West Haven Voice

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Basketball publicists get a reminder of deadlines

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The winter sports season is set to begin in the various basketball leagues, the West Haven Voice would like to remind league publicists and coaches of the requirements for weekly reports.

All leagues are to have one publicist through whom all stories come. Our rule is: we will edit it, headline it and print it, but we will not write it.

Coaches are reminded to check with their league officials as to the protocol to be followed in order to have games published in the Voice.

No individual games will be accepted. All games must be through the league’s publicist.

Deadline for copy is Tuesday at 10 a.m. unless prior clearance is given by the editor for a later submission. All copy must be in paragraph form and is subject to the same editing for clarity, grammar and space as are all other submissions.

Pictures are welcome and will be published on an “as need” basis.

Pictures should be accompanied by the names of the players involved, the action in the photo, and the score of the game.

All games must have scores in those divisions where scores are kept.

We understand some younger divisions do not keep score, but those that do should be reported accordingly.

For information on sports submissions, please call the Voice office, (203) 934-6397 during regular business hours.

Panthers upend Blue Devils

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West Haven Girls Basketball continued its junior division schedule with the Bruins and Panthers remaining unbeaten through three games.

The Chuck’s Garage Panthers upended the Prospect Fish and Game Blue Devils, 22-4, as Kylie Gibbons, Jaearrah Mitchell and Hayden Holm erupted for 10 first-quarter points. Jaceianna Mitchell and Aleyia Lachance also scored for the Panthers. The Blue Devils were led by the play of Annause Costello and Timyra Rodgers.

The Emmett’s Auto Bruins, used eight points from Amare Bennett and four points from Jada Turner, downed the TBNG Eagles, 16-8, to remain unbeaten. Samantha Boyd and Sarah Went also scored for the Bruins. Perez Rosario, Hailey Locus, Jayda Ciliberti and Ava Sorbo led the offense for the Eagles.

The Gunning Law Huskies got a combined 20 points from Taryn Walker and Ella McDonnell.in their 30-12 win over the Oyster River Cardinals. Katie Mondo scored six points and Finley Gunning and Jazzlyn Arrington also scored in the win for the Huskies. Cristel Miguel scored six points and Peyton Davis, Cali Zeigler and Ava Oshomah accounted for the Cardinals scoring.

Ice Jamboree set for Friday

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West Haven High School’s boys’ hockey team is sponsoring its annual Jackie Coyle Jamboree on Friday night at the Edward L. Bennett Rink, beginning at 6:30.

Four teams are included in the round-robin format, which will pit each team in four 20-minute periods. The schedule calls for:

Game 1 – West Haven vs ND;

Game 2- West Haven vs Amity;

Game 3- ND vs Fairfield Warde;

Game 4- Amity vs Fairfield Warde.

Mite C skaters pick up first win

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The West Haven Mite C team picked up its first win of its young, inaugural season with a thrilling come-from-behind victory over the Wallingford Mite C’s in Northfard, Saturday morning.  Logan Minio picked up a hat trick, with Ben Trenchard getting assists on Minio’s first two goals.  

Julius Stokes, Evan Harrison and Joey Mondo broke up several Wallingford plays in front of the Westie net, helping protect goalie Tony Parise, who had several key saves in the game.  Brady Salkins and Jax Guarino worked hard on both sides of the puck, getting it forward to create chances and back checking to play defense.  Kyle Johnson also scored twice late in the game to spark the comeback for the West Haven Mite C’s.

The West Haven Peewee A travel hockey team dropped both of its games this weekend and fell to 12-11-0 in CHC play. The Westies lost to Greater New Haven A, 7-1, and Ridgefield A, 3-2.

On Saturday afternoon at the Northford Ice Pavilion, the GNH Warriors and Blue Devils skated evenly for two periods.  GNH scored in the first period for a 1-0 lead.  The score remained 1-0 through the second period as the Westies killed off multiple penalties including a 5-on-3 disadvantage.  Goaltender Jacob Silva made several clutch saves. 

