The went 1-4-1 in the final six games of the regular season to finish with an 11-8-1 record. Luckily, the T-Birds were strong enough through the start of the season to in the Division II State Tournament.
The T-Birds got back to their winning ways as they hosted East Catholic, which finished the regular season at 7-11-2 for the No. 14 seed, in the first round on March 6 at , taking a 3-0 victory. This followed a regular-season win over East Catholic, which North Branford won 5-4 on Jan. 4.
The first period of the first-round contest was scoreless before Alec Martone broke the deadlock with 9:38 to play in the second period off an assist by Dylan Podbielski.
North Branford add some insurance in the third period. Chris Burkle netted an unassisted score with 6:23 remaining before he assisted Podbielski on the final tally with just 35 seconds in the game.
Kyle Saroka earned the shutout for the T-Birds. Check out MaxPreps' photo gallery of the game.
The win sends North Branford into the quarterfinals tonight, March 9 at 7:30 p.m. at Bennett Rink in West Haven, against Milford Co-op. This will mark the third time this season the teams have faced off.
In the 2011-12 season-open on Dec. 14, Milford took a 5-2 victory, but the T-Birds avenged the loss on Feb. 11 with a 4-2 win.
Milford Co-op finished the regular season with a 12-7-1 record to take the No. 6 seed in states. In the first round, Milford fought to a 4-3 overtime win over 11th-seeded Newtown (12-8).
