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The week in photos – January 10, 2019
Biela named Worshipful Master
By Frank J. Andrulli, III
Special to the Voice:
At its annual year end election, Annawon Lodge, 115 Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of West Haven elected Brother Richard Biela, 60 as the 2019 Worshipful Master. He succeeds Worshipful Brother Steven R. Mullins, who served as Master in 2018. Biela has been a member of the Lodge since 1988.
Biela, a West Haven resident, has been married to his wife Cheryl for the past 35 years. Together they have four children and three grandchildren.
Annawon Lodge was charted on March 24,1873 in the Village of West Haven in the Town or Orange. The Lodge’s first location was the second floor of what is now called the Altshuler Building on the corner of Campbell Avenue and Main Street.
As Worshipful Master, Biela follows in the footsteps of such notable West Haven citizens as former First Selectman (Mayor) Elmer R. Scranton and educator Harry M. Bailey.
Biela will be installed Saturday in a ceremony at the West Haven Masonic Temple, 263 Elm St. at 11. The rites will include a tribute to Mullins, honoring his tenure as Master. Lunch will be served immediately following. The ceremony is open to the public.
In addition to Biela, other officers elected and appointed are: Senior Warden: Kyle Podpolucha, Junior Warden: Mark Homburg, Senior Deacon: Anthony King, Junior Deacon: Christopher Belous, Tiler: Jonathan Belmont, Treasurer, Gerald Calibritto, Secretary Frank James Andrulli, III, Marshall: James V. Jennette,, Historian William Kennedy Barr, Chaplain: Frank Mangerio, Almoner: William Lang, and Trustee: Steven R. Mullins.
Around town
BPGC confab
Bradley Point Garden Club of West Haven will hold its monthly luncheon followed by a presentation on beekeeping at noon on Tuesday, Jan. 15, in a new location, the Ora Mason Library lower level, 260 Benham Hill Road. New members are always welcome. Call Marie at (203) 878-8428.
Bradley Point Garden Club will also hold a bake sale on Thursday, Jan.17, in the lobby of West Haven City Hall, 355 Main St. from 9 to 1. The public is invited.
Al-Anon group
An Al-Anon meeting group invites new members to attend its weekly meetings on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. in the First Lutheran Church, 52 George St. For information and details, call (203) 506-1464.
Coin show
The Liberty Coin Show is back at the Elks Club, 265 Main St., on the third Sunday of the month. Buy and sell your coins. The organizers invite hobbyists to be part of the many displays. Food and beverages are on the menu. This year’s dates are: Jan. 21, March 18, May 20, June 17, Aug. 19, Oct. 21, and December 16. For more information, call Parry Carpinella, (203) 248-1053.
Support offered
Balancing the care of a family member, a household and a job is overwhelming. Meet with a representative from VNA Community Healthcare’s Family Caregiver Support Network for a FREE consultation to discuss your personal care-giving issues, receive tips, guidance and explore solutions. Call VNA Community Healthcare’s Helpline at 1 (866) 474-5230 (toll free) to schedule a private in-person or phone session with one of our family caregiver experts. Consultations are held by appointment at several convenient locations including West Haven, Hamden and North Haven.
Student loans
The Seth Haley Memorial Loan Fund of West Haven provides eligible college students with loans of up to $2500 to help students finish their post high school education. Applicants must be West Haven residents who have completed two or more years of college or post-secondary work or be in their final two years of advanced work. Any West Haven resident attending college or a post high school professional, technical or trade school can be eligible for a loan. Repayments do not begin, and no interest will be charged until one year after graduation. If you are interested in making an application for a loan, please Gert Beckwith at (203) 934-6921, or Ralph Lawson, (203) 934-6442 or write to 170 Ivy St.
Twilight League hosts Hot Stove lunch on Jan 26
The West Haven Twilight League will hold its annual Hot Stove luncheon on Saturday, Jan. 26 at West River Hall, 37 Orlando St.