The Warriors went up 2-0 when the puck deflected off a Westies’ skate early in the third.  West Haven got right back into the game with a power play goal two minutes later.  Matt Kelly passed to Alex Bowery who quickly found Ronnie Mastroni.  The winger put a great move on a defenseman and then wristed a shot over the goalie to make it 2-1.  Penalties proved too costly down the stretch as GNH scored three power play goals and pulled away. Silva was valiant with 25 saves.

On Sunday morning at Edward L. Bennett Rink, the Westies hosted Ridgefield.  The teams skated to a scoreless tie into the second period when Ridgefield took a 1-0 lead on a 4-on-3 power play goal.

The Blue Devils responded early in the third period.  Sean Studley worked the puck up the boards and centered to Alex Bowery who slid it through the five hole to tie it at 1-1.  Ridgefield then scored a power play goal and a short-handed goal within a minute of each other to go up 3-1.

Connor Moriarty got the Westies within a score when he fired a shot off the goalie and in for a power play tally with six minutes left in the game.  West Haven could not muster the equalizer in the final minutes.  Greg Galasso made 17 saves in net for the Westies. 

The West Haven Peewee AA travel hockey team traveled to Red Bank Armory in New Jersey to face the Red Bank Generals AA on Saturday and played to a 2-2 tie. 

Nick Salzano broke up a pass off the stick of a General sending it to Nick Eberhart who went the rest of the way before beating the goalie with a wrister for a 1-0 lead halfway through the first period. The Generals took the lead in the second period, going up 2-1 over the Devils. 

Late in the second period, Brody DiNuzzo picked off a pass in the defensive zone before going the distance, beating the goalie with his backhand and knotting the game at 2-2. 

The game ended in a 2-2 tie in regulation as would the Devils 18-game winning streak. Nate Kempton and Tyler Donroe gave up a goal each, but were outstanding in net making numerous saves. 

On Sunday, the team hosted Mass Outlaws at Bennett Rink in the final EJEPL game of the season for the Devils and posted a 12-0 victory. DiNuzzo provided what would be the game winner just 13 seconds into the game after picking up a loose puck in the neutral zone and beating the goalie on a wrister unassisted. John Donohue finished with a hat trick and two assists. Nick Salzano had a hat trick as well. DiNuzzo finished with two goals, two assists, Mascari had two goals and one assist, Gabe Locklear and Tim Donohue had one goal and two assists each. Nicky Stevens had a pair of assists, Connor Benz and Beckett Stenz each had an assist. Thomas Porto and Eberhart played well and Jack Aloi was outstanding on defense. Nate Kempton and Donroe combined for the shutout. 

Peewee AA team finished the EJ regular season with a record of 15-1, and outscored opponents, 98-22.

The West Haven Bantam A travel hockey team posted a win and a tie this weekend. The Westies opened the week with a 5-2 victory over Central at the Edward L. Bennett Rink Saturday morning. Cam Delvecchio led the way with three goals and an assist.
West Haven took a 3-0 lead in the first period and never looked back.

Jayden Spreyer scored an unassisted goal 2:52 into the contest, before Delvecchio scored off assists from Spreyer and Josh Gyolai 1:10 later. Delvecchio increased the lead to three goals off an assist from Spreyer with 5:56 left in the period.

Leading by two goals, West Haven increased the margin to 4-1 when Mickey Dowd scored off assists from Michael Madera and Delvecchio, who also added a goal with 56 seconds remaining in the contest.
Bryan Hong was once again solid in goal, making numerous saves behind the defense of Haygen Axelrod, Jason Alling, Gyolai, and Matt Stevens.

Dante Hardt, Will Giaquinto and Kyle Droney also played well in the contest.West Haven battled back from a 3-1 deficit to post a 4-4 tie against Greenwich Skate Club at Dorothy Hammill Rink Sunday afternoon.

