East Catholic Skaters Beat Wethersfield In Outdoor Game

In a showdown of the Eagles, proved able to soar higher than Wethersfield.

Zach Wirtalla and Danny DeFilippo scored two goals apiece, powering East Catholic to a 5-2 win over Wethersfield in an outdoor hockey game at Rentschler Field in East Hartford Friday night.

The game was part of Whalers Hockey Fest 2011, an 11-day event featuring youth, high school, college and professional games at a temporary rink built on the stadium surface. Former Boston Bruins and Hartford Whalers will play a Legends Game Saturday at 4 p.m., followed by the AHL Providence Bruins taking on the Connecticut Whale at 7 p.m.

"What a great opportunity for our kids, especially our eight seniors," said East Catholic head coach Drew Clarkin. "The weather was perfect except for that little (rain) at the beginning, but for the most part, it was outstanding."

Wethersfield grabbed an early lead on a goal by Luke Frechette, but East Catholic tied it with 3:46 left in the first period when Wirtalla scored his first, assisted by Dan Lemieux.

Midway through the second period, East Catholic took a lead it would not relinquish when Jared Nelson scored off a faceoff. Moments later, East Catholic goaltender Anthony Behr stopped a breakaway by Connor Indermaur.

"He made a terrific save, I think he made the right decision staying back in the crease and took the shot away from him," Clarkin said.

Wirtalla scored his second goal with 5:23 left in the session, assisted by DeFilippo and Nick Tallo, then DeFilippo converted on a power play with 39 seconds left in the period to give East Catholic a 4-1 lead at the second intermission.

In the third period, Wethersfield cut the lead to 4-2 on an early goal by Matthew Lis, but DeFilippo added an empty-netter in the final minute to seal the victory for East Catholic.

East Catholic nearly doubled the shot total of Wethersfield at 37-19.

With the win, East Catholic (9-7) clinched the top seed for the CCC East tournament. "We met one of our goals tonight, and hopefully we can finish it," Clarkin said.

East Catholic is back in action Monday, taking on Hall-Southington at the Veteran's Rink in West Hartford at 7 p.m.  Wethersfield (5-11-1) lost its fourth straight outing, and hosts Tri-Town Monday at Trinity College at 7:30 p.m.