Doors open at 11:45 a.m. with a luncheon buffet and speaking program to begin promptly at 12:30 p.m.
League Commissioner Dan Gooley and the WHTL Board of Directors announced the line-up card for this year’s event. The line-up includes MLB broadcaster and MC George Grande, MLB Rule Interpreter Rich Marazzi, Original NY Mets pitcher, 1962 team, Ken MacKenzie, and former University of New Haven Baseball coach Frank “Porky” Vieira. Keynote speaker will be former MLB player and author, Adam Greenberg. Chris Celano, University of New Haven Baseball Coach, will accept the leagues 2018 Coach of the Year Award.
Tickets are $40.00 per person and can be purchased on the West Haven Twilight Leagues website, https://whtl.sportngin.com. Click the purchase tickets banner on the right side of the home page.
If you are not able to make this afternoon of great baseball conversation consider a donation to one of the oldest amateur baseball leagues in the country.
Seating is limited so please RSVP no later than Jan. 21.
Westie Blue In Touch
After a thrilling overtime victory over Simsbury three days earlier, the West Haven hockey team was looking to extend its heroics. Instead, the Westies suffered a bitter defeat.
Using a goal just over five minutes into the third period, Guilford rallied to defeat West Haven, 5-4, at the DiLungo Rink in East Haven Saturday afternoon. With the loss, West Haven fell to 4-3 on the season.
West Haven took a 1-0 lead 4 minutes, 42 seconds into the contest when Kaden Morgillo scored off an assist from Richie Greene. Guilford scored the next two goals, but sophomore Nick Boanno scored seconds later to even the contest at two.
In a game which would go back and forth the rest of the way, Guilford took a 2-1 lead 1:18 into the second, before Niko Kyle evened the game at three off an assist from Kevin Moriarty with 8:27 left in the middle period.
The Indians scored 1:50 later to take a 4-3 advantage to the third period, but West Haven got the equalizer 1:24 into the third when Robbie Forleo scored off an assist from Kyle. Guilford would end the back and forth affair with the last goal of the game with 9:45 remaining.
Jared Pliszka made 27 saves in the loss for West Haven.
The West Haven hockey team entered the Guilford contest on a high note after it showed plenty of resiliency Wednesday evening. Not only did the Westies have to travel to the Westminster School to play Simsbury, but they found themselves down early.
Trailing by two goals, West Haven rallied for a pair of third period goals, then used an overtime tally by Morgillo to defeat Simsbury 3-2. With the win, the Westies improved to 4-2 on the season.
Trailing 2-0, the Westies got on the scoreboard 3:18 into the third when freshman D.J. Carfora scored off an assist from fellow freshman Nico Bruneau. The game would remain that way until the final two minutes.
Looking at a difficult loss, Carfora set up Kyle and the senior did the rest, evening the game with 1:59 left in regulation. The Westies then decided the contest in the extra session.
At the 48 second mark of overtime, Morgillo sent the Westies home winners and with their fourth victory of the season. Pliszka was solid in goal as he made 33 saves in the win for West Haven.
For all of your West Haven sporting news all year long, including game articles, photos, videos, statistics and more, visit www.westieblue.com.
Devils edge Eagles
West Haven Girls basketball resumed play following the holiday break.
The Prospect Beach Club Blue Devils picked up their first win of the year with an 8-7 win over the Napoli Parts Eagles. Micah Pullen hit for six and Madison McGuire also score for the win. The Eagles were led on the offensive end by Madyson Ortiz, Amalia Ortiz and Alyssa Dowde.
Jaciannna Mitchell and Ciara Harp accounted for all the scoring as the West Haven Drug and Alcohol Task Force Panthers upended the Shoreline Dental Cardinals, 17-10. The Panthers also received strong play from Rylie Boynton and Hayden Holm. The Cardinal stars were Lily Granata, Madden Evangeliste and Cristel Miguel.
