WEST HAVEN — After shutting out Notre Dame-West Haven two weeks ago, Fairfield Prep expected a pushback from the Green Knights when they met again Saturday at Bennett Rink.
They got it, but Jesuits junior co-captain Mason Whitney gave Notre Dame one gigantic shove at the end of the first period. His goal with 7.4 seconds left put Fairfield Prep up by two, sparking the No. 2 Jesuits to an 8-1 win over No. 3 Notre Dame.
“We didn’t expect to put up eight,” Whitney said “but we knew they were going to come out as strong as they could in the first, and we thought we should match their energy, put a little bit more effort than we did (on Feb. 1, a 6-0 Jesuits win), especially since last time we got lucky with a couple of goals.”
Fairfield Prep captain Mason Whitney talks about his teams 8-goal performance today and his line producing two hat tricks in the win #cthk pic.twitter.com/sLEzwyWliq
— Pete Paguaga (@PetePaguaga) February 15, 2020
Whitney and linemate Tiernan Curley each scored three goals and added an assist on Saturday for the Jesuits (9-6-2), who led 2-0 after one and took a 6-0 lead before Notre Dame’s Bryce Vitale scored late in the second.
Whitney’s first was a killer, coming directly off a right-circle faceoff. He knocked the puck to the inside at the dot and snapped a shot off the post and in.
Fairfield Prep’s Mason Whitney wins the draw then goes bar and in to give Prep a 2-0 lead over NDWH after the first period #cthk pic.twitter.com/x3LuqYX55V
— Pete Paguaga (@PetePaguaga) February 15, 2020
Notre Dame coach Larry Vieira pointed out the trend: A last-minute goal when the teams met in last year’s Division I title game put the Jesuits up 2-0 on the way to a 5-2 win, and a last-minute first-period goal on Feb. 1 made it 3-0 Jesuits. And this goal made it 2-0.
“It’s not a fluke. It’s not us playing bad, it’s them making us play bad. It’s them creating the chances,” said Vieira, in his second year at Notre Dame.
“Hats off to them. As I’ve said since I took this job, Fairfield Prep, no disrespect to any other teams in the state, is the bar we need to reach. Until our team believes we can beat them, we’re going to keep coming up short.”
Seamus Carolan scored 39 seconds into the second period, and Matt Wenger made it 4-0 at 5:34. Curley finished his hat trick by the end of the second period; Whitney joined him in the third, the last on a power play.
Prep’s Tiernan Curley scores his second of the game and it’s 5-0
Prep leading NDWH in the second period #cthk pic.twitter.com/Nl3nAXGuFQ— Pete Paguaga (@PetePaguaga) February 15, 2020
Andrew Stietzel finished with 26 saves for the Jesuits, making some key stops when it was close in the first period.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Both Tiernan Curley and Mason Whitney had four points. We’ll give the nod to Whitney just for how crucial that goal at the end of the first was.
“It was a really great read by Mason, and it’s a really great read by Aksel (Sather, the line’s usual centerman) on that draw, because, normally, you might want your lefty taking that draw if you’re going to go back, but they saw something,” said Matt Sather, the Jesuits’ coach and Aksel’s uncle.
“They switched off on that draw, and they have the ability to do that. That didn’t come from me. It was a nice read and a big play for us.”
LINE UP
While the line of Roberts Viguls, Jack Esse and Wenger had its fingerprints all over the first meeting, the creative Curley-Sather-Whitney line took charge of this one.
“What they do well is break the puck well out of our zone. Mason is probably our best defensive center, and he doesn’t play center,” Matt Sather said. “They have such a good defensive presence that it helps them transition. They break the puck out better than anybody we have. For three younger guys, a junior and two sophomores, you don’t get that very often, that sort of poise in your own end.”
AGAIN
The teams seem fated to meet again in the SCC Division I championship on March 7 at Bennett Rink. They could meet in the state tournament, too, of course.
The Green Knights stayed behind closed doors for a while after Saturday’s game.
“We talked about that we’re a good team. We’re in the SCC championship. Right now, we’re 13-5 and we’re the No. 1 seed. We are a very good team. But we have not played very good against Prep,” Vieira said.
“Those two games are like reading a horror story twice. There is zero change from the first game to the second game. They jumped on us. They had better foot speed. They outcompeted us, and they outplayed us. I have nothing but respect for their coaching staff and for their team. They are, as of Feb. 15, they are much better than us.”
NDWH gets on board as Bryce Vitale buries this rebound and it’s 6-1 Prep leading NDWH after two periods of play #cthk pic.twitter.com/IbOxlZDD3M
— Pete Paguaga (@PetePaguaga) February 15, 2020
QUOTABLE
“I wouldn’t read anything into it other than just another game in February. There’s a lot of hockey left for both teams.” —Fairfield Prep coach Matt Sather
mfornabaio@ctpost.com; @fornabaioctp
