Hockey: DiChiara keys surge

Connetquot-Sayville has locked up the No. 2 seed in the Suffolk hockey playoffs, and the way it did so was by adding a little offense to its defense. After starting the season a solid but uninspiring 5-3, the team is 10-2 since a Nov. 17 win over Smithtown. It's won five straight since Jan. 5, and has a split record with all the teams that have beaten it - except first-year Suffolk league powerhouse Long Beach.

Yet this season's surge might not have come about if not for Frank DiChiara taking his talents to the blue line.

"He was one of the top scorers the first half of the season, but he's played both ends before in his career and he's a solid strong defenseman," coach Bruce Kollmar said.

Two other former offensive players made the move with DiChiara to solidify the defense. "They've stepped up and said they're willing to do that part of the game for us."

But switching DiChiara hasn't resulted in a scoring drop-off for Connetquot-Sayville, which leads Suffolk with 135 goals. That's largely thanks to Nick Russo, Tyler Young and the rest of the offense. They'll take that winning mentality into a quarterfinal match against No. 7 Northport-Huntington on Feb. 9.

"The kids have learned they're a part of a bigger thing," Kollmar said. "It's about how do we play as a team and work together toward that goal."