Housy hockey stars of all ages skate for Sandy Hook

FALLS VILLAGE — Housy beat Housy in a hard-fought game Friday night, Dec. 28, on the ice at The Hotchkiss School, which is home ice for the Housatonic Valley Regional High School (HVRHS) team — or teams, as was the case that evening.There were, in fact, three HVRHS teams playing in a special night of fundraising for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. HVRHS hockey coach Dean Diamond said that a couple thousand dollars was raised from ticket sales and donations.Play began that evening at 6 p.m. with Housy v. Housy. That’s right. Wearing white jerseys were HVRHS “post-millenium” alumni (students who graduated in 2000 and after); wearing dark jerseys were the “pre-millenium” alums, who graduated before 2000.The oldest player on the ice was Skip Kosciusko, age 52, class of 1978.“They didn’t even have a hockey team when I went to Housy,” he said during a break between the first and second periods (there was no third period). “I started playing after I graduated, when I was in my 20s.”The competition wasn’t completely unbalanced; many of the pre-millenial players do compete in a Sunday night adult hockey league.Age and guile did not beat youth, exuberance and excellent passing skills on Friday night. The younger players defeated their elders 6-1. But everyone had a great time in the process and, as coach Diamond said, the best part was seeing the players greet each other gleefully in the locker room. “This is the first alumni game we’ve played since 2004,” he said. “It’s great to see all the guys back together, laughing in the locker room. I don’t think they realized how much they shared until they got together. And I think the parents are enjoying it as much as their kids.”Particularly meaningful was the reunion of four players who were in a car accident a year and a half ago on their way back from a match. This was the first time that Chris Bellanca, Kevin Cantele and Diamond’s own sons, Ryan and Kevin, were back on the ice again together since then.It was, of course, an emotional reunion for the parents of the four boys, Diamond said. And it was especially poignant given the beneficiary of that night’s game: the Newtown community that had been so devastated by the loss of 20 children.“You think of Sandy Hook and you see your own kids out there on the ice …,” Diamond said. “It brings tears to your eyes.”Following the alumni face-off was the regular HVRHS hockey team’s first home game of the season. The team is a co-op that includes players from Northwestern and Wamogo, nearby high schools. Their competitors: a co-op team from New Fairfield and Immaculate high schools.Housy now has a 1-2 record. “We lost our first game to Bolton-Coventry-Rockville, 6-1,” Diamond said. “Then we beat Norwalk 6-1 and we lost Friday night 3-1.”The players on the team were rusty, he noted; a game scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 26, had been canceled because of the weather and the players hadn’t been on the ice for several days.“That hurt us,” Diamond said. There were also a large number of penalties called in a game that was hard fought and very physical.This year’s team has a strong contingent of players from the sophomore class, he said. It was sophomore Wes Reel who scored the team’s one goal.“They had us 2-0 and we made it 2-1 in the third period,” Diamond said. “They scored in an empty net with 20 seconds left in the game.”HVRHS had pulled its goalie, leaving an “empty net,” so it could have an extra player out and skating.Housy is back on the ice at Hotchkiss this Friday, Jan. 4, playing against Joel Barlow at 8 p.m. Admission is $5.