WEST HAVEN - Newtown High School's hockey team capped an up and down week with a history-making high. The Nighthawks won a conference championship for the first time in the program's history, prevailing 3-2 with a shootout triumph over Lyman Hall-Haddam Killingworth-Coginchaug at West Haven's Bennett Rink, on March 3.

Newtown was the third seed, and the Lyman Hall-led squad the top seed in the South-West/Southern Connecticut Conference's Division III bracket.

Newtown goaltender and game MVP Kyle Murphy stopped 41 shots, and had a clean sheet in the best-of-five shootout after regulation ended with a 2-2 deadlock. Newtown's Domenic Cartelli and Scott McLean lit the lamp with impressive moves, and Murphy's stop in the fourth round sealed the victory.

"It feels really good," Murphy said. "We just buckled down and when we won it was just an unbelievable feeling."

The Nighthawks, who had four players suspended for their conference tourney semifinal-round win, resulting from major penalties assessed at the end of their regular-season ending tie with North Haven, went into the championship clash knowing it was their last game of the season. The team was disqualified from the Division III State Tournament because of excessive major penalties; the news became official the morning of the conference's pinnacle battle, after an appeal was rejected.

The ups and downs continued when the Nighthawks found out all four players who had to miss the semifinal game were reinstated for the championship. Initially, three of the four were cleared, and the other, McLean, didn't find out he was eligible until about five hours before the puck dropped. That's when Newtown Coach Paul Esposito contacted McLean to share the good news.

"My coach called me at 3 o'clock and told me I was in so I had to get focused pretty quick," McLean said.

McLean certainly seemed focused for his shootout attempt, as he followed up Cartelli's nifty move (and goal on a forehand shot) with a deke and backhanded net-finder, setting up Murphy's clinching save.

"It's a nice end for him," said Esposito, adding that McLean - due to his scoring prowess - is a marked man on the ice game in and game out. "He battled through a lot of adversity this year."

As did the Hawks, collectively, in this bizarre final week of the campaign.

"To end it on a high note is something I'm so thankful for," said Lucas O'Brien, who along with Scott Bauer sat out the semifinal game win, but played well to help the Hawks capture the conference crown.

"Obviously we're bummed we can't play in states but this is a good way to go out for all the seniors," McLean said.

McLean's career has, to a degree, come full circle, Esposito notes. McLean was a freshman on the program's 2014 state champion squad, and he netted his first varsity goal for the game-winner. His last varsity shot on net, in the fourth round of the shootout, helped lock up this title.

Cartelli was among the players suspended for the tourney opener. His goal helped offset not only the stuff that happened in the aftermath of the North Haven game but also what transpired late in regulation of the pinnacle game.

With Newtown clinging to a 2-1 lead, Cartelli was rammed into the boards on a check in which Newtown's entire fan base and bench took great exception. No penalty was called, and seconds later, Lyman Hall's Kyle Roberts broke in alone and beat Murphy between the legs to tie the game with only 41 seconds remaining in regulation.

Not only did Cartelli get a feeling of redemption with his shootout goal, but Murphy gained some satisfaction when he stopped Roberts, who again went five-hole, closing the pads for a save in the third round of the shootout.

"He really came through in the clutch tonight," Esposito said.

The first three goals of the game came in the opening period. Newtown struck first when Cole Bepko was set up by McLean and Cartelli on the power play, just 4:12 after the initial puck drop.

Lyman Hall answered at the 10:05 mark, and David Brestovansky reclaimed Newtown's lead, with another man advantage marker, a minute later.

The score remained 2-1 in favor of Newtown for most of the rest of the night thanks, in large part, to the play of Murphy. The Nighthawks got into penalty trouble late in the second period and killed off a double minor (four minutes of man-down play) and two minutes of Lyman Hall having a 5-on-3 skater advantage.

The Hawks were hoping to overcome those suspensions and have their disqualification overturned given, Esposito argues, some of the players involved suspended were actually not involved in the fracas.

"I was pretty upset. I really thought it could have been looked into a little bit more under the circumstances," Esposito said. "I feel absolutely devastated for my seniors who have been disqualified, but this really helps alleviate a lot of it."

Who knows how far the Hawks would have gone in the state bracket. But the only thing that is certain is they've ended the season on top.

"It's a great ending for this squad. These guys have been working their tails off for nine months. I'm really proud, really happy for these guys," Esposito said.