The Gunning Law Huskies remained unbeaten with a 15-11 win over the Rings End Bruins. The Huskies were led by the scoring of Elana Cortes, Samita Huckaby, Cashlin O’Neil and Taryn Walker. The Bruins were led by Emily Hartshorn, Trinity Campbell, Noelle Lawrence and Neveah Stegall.
Squirt A team beats New Canaan
The West Haven Squirt A travel hockey team went 1-1 this weekend and now stands at 20-14-3 overall on the season. The Blue Devils lost a close game to Wallingford A, 4-3, and then bounced back to shut out New Canaan A1, 5-0.
On Saturday morning at Edward L. Bennett Rink, the Westies hosted Wallingford. West Haven dropped a hard-fought contest, 4-3. Ethan Kelly led the offense with two goals and an assist.
Kelly got West Haven on the scoreboard three minutes into the game when he snapped a wrist shot that went bar down. Blue Devils goalie Maddex LaFountain made several clutch saves in the first period to keep the score 1-0.
Kelly scored again two minutes into the second period before Wallingford tied it later in the stanza. Ryan Pniewski regained the lead for West Haven when his shot from the right point made it through traffic with Kelly assisting. Wallingford tallied twice in the third period and shut down the Westies’ offense to escape with the win. LaFountain made 12 saves in the game.
The Blue Devils responded a day later when they traveled to the New Canaan Winter Club for a game played on their outdoor rink. West Haven controlled the game and blanked New Canaan, 5-0.
Cameren Lipford, Matthew Kelly and Sean Studley all registered a goal and assist in the win.
The Kelly brothers got things started in the opening minute when Ethan fed Matthew for a shot from the point that hit the back of the net.
The Kelly boys almost struck on the same play in the second period but the shot was saved. Lipford backhanded home the rebound for a 2-0 lead. Later, Leo Mazuroski made a nice play to keep the puck in the zone then made a beautiful pass to Studley. The winger snapped off a wrist shot and quickly knocked in his own rebound for a 3-0 lead.
Ethan Kelly roofed a wrist shot with Mazuroski assisting to open the third period. West Haven capped the scoring when Lipford passed out of the zone and Studley tipped it to Ethan Kelly. Kelly scored after a pretty deke. LaFountain posted ten saves for the shutout victory.
The West Haven Peewee A travel hockey team took home the Gold Medal in a trip to Lake Placid this past weekend. The Westies went 4-0 and outscored their opponents 26-3 in the tournament.
Michael Madera led the offense in the tournament with eight goals, Mickey Dowd scored six times, Mike Page had five tallies, Zach Goetze added three goals, and Dylan Bosworth scored twice.
Goaltenders Bryan Hong and Jacob Silva were spectacular throughout the tournament. Hong was perfect as he did not allow a goal over the four days, and also took home the goaltending title in the Skills Competition.
The Westies opened the tournament with an 8-1 victory over the Hartford North Stars from Maryland. Madera, who won the shootout title in the Skills Competition, led the offense with four goals and two assists, while Bruno Martone added three assists, and Dowd had a goal and an assist.
West Haven took a 3-0 lead in the opening period and never looked back. Goetze opened the scoring 1:31 in off an assist from Madera, Page scored off an assist from Brady Price 3:22 later, and Madera scored off an assist from Dowd with 4:14 left in the period.
Madera gave West Haven a 4-0 lead off an assist from Goetze 3:20 into the second, and Dowd scored off an assist from Madera 52 seconds later. Leading 5-1, Madera extended the lead with a goal off an assist from Martone with 3:09 left in the period.
Madera, from Martone and Goetze, and Bosworrth, from Martone, gave the Westies their final goals in the third period. Silva was solid in goal for the Westies, making nine saves.
West Haven won its second straight contest to open the tournament with a 6-0 victory over the New York Lumberjacks.
