Staples’ Cooper Paul, in action earlier this season, had an assist in a game against Southington and a goal in an OT loss to Barlow this week. / Photo by John Videler, Videler Photography

By Andy Hutchison

The Staples High boys hockey team lost a pair of nail-biters over the last week — on the road against the Southington co-op Monday and, two days later, to the Joel Barlow co-op on home ice at the Milford Ice Pavilion.

In a 4-2 setback to the Southington-led team in Cromwell, the Wreckers surrendered an empty-netter late which sealed things. 

Jacob Serfaty and Cooper Paul both scored. Paul, Henry Goodburn, Tyler DiMaio and Nikos Ninios all had assists. Goaltender Aaron Kail made 29 saves.

Against the Barlow co-op, the Wreckers had leads of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-1, but fell 4-3 in overtime.

Jameson Russell scored the lone first-period goal. After Barlow knotted the score in the second, Paul answered for a 2-1 lead. The teams traded middle-period tallies with DiMaio answering Barlow’s second goal.

Jacob Gomez and Derek Wolgast assisted the first goal, Serfaty and Russell set up the second net-finder, and Wolgast and Goodburn earned assists on Staples’ third goal.

Barlow forced extra time with a goal in the third, and Spencer Thomas won the game in OT.

Kail stopped 39 shots to keep the Wreckers in the game.

Andy Hutchison has been covering school sports — including Staples athletics — as well as news and feature stories in Fairfield County, since the 1990s. Learn more about us here.

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