Tatnall ice hockey continues to roll along.
The Hornets won their third consecutive Flight A state championship by defeating Newark 6-5 on a goal by Taylor Swarter in overtime Feb. 26 at The Pond.
Newark controlled play in the early minutes of OT and threatened on several rushes of the Hornet defensive zone. In one 10-second interval, Tatnall goalie Bill Spartin made three sprawling saves to preserve the tie and allow the defense, lead by co-captain Garret Flasinski and senior McLane Hendriks, to move the puck out of harm's way.
With just over six minutes gone in OT, the Hornet offense moved the puck over the Newark blue line and behind and around the net. After a feed from Nolan Morris and Eric Downes, Swarter scored his fourth of the night at the 6:35 mark of OT.
The Hornet built a 3-1 lead at the end of one period of action. But Newark fought back in the second period, scoring two power play goals to knot the score at 3-3 at the end of the second period.
Then, Spartin made several big saves over the final minutes to ensure the game moved into overtime.
This is the second straight year the Hornets have vanquished the Yellowjackets. This was the sixth time Newark has lost in the championship.
-Ian Sikdar, special to the Community News