Even at three, Dowd scored off assists from Alling and Delvecchio for a 4-3 advantage, before Greenwich rallied to tie the contest.

The West Haven Bantam B travel hockey team had a win and a tie this weekend.

On Saturday, the team traveled to Westminster to play Simsbury and posted a 7-0 victory. 

Ashley Welch started the scoring for the Westies 29 seconds into the game on a pass from Zack Fonda. Yousaf Ullah (Danny Johnson assisted), Alex Kurowski (unassisted) and Carson Lee (Ullah assisted) extended the lead by the end of the first period. 

Matty Wright, off an assist from Cody Rocchio, and Fonda, off an assist from Welch, added goals in the second period. 

Welch connected from Fonda in the third to end the scoring and seal the 7-0 shutout win for Austin Fruin and the Westies. 

On Sunday, the Westies faced off against the Greenwich Skating club at Bennett Rink and played to a 5-5 tie. 

The Westies fell behind by two goals early in the first period but tied the game on goals from Max Ginsberg (Taylor Alfano assisted) and Yousaf Ullah (unassisted). West Haven then gave up two more goals before the end of the first period. 

Rocchio picked up a rebound off Fonda’s shot to get the Westies within one goal. Wright scored an unassisted goal to tie the game up in the first minute of the third period. 

Yousaf Ullah (unassisted) add the go-ahead goal minutes later, but Greenwich would tie the game. 

The West Haven Squirt A travel hockey team fell 7-2 to Greenwich Skating Club A at Bennett Rink on Saturday.

The Blue Devils played solid on defense in the opening period, limiting Greenwich to one goal in the first 10 minutes until the Wings scored with 1:53 left to take a 2-0 lead. The Westies pulled within one at 0:54 of the first, when center Grady Schulte drained a shot in front of the net on a play set up by forwards Aedan Guarino and Cameren Lipford.

In the second, the Blue Devils continued to skate hard and pressure the Wings, with goaltender Alex Werle’s quick glove and stick keeping the Westies in the game. The gritty style of play paid off. At 7:04 of the period, Lipford picked up the loose puck in the Greenwich zone, deked a defender and toe-dragged it by another defender before firing a wrist shot high to the blocker side to tie it 2-2.

After a promising period and a half for the Blue Devils, the Wings took over and went on to score four unanswered goals in the second and one in the third to put the contest out of reach.

Werle made 28 saves for the Westies.

Wizards topple Watertown, 471-201

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The West Haven Wizards, sponsored by the Park-Rec Dept., is off to a fast start in defense of their Yankee League title. The squad had a convincing win over Watertown’s Warriors, last week, and look to add another win with a Saturday clash against Madison at the WHHS pool.

The West Haven Wizards swim team won its second meet of the season against the Watertown Warriors convincingly by a score of 471-201. Wizards are now 2-0 on the season.

The Wizards started out strong by winning first place in nearly all age groups in the medley relays. However, it was in the individual events that the Wizard swimmers showed their strength, speed and persistence. There were many close races and best time throughout the meet, but most impressive were the 11 events, where the Wizards swept first, second and third place.

For the 9/10 boys100-yard freestyle, CJ Sutton, Daniel Orozco and Ethan Burgard took the top spots and in the very next event, the 11/12 trio of Lucas Vital, Marco Ayala and AJ Meglio beat out the Warriors for the top spots in their 100-yard freestyle. Next, the 15-and-over girls took the top spots in consecutive events. The 100-yard butterfly was led by Kaelyn Falanga, Madison Hobart and Katherine Ayala and the 200-yard freestyle by Falanga, Jillian Goldbeck and Hannah Rascoll.

The 9/10 boys came back to the blocks for the 50-yard backstroke where Sutton, Aiden Giannettino and Xander Wight won the event, followed by the 13/14 girl’s trio of Kaleigh Morton, Lauren Blake and Adriana Giachino doing the same in the 100-yard backstroke.

