Smithtown/Hauppauge boys hockey forces deciding Game 3 of Suffolk finals
Smithtown's Brayden Beltrani (37) celebrates the go ahead goal in the third period during the Suffolk High School boys ice hockey final playoff game #2 between St Anthony’s and Smithtown on Friday Feb 9, 2026 at The Rinx Credit: Bob Sorensen
After a high-scoring Game 1 of the Suffolk hockey finals, Smithtown/Hauppauge and St. Anthony’s found themselves in a defensive battle in Game 2.
With less than five minutes left, Smithtown/Hauppauge went on the power play and made the Friars pay. Brayden Beltrani put away a rebound with 4:28 left for a tiebreaking goal.
Top-seeded Smithtown/Hauppauge made it stand up and defeated No. 2 St. Anthony’s, 2-1, in Game 2 at The Rinx in Hauppauge on Monday night.
“The crowd was packed tonight. It was amazing to celebrate in front of them,” Beltrani said. “It was great to score with that short amount of time left. We locked it down on defense and it was great.”
The winner-take-all Game 3 is at 9:20 p.m. Wednesday at The Rinx.
St. Anthony’s pulled the goalie with 2:45 remaining after taking a timeout. The Friars applied pressure in the offensive zone, but the Bulls stood steady, just as they did all game.
“In Game 1 we gave them five goals,” Smithtown/Hauppauge coach Mark Dubeau said. “We minimized our mistakes tonight and our offense capitalized. And our goalie Jacob [Caradonna] knew what to expect tonight with the environment, and he shut them down to just one goal.”
Caradonna had a bounce-back performance and finished with 28 saves.
After allowing odd-man rushes and golden opportunities throughout Game 1, Smithtown/Hauppauge’s discipline proved to be the difference.
“My defense was great,” Caradonna said. “They kept them to outside shots and they didn’t have many odd-man rushes. And tonight I had motivation from letting in six. I was able to lock the door tonight, and it was tough. St. Anthony’s is a great team.”
The first period was scoreless between the two offensive powers. The Bulls opened the scoring when Brendan Power netted his second goal of the series with 10:55 left in the second period.
Five minutes later, the Bulls took a penalty and St. Anthony’s capitalized. Christian Buttacavoli dished the puck to Zack Sirel for a one-timer to tie it at 1 with 5:20 left in the second period.
It was a back-and-forth battle in the third period, but Beltrani’s power-play goal proved to be the difference. Now it's on to Game 3.
“I’m probably not going to sleep from now until Wednesday,” Dubeau said. “But I’m excited to get the boys going for Wednesday and have some fun.”
