Hand Boys Hockey Wraps Up Most Successful Season In Recent Memory

Daniel Hand's boys hockey team made it to the quarterfinals of the CIAC Division II state tournament this season and it won the SCC Division II title with a 3-1 victory over Guilford March 5, which was officially Hand’s first ever SCC hockey championship, making this the most successful season for boy's hockey in recent memory.

“We’re pleased with winning the SCC tournament and we won the first round of the CIAC states with a 5-1 win over Farmington,” Mark Andreucci, the Tigers hockey coach said. “It was the first time we won the SCC tournament and last year was the first time we qualified, but we got beat in the semifinal by Cheshire 4-2."

Cheshire may be Hand’s nemesis, since it’s beaten the Tigers in tournament play the last two years. But Hand beat Cheshire in the SCC conference tournament this year, in a 2-1 quarter finals game that set up the championship run.

“We’re evenly matched teams," Coach Andreucci said. "We knew it was going to be tough playing them in the state tournament seeing as we had just beaten them in the SCCs. We’re deeper, but we had trouble finishing."

In the season-ending loss to Cheshire in the state tournament earlier this month,  the score was knotted 1-1 after two periods. “We hit the post late in the second period and missed a couple of nets on rebounds,” Coach Andreucci said “We took control in the second period but couldn’t finish.” The final score was 2-1, Cheshire.

In the 3-1 win over Guilford for the SCC championship, “we controlled play and were able to finish,” Coach Andreucci said. “They tied it and we immediately responded. We took the lead and finished it off in the third period with another goal,” he said.

The Tigers season began with a 4-3 win over Branford on Dec. 15, with highlights including an 8-1 blowout over Stamford three days later and a 4-0 shutout over Lyman Hall on Jan. 14. That game was followed by a four game losing streak, but then a three game win streak followed.

Six seniors have played their final hockey game for Hand, including the two captains forward Tyler Bauer and defenseman Jonas Thelin. Both made all state and all SCC conference teams. Nick Kruczek, another senior, won a player of the week award after scoring a hat trick in the win over Stamford.

Tyler Bauer said, “It was a successful season winning the SCC but it was a letdown to lose to Cheshire after beating them a week earlier.”

Jonas Thelin said the season “was pretty rough in the beginning, but when it counted we put aside our differences and played together for what mattered.”

He also praised Coach Andreucci who has been with the team for two years. “We struggled last year with a new coach and everyone had different views on what should be taught and parents had different views on how we should be coached. But we came together as a team this year. The coach gets everyone more involved.”

Coach Andreucci will miss his six seniors but has 19 returning players next year. “There’s nothing but positives for next season,” he said. “They performed well and know what’s expected, the juniors will step into the same roles and we’re definitely going in the right direction.”

Crowds have been building for the games. “Townspeople came out. There was great turnout for the Farmington game and the quarter final game against Cheshire was packed,” he said.