For the past three years, the Lyman Hall/Haddam-Killingworth/Coginchaug hockey team has been the talk of Division III high school hockey, and this year they continue to show why with a record of 6-2. Although there have been some close calls and multiple overtime finishes, LHKC doesn’t seem worried.
“Right now it’s just about getting used to new lines and becoming more confident on the ice,” said Coginchaug junior and forward T.J. Islieb.
Beginning the season playing tough Division II teams, LHKC has won four straight games against Division III opponents but hasn’t exactly hit their stride yet. Winning 7-2 over Daniel Hand, 4-1 over Staples, 6-4 over Westhill-Stamford, and another OT win over New Milford 4-3 in which Lyman Hall junior Matt Pettite sealed the win.
Coginchaug senior and captain Kyle Roberts said, “We can’t take teams lightly. We’ve won our last four games, but we took New Milford lightly and almost lost.”
Coginchaug senior and assistant captain Connor Satton added, “We need to improve our consistency, and we need to play the entire game.”
The schedule continues to get harder, however, so LHKC will need to continue to get better if they want to run the show in DIII.
“We play Sheehan… at Wesleyan which should be huge,” Islieb said. “We also play Branford which will be a challenge for us. Another big game is the Eastern Connecticut Eagles; they won the Division III State Championship last year.” The Sheehan game is on Jan. 26 at 8:00 p.m.
Despite some tight games, the guys continue to step up to help LHKC out. “Freshman Jack Roberts has really stepped up and scored a ton of points,” said Roberts. “Junior forward Matt Pettit has 11 goals, and Connor Satton has been skating really well.”
Although LHKC faces a tough upcoming schedule, if the team continues to get better and guys continue to step up, the boys should see a lot of success.
“I think we are still overcoming some humps, but everybody is on board and buying into the system, so it’s looking really good,” said Islieb.
LHKC hockey continues their season with a game Wednesday, Jan. 16, against BBD at the Danbury Ice Arena for a 6:20 p.m. start.
