Newtown wins school's first Connecticut hockey state title in dramatic fashion

"It's a great day for Newtown." It's just nice hearing those words from senior hockey player Jonathan Lovorn, whose family moved to the small Connecticut town from Chicago last year.

Lovorn and classmate Brian Gregory assisted on Newtown freshman Scott McLean's overtime goal, delivering the first state title in program history, according to NewsTimes.com. The tally marked the first goal of McLean's high school career and thrilled the thousands of Newtown fans gathered at Danbury Arena.

"I saw the defenseman go to the left side and I was trying to cross to the right post for the rebound," McLean told the website. "It popped out, the goalie was out of his net, and I just buried it."

Newtown clawed back from a 1-0 deficit against E.O. Smith/Tolland five minutes into the Division III state championship game, as Connor Hanley tied the game midway through the second period. Newtown goalie finished with 29 saves, and McLean delivered the game-winner 11:27 into overtime.

"I asked him afterword 'Are you a freshman?'" Smith/Tolland coach John Hodgson told The Hartford Courant. "He said 'Yeah.' I looked at him and I said, 'You're not supposed to do that.'"

If you'll recall, the Newtown hockey team held a fundraising event and wore Sandy Hook Elementary School jerseys during an emotional game last season to benefit the families of shooting victims.

Any opportunity the folks from Newtown get to celebrate will forever be a welcome sight.