What we learned in the CIAC Division III boys hockey quarterfinals: Top 4 seeds ousted

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Hall's Connor McHugh (6) is congratulated by teammate Sawyer Hollander (24) after scoring in the first period during the Rocky Hill at Hall High boys hockey game on Monday, February 9, 2026, at Veterans Memorial Ice Rink in West Hartford. (Jim Michaud/Hearst Connecticut Media)


The CIAC Division III boys hockey quarterfinals were a wild affair Thursday. In a night for underdogs, the top four seeds were erased in a span of a few hours. Divisions I and II will have a hard time topping this.

Here is the full schedule and scoreboard.

Here's a look at what happened in the the Division III quarterfinals:

Seeds? What Seeds?​

The D-III tournament was positively turned on its head in Thursday's quarterfinals, with the top four seeds all eliminated. In those games, No. 10 E.O. Smith/Tolland defeated No. 2 BBDI 2-1; No. 8 Enfield shut out No. 1 Wilton 2-0; No. 6 Milford defeated No. 3 Masuk 5-2; and No. 5 Hall held off No. 4 Rocky Hill co-op 4-3.

All of the winning teams ended streaks of at least seven years without a trip to the semis.

Enfield last made it as part of a co-op with East Granby and Stafford in 2018. A year earlier, Hall, in a co-op with Southington, reached the 2017 semifinals. E.O. Smith/Tolland last made the semis in 2015 and went on to beat Masuk 5-2 for the Division III championship. Milford had the longest drought, having last reached the semifinals in 2014.

By the Numbers​

The wild night is put into perspective with a look at some numbers from the last few years. During the last four years, a total of 10 teams outside of the top four seeds have reached the CIAC semifinals - and that's across all three divisions.

Of the 12 division tournaments held during that span, only two have included two teams outside of the top four seeds, both in Division II. Those were No. 6 Branford and No. 10 North Branford in 2023, and No. 5 Amity and No. 15 East Haven co-op in 2024.

That East Haven co-op team was an oddity as a low seed, since the Yellowjackets had to forfeit 14 wins due to the use of an illegible player. The Yellowjackets reached the final, but lost to Cheshire 6-3.

This is also the second straight year in which the No. 10 seed has reached the Division III semis. Last year, New Milford accomplished the feat by defeating then-No. 2 E.O. Smith Tolland 3-2 in OT in the quarters, but the Green Wave lost to eventual champ Conard 3-1 in the semis.

Never Surrender​

There have already been a few barnburners through the first four days of the CIAC tournament, but No. 5 Hall's dramatic rally to beat No. 4 Rocky Hill co-op 4-3 at Trinity College may be the best of the best. Trailing 3-0 after Rocky Hill scored early in the third period, the Titans rallied with four goals in a little more than three minutes and went on to defeat the Terriers for a trip to Quinnipiac.

Senior Ben Goldstein netted the first two goals, the first with assists from sophomore Charles DeBassio and junior Ben Putnam, and the second with assists from sophomore Matt McDermott and senior Charles Ganey.

Rocky Hill called a timeout to try and slow the momentum, but on the first shift after action resumed, senior Connor McHugh tied the game with assists from Putnam and senior Sawyer Hollander. Just 12 seconds later, Ganey took the draw and went the length of the ice to score the go-ahead goal with 10:51 to play.

Senior goalie Matt Bonner (20 saves) and the defense held off the Terriers the rest of the way for the Hollywood win.

Fly Like an Eagle​

Here's another eye-opening stat. The No. 1 seed had reached the CIAC division semifinals in every tournament the last three years.

No. 8 Enfield ended that streak Tuesday.

The Eagles' scored twice in the third period and senior goalie Matt McCaffrey pitched a shutout in a 2-0 victory over top-seeded Wilton at DiLungo Rink in East Haven.

Enfield played a physical game and dominated the shots to the tune of 36-15, with McCaffrey making 15 saves.

The game was scoreless until the third period when junior Ethan Samek scored on assists from senior Cody Sexton and sophomore Robert Kane 2:22 into the period. Senior Cooper Love then put the win on ice with an empty-netter with 28 seconds to go.

This article originally published at What we learned in the CIAC Division III boys hockey quarterfinals: Top 4 seeds ousted.

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