| The Lancers continued to find success on
the season and posted wins over North Branford, Xavier, and Immaculate. The
signs of losing some key players to last year's graduation showed as some of the
state's tougher competition (Hamden, Notre Dame-West Haven, and South Windsor,
for example) gave N.D. some trouble during the season. Despite these roadblocks,
N.D. rallied to post a final regular season record of 11-8-1. Contributions came all season-long from senior tri-captains Anthony Capelli (All SWC - First Team), David Hotchkiss (All SWC - First Team) and Kevin Conniff (All SWC - First Team). Also playing important roles for the Lancers were seniors Dan Forrest (All SWC - First Team) and Colin Dempsey (All SWC - Second Team), and juniors Nick D'Aurio (All SWC - First Team) and Ryan Doughan (All SWC - Second Team). In the annual SWC Championship game versus Immaculate, the Lancers posted a solid 6-4 victory and then focused their sights on the Division One State Tournament. Earning a number nine seed, the Lancers opened on the road at North Haven. Despite being away from their home ice, the Lancers posted a 5-2 win and moved to the quarter-finals where Hamden awaited. In both the quarter- and semi-finals, N.D. faced teams who had beaten them during the season. Although, the wins counted more now and by beating Hamden and Glastonbury, N.D. returned for the third straight year to the state finals. Their opponent was Fairfield Prep, a team who just qualified for the tournament and whom N.D. had beaten twice. Unfortunately, the Lancers successful post-season run came to a close with Prep posting a 5-3 win.
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