Newington co–op’s Mike Deegan had four goals and an assist in Wednesday’s 11-2 route of Southington co-op.
NEWINGTON, Jan. 4, 2023 – No one has any sympathy for defending Division III state champion Newington, even when illness or injuries take four players out of the starting lineup.
The Nor’easters used a mix of young players and upperclassmen to roll past Southington co-op team on Wednesday at Newington Arena in an 11-2 rout in CCC South action.
Mike Deegan had a game-high four goals and an assist to lead the undefeated Nor’easters (6-0) with David Andrews and Josh Beaudoin each scoring a pair of goals.
Newington, which is comprised of players from Newington, Canton, Cromwell, Berlin and Manchester, took a 2-0 lead when Canton sophomore defenseman Mason Buckley intercepted a Blue Knight neutral zone pass and broke away to muscle the puck past Southington goalie Max Scirocco just 41 seconds into the 2nd period to start a Newington onslaught.
Canton freshman David Andrews took a pretty pass from sophomore linemate Josh Beaudoin at the 4:31 mark to increase the Nor’Easter lead to 3-0. Nineteen seconds later, Deegan netted his second goal of the night assisted by Harrison Ranger making it 4-0 Newington.
After some loose play in their defensive end allowed Blue Knight forward Tyler Schmarr to rip a shot past Nor’Easters goalie Jeremy Wagner, Newington’s Evan Oliver scored on a breakaway followed by goals from Nor’easters wingers Beaudoin and Deegan to cap the second period explosion and give the home squad an 8-1 lead.
In the third period, Deegan added his 4th goal of the night, Andrews and Beaudoin scored their 2nd goal each to bring the Nor’Easters’ goal total to 11 on the night.
Southington goalies Scirocco and Cody Petolla combined to stop 27 of 38 shots while Wagner and Canton freshman goalie Caden Gendreau combined to stop 16 of 18 Southington shots. Southington is made up of players from Southington, Coginchaug and Westbrook.
Newington returns to action on Saturday against rival Wethersfield at 6 p.m at Newington Arena.
Newington co-op 11, Southington co-op 2
At Newington
Southington co-op (0-6) 0 1 1 — 2
Newington co-op (6-0) 1 7 3 — 11
Goals: Mike Deegan (N) 4, David Andrews (N) 2, Josh Beaudoin (N) 2, Mason Buckley (N), Evan Oliver (N), Andrew Stribling (N), Tyler Schmarr (S) 2, Jason Hurley (S); Assists: Deegan, Andrews, Beaudoin, Zach Wall (N) 3, Buckley, Oliver, Stribling; Saves: Jeremy Wagner (N) 13, Caden Gendreau (N) 3, Max Scirocco (S) 25, Cody Petolla (S) 2
