NEWINGTON - The Wethersfield High School hockey team went up by two goals early in the first period, but their opponents from Newtown came back to tie it.

       The Eagles broke a 2-2 deadlock late in the second period, and again, the Nighthawks drew even.

       With five seconds left to play in the third period and the score knotted at 3-3, both teams seemed destined for a point and an overtime period within which to try and settle. The puck was lodged along the right boards of the Wethersfield defensive zone. A player on Newtown dug it out of a scramble and all of a sudden one last desperate--probably low percentage--shot on goal would steal the game right out from under the Eagles.

       The puck found the back of the net with virtually no time left for Wethersfield to answer, and the Nighthawks took the Jan. 7 match-up at Newington Arena 4-3.

       It was the Eagles’ second period goal-with two minutes left to play before intermission-that seemed to be the final blow of what was a back and forth contest. Wethersfield won a face-off in Nighthawk territory and the puck found its way to the point, where it was blasted through traffic and into the back of the net for the 3-2 Eagles lead.

       But at the 5:30 mark of the second period, the Nighthawks got it back. Capitalizing on a turnover on what appeared to be a premature Wethersfield line change with the puck being played out of the Eagles’ zone, Nighthawks forward Dominic Cartelli took it back in uncontested and ripped a slap shot from just above the slot area past goaltender Dominic Rodriguez to make it 3-3.

       In a game where both sides peppered the nets with shots, Rodriguez was many times sensational, making difficult close-range saves and denying the rebound opportunities on multiple occasions. One of his best came with the Eagles on the penalty kill. A shot from the point was deflected into the air with his blocker, and the puck landed inches in front of him with Nighthawks and Eagles players batting away at it. Sprawling, he made a couple of rebound saves before the Eagles cleared it away.

       Nicolas Hock almost got Wethersfield on the board three minutes into the first period, when he snuck a saucer pass over the stick of a Nighthawks defender on a 3-on-1 break. Tyler Garcia was on the other side, but couldn’t control the puck and only managed to push it wide of the left post. He would make up for it about seven minutes later though, taking the puck off the right boards in the Newtown zone, curling out over the high slot area, and placing a wrist shot top left for the 1-0 Eagles lead.

       Hock would get his in similar fashion. Taking the puck into the Nighthawks zone on a two-on-two break, he cut into the middle and fired one that found its way into the same spot for the 2-0 lead.