Another Overtime Defeat For Staples
It was another setback for Staples in post season tournament play, after Wreckers Basketball also suffered an overtime loss in the FCIAC final last week. On Monday night Staples Boys Ice Hockey faced top seeded BBDI, one of the two best teams in the state in the CIAC State Tournament opening round on that team’s home ice at the Danbury Ice Arena. Staples, which has struggled this year with a record of 7-12-1 faced the co-op team of Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury and Immaculate, SCC/SWC Division III champion Ice Cats with a record of 16-3-1. The Wreckers started the game hot, scoring their first goal just minutes into the first period.
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Staples sophomore goalie Mason Mountain (what a great name) stopped shot after shot on goal in the first and kept that streak alive through the second period. The Wreckers may have surprised the Ice Cats, protecting the net and then scoring another goal in the second period. The Cats fought back, scoring in the third period and trailed the Wreckers by a goal. With under a minute to play and with Mountain fiercely protecting the net the Staples fans were on their feet expecting to advance to the next round.
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The drama continued until, just 5.5 seconds before the final buzzer, the Ice Cats Jovanni Smeriglio, a Brookfield High school junior found a chink in Mountain’s armor and with a tip in front of the net over Mountain's shoulder, they sent the match into sudden death overtime. The hometown crowd which filled the arena leapt to their feet and roared their approval. BBDI scored within 3 minutes into the OT period for a great come-from-behind victory, ending the hopes for the Wreckers to advance in the next round of the CIAC State Tournament.
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Coach Matt Bonn told WestportLocalPress, “I couldn't be more proud of this group. It was an awesome journey, and they showed a lot of grit and resilience against the #1 team in the state. It was an honor to coach these seniors, some of them for three or four years. Seeing everyone's growth and development on and off the ice was special. Once a Wrecker, Always a Wrecker”.
Staples scoring was provided by forwards #10 junior Cooper Paul and senior #9 Tyler Dimaio with assists from #23 senior Trey Wilson. Goalie #1 Mason Mountain had 42 saves.
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Overtime Heartbreaker In FCIAC Tournament
After a big victory over Ridgefield in the FCIAC semi-final round on Tuesday night the Wreckers came up short and were defeated by the Trumbull Eagles 70-67 in overtime.
There was lots of excitement at the start of the FCIAC Championship match-up between Staples and Trumbull, and it continued throughout the entire 32 minutes of regulation play and into the overtime period as the lead changed time after time. Each score, missed bucket or foul call caused a roar in the crowd. The teams were pretty evenly matched Thursday night at the Wilton Field House as evidenced by the overtime which resulted in a 3 point victory for the Trumbull Eagles in the final minute.
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Things started off well for Staples with senior Nick Sikorski hitting two treys and one each added by sophomore Sam Clachko and senior Caleb Smith. Offense and defense were both working for Staples in the first period giving them a 16-10 lead with just under 3 minutes remaining and they increased the lead to 7 a minute later. Trumbull recovered and cut the lead to 2 points at the buzzer. A quick Eagle score tied the game a minute into the second quarter. Staples then pulled ahead by one and grew the lead to 4 points midway through the second and then to ten, their biggest lead on the night.
They went into the locker room ahead 40-32 to raucous cheers by the Wrecker faithful.
The Wreckers were firmly in control for most of the 3rd period, leading by as many as 9 points. The game became very physical and aggressive defense by Staples resulted in 3 starters getting into foul trouble. Although each side played hare defensively, many of the foul calls favored the Eagles.
The end of the third saw Staples leading 51-44 with the fans pumping up the energy, but Trumbull was not gong to let up, cutting the lead to 3 after two minutes of play and trying things up 55-55 midway through the period. Defense was tight for both teams with each only scoring a bucket making the score 57-57 when the buzzer sounded ending regulation play.
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The energy level at the start of overtime was intense and Staples quickly put 2 points on the scoreboard. Trumbull quickly tied and grabbed a 2 point lead which then went to the Wreckers. The tension was high with a minute left to play and the Eagles up by a point. With 18 seconds left to play it appeared there would be no FCIAC title for Staples this year as they trailed by 3 with Trumbull having possession. and with 3 of their best players, Udell, Smith and Tobias already having fouled out in the last two minutes of the game.
Junior Adam Udell lead the Wreckers scoring with 20 points followed by sophomore Mason Tobias who added 15 points. Smith finished with 8 points and Charlie Bowman added 2. Clachko grabbed 8 rebounds and Smith added 6 more with Udell, Tobias and Sikorsky each pulling down 4 more.
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The final score of 70-67 was a crushing defeat for a Wreckers especially after controlling much of the contest. Wreckers fans were clearly heartbroken as was coach Goldshore and the fans and cheerleaders tearfully attempted to console each other.
The Wreckers will face a big challenge in their next game, in the CIAC state tourney, seeded #12, as they take on 5th seed East Catholic on their home court in Manchester on Thursday at 6:30PM.
