth in epee and the girls qualified sixth in foil at the qualifying meet at Hopkins School in New Haven Saturday.

Ray Noonan earned a spot on the All-State second team in foil. A No. 24 seed, Noonan defeated two eighth-seeded fencers to reach the quarterfinals in the competition before losing and finishing eighth.

Rugby

Cheshire Rugby Club is holding spring registration ($135 per player) today from 6-8 p.m. at Cheshire High School. The fee includes team equipment and supplies, ImPact concussion testing, payment to the Cheshire Parks and Recreation Department, and a dry-fit practice T-shirt. Discounts are available for families with multiple players or those in need of financial assistance. Forms are also on www.cheshirerugby.com.

All players must register with USA Rugby for $20 each online. This can be done at registration. The Scrum club is organizing a Laser Tag party on March 13 at Laser Planet in Waterbury. The event will run 6-9 p.m. Tickets for anyone over age 13 are $20. Those interested can purchase tickets on the website or see assistant Sean McKeown. 

Cheshire resident Special Olympics Unsung Hero

Cheshire resident Andy Rice will be honored at the Special Olympics Connecticut Hall of Fame Dinner on March 11 at 7 p.m. from the Aqua Turf Club in Southington. Rice will receive an Unsung Hero Award, which highlights dedicated volunteers who work for the organization. For tickets ($25), contact Kelli Bigelow at (203) 320-1201 ext. 276 or KelliB@soct.org.

Hometown News

Freshman Todd Heritage (Class of 2010) scored a goal and had two assists in Bucknell University's 10-8 victory over Villanova Saturday. Heritage has four goals and two assists for six points in Bucknell's two games this season.

Freshman Nico Mongillo, the first fencer from Cheshire Fencing Club to compete in the NCAA, is 8-10 in men's epee competition for Vassar College.