Next up were the Individual medley events. For the 9/10 boys, Daniel Orozco, Ray Listorti and Wight led the field in the 100-yard individual medley, 13/14 girls; Kaleigh Morton, Christina Ayala and Giachino finishing as the top three in their 200-yard individual medley and the 15 & over girls finished strong with Kaya Vital, Molly Wilson and Alana Orecchio taking all three top spots.

Closing out the individual events, the 9/10 boy’s trio of Sutton, Burgard and Sean Fitzpatrick finished on top in the 50 yard-freestyle followed by Aarya Mulmi, Carli Cassone and Lia Hey sprinting to finish on top in the 11/12 girls 50-yard freestyle.

The Wizard’s next meet will be Saturday at home against the Madison Marlins. For more information on the West Haven Wizards please visit our website at www.westhavenwizards.org.

Mariano heading to Radford in the fall

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MAXWELL MARIANO

The Notre Dame baseball program has a history of its players achieving their dream of playing at the next level.

The latest in a long list of baseball alumni playing at the Division I collegiate level made it official today when Maxwell Mariano ‘20 (Meriden, CT) inked his letter of intent to play at Radford University next season. Mariano signed his LOI in the Team Room at Notre Dame, enjoying the moment with family, friends, and coaches.

Mariano chose Radford over Seton Hall, Bryant and South Carolina Upstate. He is now looking forward to his senior season this spring before heading south for his college career.

Mariano said, “Radford was the final choice for a lot of reasons, but mainly because it is in a nice location and I loved the facilities and coaches. I also thought it was a perfect academic fit for me.”

Radford is located in Radford, Virginia and plays out of the Big South Conference.  Last year, the Highlanders went 30-27 overall and finished second with a 19-8 record in conference games. They reached the third round of the Big South Championships.

Mariano, an all-State selection as a junior last season, has helped the Green Knights to a 37-32 record in his three years as a varsity starter for head coach Donald Martone ‘87.

Martone said, “The main thing about Max is that I have watched him mature as a freshman starter to a captain. The maturation process as a player has been a metamorphosis as a I have watched him grow to become a role model for our program and it’s not because he can hit the ball out of the park. It’s the little things like sprinting out of the box to second base on a ball to the outfield and on and off the field.”

Martone added, “Max certainly has the skills to play at a high level. He has all the tools to be successful at the Division I level, the most important of which is his mental approach and love of the game. Those attributes will allow him to flourish once he gets on campus because he will be challenged every practice, every pitch, and every game.”

As a junior in the spring of 2019, Mariano led the team in seven offensive categories. He hit .357 with 30 hits on the season, including three doubles, four triples, and two home runs, all of which led the team. 

His biggest swing of the spring last season came against Daniel Hand in the quarterfinal round. His two-run homer proved to be the difference in an eventual 7-3 Green Knight win. Mariano struck out only six times in 97 plate appearances. He also scored 25 runs and collected 12 RBIs. The team lost 8-3 to Berlin in the semifinal round of the Class L tournament.

Over his career, Mariano has played in 59 games, which includes missing the later part of his freshman season due to an injury. He has 60 career hits, 44 runs scored, and 38 RBIs heading into his senior campaign.

Notre Dame will begin preparing for its spring season when practice starts on Saturday, March 21.

Knights take 69th Green Bowl

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The Notre Dame Knights mug it up for the camera following a convincing victory in the 69th Green Bowl at Hamden High.

The Notre Dame football team used a big second half, a strong defensive effort, and five turnovers to win the Green Bowl for the 14th year in a row in their 42-7 win over Hamden.

Leading 14-7 at halftime, the Green Knights scored four unanswered touchdowns, two in each quarter of the second half, to pull away for the win.

Jackson Zalinsky threw two of his four touchdown passes within 90 seconds of each other as Notre Dame scored twice late in the third quarter to break the game open. 

Zalinsky, who was 9-16 for 142 yards, found Tommy Candelora on the far sideline for a 23-yard scoring strike with 2:21 left in the third quarter. For Candelora, it was his 10th touchdown reception of the season, and allowed him to record a touchdown in every game.

