New Fairfield Grounds the Nighthawks

The Rebels led wire-to-wire in one of the most exciting 7-3 games you will ever see. While Newtown's offense has not played well as of late, their three goal performance is due in part to New Fairfield's smothering defense and sensational play by goalie Nick Costabile. The Rebel defenders harassed their opposition all night, forcing short possessions and allowing only a few good shots all game. Hard-hitting captain Connor McNamara and the Newtown defense played admirably but it's hard to stop a team with so many weapons. Consistent with their play all season, 5 players scored New Fairfield's 7 goals.

The Rebels got off to a fast start, winning the faceoff and scoring on their first posession just 49 seconds into the game. The goal came when Max Blum leveled three defenders in front of the Newtown net, causing a loose ball. John Pendergast scooped up the loose ball for an easy score. New fairfield's second goal came just after the 8 minute mark when Ryan Mallon fed Andrew Kerner for the 2-0 lead. Newtown answered quickly, scoring with 6:40 to go in the first quarter. Over the next nine minutes there were several good looks for both teams, but each goalie was determined not to allow the next goal. Ryan Mallon finally broke the 2-1 stalemate when he drove to the net, spun, and made a spectacular falling shot with 9:17 to go in the second quarter.

With just under 5 minutes to go in the first half Nick Costabile had both his greatest blunder and finest moment. Standing behind his own net, he tried to throw a long pass to midfield, but it was intercepted by an opportunistic Newtown attackman about ten yards in front of the open goal. Costabile acted fast, charged him, and caused the rushed offender to miss the empty net, preserving the slim 3-1 lead. The game would remain scoreless through the remainder of the first half.

Newtown struck first in the second half, scoring four and a half minutes in when Colby Summerlin ripped a shot past Costabile to close the gap to one, the closest the Nighthawks would get all night. New Fairfield answered less than a minute later when Sam Reynolds passed to John Pendergast, who scored his second goal of the game. The Rebels won the faceoff and Dylan White scored on the ensuing possession to go up 5-2, they would maintain the lead through the end of the third quarter.

Ryan Mallon scored his second goal of the evening with 11:22 left in the fourth quarter, picking up a loose ball after a missed shot bounced off the post. Newtown cut the lead back to three when they scored their third and final goal with 6:45 left in the game. Tim Dalton took a pass from Dan Hebert and snuck a shot past Costabile, giving the Nighthawks a short-lived slimmer of hope. Dan Miley crushed their hope just thirty seconds later when he effortlessly scored the Rebels’ seventh and final goal to go up 7-3. The remainder of the fourth quarter was a series of fouls and penalties as Newtown fought furiously to come back, but was held down by a superior Rebels team. Fortunately the game ended before any of the frustrated Nighthawks could let their emotions get the best of them.

With this win, the Rebels seem to be back on track and refocused. They played their game tonight, strong defense and balanced, opportunistic offense, and look to be poised for a strong finish heading into the playoffs.