Newington Co-op Captures Division III Ice Hockey Championship

HAMDEN, CT — Tyler Leavitt and Andrew Stribling scored goals 20 seconds apart in the second period Thursday, erasing a 1-goal deficit and powering the Newington co-op boys ice hockey team to a 3-1 victory over Conard in the CIAC Division III championship game at the People's United Center on the campus of Quinnipiac University.

The second-seeded Nor'easters outshot the No. 9 Chieftains by a 13-8 margin during a scoreless first period. Just 57 seconds into the middle stanza, Brady Narus got Conard on the board first off an assist from Nicholas Paolitto.

Leavitt tied the score at 8:44, assisted by Harrison Ranger, then Stribling converted a rebound of a Leavitt shot at 9:04 for what proved to be the game-winner. Stribling had a golden opportunity to extend the lead in the waning moments of the second period, but was robbed by Conard goaltender Graydon Selstad as the buzzer sounded.

With exactly a minute remaining in regulation time, Chieftain coach Jason Olson pulled Selstad in favor of a sixth attacker, but Stribling cemented the championship with an empty net goal with just under 10 seconds to play.

Newington, a 5-school co-op also consisting of players from Berlin, Canton, Cromwell and Manchester, won its third state championship in program history, and first since 2013. Conard had also been seeking its third title, having last captured a crown in 1996.