Madera led the way with three goals and an assist, while Dowd, Page, and Bosworth also scored once apiece. Martone, Price, Haygen Axelrod, and Goetze also had assists in the win, while Hong was stellar in goal, making 10 saves in the shutout.
The Westies improved to 3-0 and advanced to the Gold Medal game with a 5-1 win over the Maine Wild Saturday evening. Goetze and Dowd led the way with two goals apiece, Page added one goal, Dowd and Madera added two assists and Goetze also had a helper.
Page gave the Westies a 1-0 lead off an assist from Price 4:54 into the game, before Goetze scored the first of his two straight goals off assists from Madera and Dowd. Leading 3-1, Goetze set up Dowd with 6:29 left in the third, before Madera and Goetze set up Dowd for the final goal with 2:13 to go.
The Westies took home the title with a 7-1 victory over Hartford in the Gold Medal game Sunday morning. Dowd led the offense with two goals and three assists, Page scored twice, Goetze had three assists, and Madera had a goal and an assist.
Trailing 1-0, West Haven evened the game with 2.2 seconds left in the opening period when Madera scored off assists from Goetze and Dowd. Ray Heenie gave West Haven a lead it never relinquished 3:03 into the second off assists from Dowd and Goetze, before Jason Alling scored a power play goal 42seconds later for a 3-1 advantage.
The Westies iced the game in the third period with four goals. Dowd scored 43 seconds in off assists from Madera and Heenie, and Page sandwiched two unassisted tallies around a goal by Dowd.
Hong and Silva again were outstanding in goal, combining for 16 saves. Connor Moriarty, Cody Rocchio, and Chris Consorte all played well in the tournament.
The West Haven Bantam A travel hockey team went 1-1 over the past weekend. Saturday brought the Greenwich Blues to the Bennett Rink in West Haven, where the Blue Devils came out on top 8-1.
The Westies got the scoring started early in the first minute, with Carl Murgo getting the first goal of the day. Dante Hardt was credited with the assist. Justin Pniewski scored with 11 minutes left in the first off an assist from David Brown.
Less than a minute later, Colin Deane scored, with Matt Morgan getting the assist. Morgan then scored two back to back unassisted goals to close out the first period.
Hardt scored the first goal of the second period, with Joey Honcz and Murgo getting the helpers. Jayden Spreyer then scored top shelf to make it 7-0. Cade Simone got the helper on Spreyer’s tally.
Pniewski then scored his second of the game to finish the scoring for the Westies. Sean Bosworth was credited with the helper. The Blues were able to score in the third to make the game 8-1, after West Haven went scoreless in the final period.
Brendan Smith played an excellent game in goal. Cade Simone, Hardt and Kevin Gardner all played well in the contest.
On Sunday the Blue Devils traveled to the Northford Ice Pavilion to take on the Great New Haven Warriors, where they were sent home with a 4-2 loss.
Pniewski scored both goals for the Westies, the first goal in the first period, and the second goal in the third period. The first goal went bar down from the tops of the circles. Morgan was credited with the assist on Pniewski’s first goal.
Smith played a complete game and made key saves to keep the score where it was. Nolan Cole and Matt Wezenski played well in the loss.
Knights trip up Jesuits, 3-2 in OT
While they never really took a break, the winter sports teams returned to action and started the new year on the right foot with a big hockey win over Fairfield Prep and the basketball team staying undefeated with a win over the Jesuits s well.
Hockey — John-Michael Childs sent the Green Knights home happy with an overtime goal in their 3-2 win over Fairfield Prep on Saturday. John D’Errico and Charlie Andriole also scored for the Green Knights, who had to rally after the Jesuits scored with just over one minute left in the third period to tie the game. D’Errico’s goal came on a penalty shot after he was hooked from behind on a breakaway. Connor Smith made 32 saves in net for Notre Dame..
