Early Onslaught Leads Icecats to Victory

The following was submitted by reader Bill Hunt.

The Bethel-Brookfield-Danbury (BBD) Icecats used a dominating five-goal first period to power past the Masuk Panthers 7-4 in the quarterfinal round of the CIAC DIII state tournament Thursday night at the . 

Five different scorers lit the lamp for BBD with Joe Britton, Nick Melvin, Trevor Kurijaka and Steve Sieget taking the 'Cats to a 4-0 lead before Masuk got on the board. 

Steve Almieda's buzzer beater from just inside the blue line made it 5-1 at the first intermission and quieted the pro-Panther crowd. Kurijaka added a second period goal and Sieget added one late in the third to finish off the win after Masuk had rallied to pull within two at 6-4. 

Goalie Ryan Campbell made 20 saves for BBD, who now move on to the semifinals Tuesday, where they will meet Northwest Catholic at Yale's Ingalls Rink.