As the game wound down the Joel Barlow high hockey team might have run out of gas when it visited a Milford co-op (Law, Foran, Platt Tech) last week.

The Falcons stayed within a goal of their opponent for much of the way. In the last period, however, the competition outscored the visitors by a 4-1 margin as the Falcons lost 8-4 at the Milford Ice Pavilion.

The first period was evenly contested and a fan favorite with the frequency of big hits. Barlow captains Ryan McGowen and Adam Jacobs kept the defensive zone contested with the help of starting goalie Gordon Loery. Milford got only one shot past him in the first frame. He had a total of 25 saves on the night.

Barlow�€™s offense heated up in the second and generated three goals. The first coming from Michael Mattson, assisted by Justin MacDougall and newcomer Tim Eng. However, a focus on offense took away from team defense and Milford scored two quick goals, bringing the game to a 3-1 score.

Jack Cartafalsa stepped up for the Falcons next with his first goal of the second period, a five-hole backhander assisted by Paul Camomilli. Milford again extended its lead by one more.

With help from McGowen and Eng, Cartafalsa brought Barlow back to within one.

The third period was a different story. The Indians wore down the Falcons and put away two goals to bring their lead to three goals. Tension grew between the teams and Barlow found itself in the penalty box.

Jacobs answered with an unassisted goal on the penalty kill. Before time expired, Milford added on two goals to seal the win and give the Falcons their second straight loss.

Barlow�€™s defense was a lot tighter when it took on another co-op team, New Fairfield/Immaculate (NFI), three days later. The third period was once again the difference but this time the Falcons had the upper hand in a 4-2 win at the Danbury Ice Arena.

Prior to the game, Barlow head coach Pete Maxfield gave a speech in memory of Rob Smuniewski, who died on Jan. 8. A moment of silence was asked to remember him, and his jersey (No. 2) hung behind the Falcons�€™ bench.

The Falcons controlled the first period. Defensively, Loery turned away all six of NFI�€™s shots, part of an 18-save performance. Offensively, Mattson picked up his first goal of the game assisted by Justin MacDougall.

NFI slipped one past Loery in the second period to tie the score at one apiece. Mattson responded and gave the Falcons the 2-1 lead, with MacDougall picking up his second assist of the night.

Barlow�€™s defense worked to keep the lead, holding NFI to only four shots in the second.

The third period was physical and full of close calls. NFI worked to get another puck in the back of the Falcons net to make the score 2-2.

With just over four minutes remaining, Jacobs regained the lead with an unassisted goal. With 30 seconds left in the game, NFI pulled its goalie to get an extra skater on the ice. On the ensuing face-off Mattson won the puck forward and chipped it from half-ice into the open net to complete the hat trick and Barlow picked up a key South-West Conference win.

The Falcons face Masuk at the Rinks at Shelton at 6:30 on Saturday and host Newton on Wednesday in Danbury.