Basketball — Coach Jason Shea’s squad is off to a 6-0 start, including a pair of wins in the Winter Snow Jam Christmas Tournament co-hosted by the city schools. Connor Raines recorded his 1,000th point in the semifinal win over West Haven, then took home MVP honors with a 28-point outing in championship game win over Stamford. Notre Dame remained unbeaten with a 71-51 win over Fairfield Prep in a game that saw Zach Laput lead the way with a 20-point, eight-rebound performance.
Indoor Track — Max Bothwell captured the sophomore pole vault with a leap of 10-feet as the Green Knights took part in the two-day prestigious Hispanic Games at the NY Armory on Jan. 4-5. Carlos Aurora placed second in the 55-meter dash in the unseeded division, crossing the finish line in 6.81 seconds. West Haven native Jason Sawicki took home a top 10 finish with leap of 6-feet in the high jump to place 9th overall. Warren Murphy the 400-meter dash in 52.36 to finish 17th overall.
Wrestling — Porter Schexnayder recorded three pins as part of his undefeated day as the wrestling team took part in the East Haven duals against some very tough competition. Notre Dame wrestled against four teams, emerging with one win over St. Bernard/Norwich Tech coop team. The Green Knights fell to traditional wrestling powers Newtown, Foran, and Platt to finish the day 1-3. Christian Fillion and Luis Stephenson also had undefeated days, winning three and two matches respectively.
Swimming — The Notre Dame swim team was back in the pool after a 15-day lay-off for the holidays. They got back into the swing of things with a back and forth affair with the combo team of Foran/Law in a meet that came down to the last event. Notre Dame needed a first and third place finish in the final event – the 400 freestyle relay – to squeak out a close victory. While the Green Knights finished first, Foran/Law took home second and third place to win a close 86-84 SCC win on Friday. The loss dropped Notre dame to 2-1 on the young season. Bill Hinckley led the Green Knights with three first-place finishes. He won the 50 freestyle in 24.22 then followed that up with a win in the 100 freestyle (55.27). He was also part of the opening meet win by the 200 freestyle relay that touched the wall first in a time of 1:50.76.
You can get all the latest athletic news, scores, and more by following @NDWHAthletics on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Periscope while frieNDing the @NDWHAthletics Facebook group.
Sharks top Green Dragons, 4-1
After disposing the Guilford Indians, 6-0, earlier in the week, the West Haven/Sacred Heart girls’ hockey team paid a visit to the Hamden Green Dragons on Saturday afternoon. The Westie Sharks spotted the Dragons an early 1-0 lead before kicking it into gear and scoring four, unanswered goals for a 4-1 victory.
Jianna Cohrs took a pass from Taylor Nowak and evened the game at 1-1, 4:40 into the second period. Francesca Criscuolo then set up Cohrs for her second of the game 3:04 later for a lead the Westie Sharks would not relinquish. Taylor Nowak found the back of the net with 3:32 remaining in the second period, assisted by Megan Froehlich and Cohrs to increase the lead to 3-1. Criscuolo put the final touches on the victory with a beautiful play when she circled the net and then picked the top corner for the 4-1 final. Kyleen Crowe finished with 20 saves between the pipes.
This week, the girls hosted Notre Dame-Fairfield/Law/Foran/Weston/Pomperaug on Tuesday and then finish the week with a trip to East Haven to take on the Branford/North Branford/Sheehan/Lyman Hall Wings on Saturday at 7.
The boys’ hockey team traveled to Simsbury on Wednesday night and fell behind 2-0 before mounting a comeback. The Blue Devils cut the lead to 2-1 when D.J. Carfora scored assisted by Nico Bruneau 3:18 into the third period. The Westies got the equalizer with 1:59 left in the game when Carfora set up Niko Kyle, who scored sending the game into overtime. In overtime, Kaden Morgillo found the back of the net with 48 seconds left to send the Blue Devils home with the 3-2 victory. Jared Pliszka was outstanding in goal, making 33 saves to preserve the victory.