Above, L. to R., Sam Clachko receives his runner up plaque, Eagle fans swarm the floor after their big win, Staples head coach Dave Goldshore congratulates Trumbull head coach Buddy Bray. Below; there was a lot of emotion by disappointed fans and coach Goldshore after Staples defeat. Coach Goldshore, News 12 Coach of the Year in 2023 has much to be proud of, leading the Wreckers to their second straight FCIAC final after leading them to their first ever FCIAC final last year.
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Staples Wreckers Led To FCIAC Tournament Final By Sam Clachko’s Career High 40 Points!
On Tuesday night in Wilton High School The Wreckers boys basketball team faced the Ridgefield Tigers, ranked #2 in the state, ranked #1 and undefeated in the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference, with only one loss this season. The Tigers were the favorite on paper but the Wreckers didn’t get that memo. Certainly sophomore stand-out Sam Clachko missed it, as evidenced by his career-high 40 points, half of which were the result of his seven 3-pointers and his 11 out of 12 foul tries, and 4 field goals.
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The game started badly for Staples as they missed both outside shooting and on lay-ups while Ridgefield was able to score both out of in in the paint. When the first quarter buzzer sounded the Tigers held a 15-7 lead, which they extended to 8 points with 3 minutes remaining the second period. Only two minutes later the Wreckers cut that lead to two points, and tied the game shortly thereafter. When the third period began with the score 27-25 Ridgefield, the Wreckers started hitting their shots and at the same time, limiting Ridgefield’s strong offense. Ridgefield took a 5 point lead briefly at the three minute mark, but by the buzzer Staples was back on top with a two point lead.
The fourth period was a whole new game behind Clachko’s red-hot shooting bolstered by Adam Udell who finished with 13 points and the Wreckers went into overdrive and by one minute into the fourth quarter they were up by 8 points. The Tigers mounted a comeback attempt cutting the lead three minutes later to four points. The Wreckers dominated the rest of the final stanza convincingly holding an 11 point lead with three minutes remaining. The final minute seemed to take an hour with Ridgefield immediately fouling following the inbound pass to try to slow the Wreckers, but several of those fouls were on Clachko and he was finding the net each time, missing only one foul try in 12 attempts.
Nick Sikorsky scored 6 points and Caleb Smith added 5.
The Wreckers scored a big 15 point victory over one the state’s best basketball teams and will face the Trumbull Eagles at 7:00 PM on Thursday night at neutral site Wilton High again for the FCIAC championship, in which the Trumbull coach has yet to be victorious.
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After the game, Clachko told WestportLocalPress the team was anxious to face Trumbull who had defeated them in the regular season. Clack added, “We watched all the film, we knew we were the better team and we showed it to them.” Clachko, when asked about the flat first quarter said the Coach Goldshore “blew us up on it”, no doubt inspiring the team to reach their potential for the remainder of the game.
Goldshore, when asked about the poor showing in the first quarter strongly praised their opponents, telling WestportLocal, “They are good, they are really good and they take you out of your stuff” adding “their energy and their discipline and their commitment to what they do is really special. They didn’t lose a game in the conference all year.
Above: Sam Clachko shoots a final foul shot in the last few seconds of the game. Wreckers fans celebrate a big win and surround the team at the buzzer.
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Staples Cheerleaders Rally The Wrecker Faithful In FCIAC Semi-Final
The Ridgefield Tigers fans were cheering loudly, especially in the first quarter when their team controlled the game convincingly, the the Wrecker Cheerleaders were not to be outdone in keeping the Wrecker fans energy up. The performed several times showing off their training and athletic prowess with multiple moves including awesome pyramids and seemingly endless backflips, charging up the crowd and convincingly reminding the team that they were supported and they were loved.
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com. Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com. Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Backyard Birds Brighten The Grey Days Of Winter
By this point if February many of us who are not on the slopes on the weekend are pretty tired of winter. The many grey days can feel a little gloomy for some, but a look at these beautiful gifts of nature can certainly help lift that foggy feeling and put a smile on our faces as we watch them flying about as they feed on the seeds we happily provide them in our backyards.
Pictured above: Top left, a white throated sparrow flies in to perch next to a house sparrow. Top right, male northern cardinal alongside a house sparrow. Bottom left A European starling in winter plumage alongside a house sparrow. This non-native species does something that no other bird species does. They gather in group and fly in what is called murmurations, after the sound their wings make as they fly. While 10,000 starlings in a murmuration might seem like a lot, it is dwarfed by a spectacular sight seen in Rome where gathered starlings can number TEN MILLION!
This is a sight worth viewing: BBC Earth Starling Murmuration not just for the sight but for the effect it has on the city.
At right, a male house sparrow flies by a female northern cardinal.
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
From left to right, northern cardinal, male and female, tufted titmouse, house finch.
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.