What we learned on Day 1 of the CIAC Division III boys hockey tournaments

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Hall goalie Matthew Bonner (1) takes the puck off his stick 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 playoffs hit the ice for the CIAC boys hockey Division III tournament on Monday, with 16 teams attempting to skate into the quarterfinals on Thursday. Higher seeds did well, although there was one seeded upset. Division II opens Tuesday and Division I on Wednesday.

Here is the full schedule and scoreboard.

Here's a look at what happened in the first round of Division III:

Home Cookin'​

The higher seeded teams had a bonanza in the opening round, with seven of the eight higher seeds moving on to the quarterfinals. And of those seven, just one game was decided by one goal, that coming in No. 6 Milford's 5-4 OT victory against No. 11 Staples/Norwalk/McMahon. The rest were multi-goal wins, including No. 1 Wilton over No. 16 Tri-Town 4-1; No. 2 BBDI over No. 15 JBWA 11-2; No. 3 Masuk over No. 14 Newington 4-1; No. 5 Hall over No. 12 Newtown/New Fairfield 5-2; No. 4 Rocky Hill co-op over No. 13 Northeastern Shamrocks 6-2; and No. 8 Enfield over No. 9 Shepaug Valley co-op 3-1.

The seeded upset​

E.O. Smith/Tolland came into the postseason with a sub .500 record and a three-game losing streak, but there's nothing like a rally and a playoff victory to brighten the picture. In the only first-round game in which the road team won, senior Brandon Fantry and freshman Zachary Kincade scored goals to help the 10th-seeded Bucks bump No. 7 seed and Nutmeg Conference champion SGWL 2-1. Sophomore Beckett Hanson and junior Cash Lacy had assists.

Titans stand tall​

Hall's Connor McHugh set the program's single-season scoring record earlier this season, and while the senior captain did light the lamp once in the first round, it was junior Ben Putnam making the most early noise. Putnam netted two goals in the first 2:27 of the game, giving the fifth-seeded Titans the lead for good in a 5-2 victory over No. 12 Newtown/New Fairfield. Both Putnam, who also had an assist, and McHugh finished with three points, with McHugh scoring the third goal and assisting twice. Ben Goldstein and Charlie Ganey also scored, and Hall goalie Matt Bonner, who battled through two spinal fractures early in his high school career, made 23 saves to nail down the win.

Eagles fly​

After quick outs the past two seasons, Enfield is moving on to the quarterfinals. The No. 8 Eagles had a goal and assist apiece from Quinn Stefanowich and Ethan Samek in a 4-1 victory over Newington. Enfield, which had been in a co-op with East Granby and Stafford before going solo this season, had lost in the opening round the past two seasons, falling to Conard 5-2 in 2024 and Masuk 3-2 in OT last season. The Eagles now get top-seeded Wilton in the quarterfinals.

The Goalies​

All five of the goalies mentioned in the GametimeCT boys hockey tournament breakdowns advanced on Monday, and one head-to-head matchup is upcoming when No. 5 Hall at Matthew Bonner takes on No. 4 Rocky Hill co-op and Owen Doty in Thursday's quarterfinals. The other three had their teams move on, including Wilton's Devin Oliveri, BBDI's Liam Walsh and Masuk's Maddex LaFountain.

This article originally published at What we learned on Day 1 of the CIAC Division III boys hockey tournaments.

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