HAMDEN, CT — The last time Conard High School won a CIAC ice hockey championship, many parents of the current players were barely teenagers themselves. The school nickname was the Chieftains, the CIAC required a .500 winning percentage to qualify for postseason play and the championship contests were played March 16, 1996 at the Hartford Civic Center, which still featured a primary tenant in the National Hockey League known as the Whalers. Down in Hamden, the Quinnipiac Braves played a Division III schedule in front of a handful of fans each game.
Fast forward nearly 28 years to the day. Conard is now known as the Red Wolves, and the CIAC has partnered with Quinnipiac to host the state’s three high school hockey championships at the 3,386-seat M&T Bank Arena. On Thursday night, for the first time, two high school teams squared off for a title under the newly-raised Division I championship banner earned last spring by the Quinnipiac Bobcats.
Conard, seeded third in the Div. III tournament, quickly broke from the gates in its showdown with the top-seeded co-op of Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury and Immaculate (BBDI). Just past the midpoint of the first period, the Red Wolves had grabbed a 2-0 lead, which they extended to 3-0 in the middle stanza en route to a 4-1 victory and the school’s third overall championship.
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Less than six minutes into the contest, Brady Narus knocked home the rebound of a Julian Schneider shot to open the scoring. Just over three minutes later, Luke Shaffer beat BBDI galtender Max Pawloski for what proved to be the eventual game-winner.
Aiden Emery, assisted by Nick Paolitto, provided the Red Wolves a 3-0 margin at the 9:37 mark of the second period. The IceCats refused to fold, however, as Tom Miller set up Jovannie Smeriglio for a power play goal less than two minutes later.
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Conard iced the championship early in the third period when Emery slipped the puck past Pawloski on a penalty shot after being hauled down on a breakaway. From there, the game belonged to Red Wolves netminder Blake Ittleson, who stopped 20 of 21 shots to earn the victory.
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Pawloski had 27 saves for BBDI, which had been seeking its first state title.
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