SHELTON, Conn. — Luke Kondub broke a record that had stood for close to three decades. The Masuk High hockey standout scored his 219th career point in a 5-3 win over the Milford Mariners at Shelton’s Sports Center of Connecticut on Saturday night.
Kondub recorded a hat trick and added two assists to break Ryan Simpson’s school-record 218 points, which had stood since 1998.
Kondub’s scoring prowess is a big part of his game, but not the only thing that makes him so dangerous on the ice. Masuk Coach Terry Stroz pointed out that he is a standout offensively, defensively, winning faceoffs — all over the ice.
“He’s probably the smartest hockey player I’ve seen in my life. He’s an unbelievable hockey player and he makes all the kids around him better,” Stroz said. “He reads the game so well. His vision and skillset allow him to make unbelievable plays.”
Kondub, a senior captain, plans to bring his game to the next level playing junior hockey.
After his record-setting effort, Kondub addressed his teammates with a focus not on his success, but rather the team’s goal of pushing to play into March for a state title.
“He truly is a great leader,” Stroz said. “He cares more about the team winning than his own, individual stats.”
Masuk certainly stands a good chance to be in the mix of state title contenders. The team is 9-0 thus far with Kondub leading the way and a strong supporting cast in the fold. Stroz calls this the hardest-working team he has ever had
In the win over Milford, Nate Lisanti and Tommy DePonte also scored and Noah Camacho and Michael Leventakos had assists. Goaltender Maddex LaFountain made 28 saves. Masuk was playing on back-to-back nights and Stroz was impressed with how his team rose to the occasion despite the challenge of skating in back-to-backs.
The night before, Masuk skated past the Suffield-Granby-Windsor Locks team 6-4 in Simsbury. Kondub recorded, what else but a hat-trick, and assisted on two more goals. One of his goals came on a penalty shot.
Graham Cybart notched a pair of goals and Teddy Walsh also found the back of the net. Lisanti had two assists and Parker Driscoll also had an assist.
The Panthers will try to make it to 10-0 when they visit the North Branford co-op Wednesday at Northford Ice Pavilion starting at 3:45 p.m.
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