On Saturday afternoon, the boys headed to East Haven to try to avenge an opening night loss to the Guilford Indians. Kaden Morgillo got the Westies on the board 4:42 into the game assisted by Richie Greene for a 1-0 lead. The Indians evened the game and then took a 2-1 lead before Nick Boanno scored to knot things at 2-2.
After the Indians took a 3-2 lead, Niko Kyle tied the game at 3-3 assisted by Kevin Moriarty with 8:27 left in the second period. Guilford would once again take the lead when the tallied less than two minutes later to make it 4-3 heading to the third period.
The Blue Devils answered again just 1:24 into the third period when Niko Kyle set up Robbie Forleo to even the game 4-4. Unfortunately for the Westies, the Indians got the game winner with 9:45 left in the game to defeat the Blue Devils, 5-4. Jared Pliszka stopped 27 shots between the pipes for West Haven.
This week, the boys hosted the Cheshire Rams on Wednesday and then travel to take on the East Haven/Old Lyme/Old Saybrook/East Hampton/Margan/Valley co-op team on Saturday at 1.
The boys’ basketball team dropped a 65-57 decision to the Amity Spartans on Wednesday evening at the WHHS Gym. Quannel Straugher led the Westies with 19 points while Shea Sheffield had nine points and Tyrese Hargrove added eight points in the loss. The Westies suffered another defeat to end the week when the Blue Devils lost 67-52 to the Guilford Indians.
This week, the boys hosted the Xavier Falcons on Monday, the Cheshire Rams on Wednesday and finish the week hosting the Fairfield Prep Jesuits on Friday at 7.
The girls’ basketball team will look to get back on track after a 57-45 loss to Jonathan Law last week when it traveled to East Haven on Monday. The Westies also traveled to Cheshire on Wednesday and will finish the week with a game at Amity on Friday at 7.
Annual clothing, toy drives Donations overwhelm Community House staff
The true meaning of the holiday spirit is to give back. Here in West Haven, that spirit is alive and well as evidenced by a large variety of donations made to the West Haven Community House.
Each year, many individuals and local businesses conduct holiday drives collecting hundreds of toys, games, coats, hats, gloves and more.
The generosity of the business community, those working for the city, and individuals who just wanted to help overwhelmed longtime members of the agency staff, who have gone through many a holiday season. Some of the major donors iincluded Oyster River Energy, Shoreline Dental, Arti Dixson from JA Music LLC, Eder Bros, Our Lady of Victory’s community outreach center, Italian American Club Women’s Guild, West Haven Housing Authority, St. Lawrence, Z’s Corner Café and Donato Cappetta of Cappetta’s restaurant.
In addition, the Community House board members, friends and staff participate in an annual giving tree where donations of toys and gifts are collected and given out to families and adults in the agency’s programs.
“We are overwhelmed by the generosity of the West Haven community, and we wish to thank the many people and local businesses who make it a part of their holiday tradition to think of the Community House and the families we serve,” said Patricia Stevens, Executive Director of the Community House.
“It will make the children and families’ holidays so much brighter and happier. Our families are all struggling economically and to have this generosity of the community bestowed on them is so appreciated.”
The Community House is the cornerstone social service agency of West Haven providing services to thousands of families for more than 76 years by giving pre-schoolers from low-income families a “Head Start” in life and the educational foundation they need to be successful in school, ensuring that school-aged children have a safe, affordable place to be during out-of-school hours, and providing people with intellectual disabilities opportunities to gain skills needed to increase independence and integrate into the community.
“In this season of giving, we are reminded that we could not succeed without the support of the hundreds of kindhearted people of West Haven and beyond,” Stevens said. “W e cannot express enough how much we appreciate the support and generosity throughout the year, especially during the holiday season.” Stevens said.
“From all of us at the Community House and the families we serve, we wish you all a wonderful and safe new year.”