Despite a 10 wins and already having a postseason berth, the 9th-ranked Yellowjackets' ice hockey team had a lot riding going into its Feb. 16 contest versus Hamden, the state's No. 5-ranked squad. Lou Pane's squad was trying to snap a two-game losing streak after a pair of 3-1 losses to St. Bernard-Bacon and Xavier and state its case to be in the top five.

It was not to be, however, as the Green Dragons escaped with a 7-4 victory behind a Mike Lee hat trick at DiLungo Rink after a questionable goal in which the net came off its position and a goal was awarded to Hamden to give the Green Dragons a 5-3 lead in the second period. Hamden then added two third-period goals to close out the victory.

"We trailed 4-1 and eventually got it to 4-3," East Haven Head Coach Lou Pane said. "The net was clearly off its bearings, but it was called a goal for them. Lee did a great job offensively for them. We did not do a good job against him defensively."

Hamden started its first-period barrage with the initial goal from Mike Lee at 11:17 on an assist from Jeremy Germain. The Green Dragons decided to swap roles moments later in the period when Germain scored a goal at 8:58 with an assist from Lee to put the road team up 2-0. The Yellowjackets (11-5-2) finally answered back and got on the board when Stephen Marsico scored 25 seconds later to cut the lead in half with Matt Barcomb getting credit for the helper. Less than two minutes later, Lee lit the lamp for the second time when he scored from Zak Masotta and Germain to give the Green Dragons a 3-1 lead heading into the first intermission.

"We made many mistakes in the first period," Pane said. "Hamden took advantage and capitalized on those mistakes. We didn't seem to get out of our own zone in the first."

It was in the second period when the Yellowjackets seemed like they were ready to step it up. After Lee nailed in his hat trick to open the frame and make it 4-1, the Yellowjackets fought back with goals from Brian Flanagan and Matt Longobardi to cut the deficit to a goal again with 4:41 remaining. It was here where the blue and gold got a bad break from the men in the black and white as Hamden's Vito Puopolo found the back of the net at 3:43 remaining to make it 5-3 despite the net being moved off of its place.

"It was a bad call that went against us," Marsico said. "It was off a good four inches on both sides."

In the final and decisive period, Hamden again opened with a goal when Germain found Joe O'Connor to give the Green Dragons a three-goal lead going into the final 13 minutes of play. The Yellowjackets would not skate away quietly though as Flanagan scored for the second time on the night at 2:16 remaining to cut it to 6-4. Less than a minute later, Hamden scored the clincher with a goal from Tyler Carangelo.

"We scored four goals, but unfortunately did not do the job in our own zone," Marsico said. "Yet we are going to build on the positives of those four goals. We played and fought hard but just came up short."

East Haven goalie Zak Bouve stopped 32 out of the 39 shots he faced from the Dragons as the Yellowjackets were also outshot 39-21 in the contest. East Haven has now lost three in a row and sits at 4-4-0 in Division I with two games remaining before postseason play.

"We need to tighten up defensively," Pane said. "We need better defensive zone coverage in order to limit opponents' opportunities."