Hamden did not catch the ensuing kickoff, allowing Notre Dame to recover it at the Green Dragon 30-yard line. Three plays later, Zalinsky proceeded to hit Aiden Stankiewicz on a 16-yard touchdown connection and the Green Knights lead grew to 28-7 in a 74-second span.

Zalinsky punctuated his final game as a Green Knight with a two-yard touchdown run on the Green Knights next possession and Notre Dame led 35-7 with 9:27 left in the game.

The Green Knights defense, which was stout all game long, added to the final score when Robbie Oliverio returned an Isaiah Riley overthrown pass 47 yards for the game’s final score with 8:22 left in the game.

Notre Dame’s defense held a high-scoring and potent Hamden offense in check for the majority of the game, while also forcing five turnovers. Notre Dame recovered three Hamden fumbles while Michael Consorte added a second interception for the Green Knights.

“We knew we would need to play well defensively to win today and we did,” said Notre Dame head coach Joe DeCaprio. “The key to it was tackling and we tackled well. We knew we had to stop the run and that’s what we did.”

For the game, Notre Dame held Hamden to 228 total yards and nine first downs. They held the powerful Hamden ground attack to only 132 yards rushing. Chris Pigatt had five catches for 89 yards, and four carries for 16 yards. Tymell Haynes had nine carries for 59 yards to pace Hamden’s rushing attack.

After Notre Dame took a 7-0 lead on a Zalinsky to Austin Pieck touchdown pass on its first possession, Hamden tied the game with 20 seconds left in the first quarter when the electrifying and elusive Pigatt snared a Riley pass with one-hand and outraced three Green Knight defenders for an 83-yard score.

For Notre Dame, Damian Blount ran 29 times for 142 yards as the Green Knights maintained the ball for almost 30 minutes. Candelora added his 10th and 11th touchdown receptions and also scored via a fumble return against Hand, an interception return against St. Joseph’s and a kickoff return against Fairfield Prep. With his four touchdown passes, Zalinsky wound up with 23 for the season.

“I am proud of our seniors,” said Notre Dame head coach Joe DeCaprio. “We fought and we fought and battled through so many injuries and stuck together and were able to come out on top and end the season on a positive note.”

With the win, Notre Dame finishes with a 6-4 record for the second straight season.  It was also the Green Knights 14th win in a row in the 69-year series. Notre Dame now holds a 46-21-2 all-time record heading into the 70th Green Bowl next year. 

Friends renew holiday tradition

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The young warriors in the early days of the “Turkey Bowl”: Matt Bennett, John Bennett, Mike Hawes, Jeff Nattrass, Joe Michel, Jon Hawes, Matt Bombace, Klarn Deplama, Joe Baxter, and Ray Guarino. Front row: Bruce Berthel, Tony, Pete, Jay Perrone, and Danny Shine.
The more mature warriors, this time with their offspring.

Each year, the Holidays have their familiar routines for families and friends, and most of us can recall at least one annual routine with a smile. The Boys of Autumn can certainly think of one: they call it The Turkey Bowl.

It all began in 1994: Two teenaged brothers and a brother-in-law rounded up a group of friends and began holding an informal football game every Thanksgiving morning, as a means of fellowship and as a way to work up a good appetite for the Thanksgiving feast that would follow.

They were all Westies: a group of classmates who had mostly known each other since childhood. Together they would gather on an open field, sometimes Brennan Field, sometimes behind Bailey Middle School, and a game of tackle football would ensue. But often, the football game would lead to trips to the hospital for one or two of the contenders, who had zigged when they ought to have zagged.

As the years went by, the Thanksgiving routine gathered a reputation and attracted additional players. By now, the core group were 30-ish and had discovered that falling down wasn’t as much fun as it used to be. Thus, tackle football was replaced by two-handed touch football, and finally flag football, complete with a time clock and official linemen.

The group was divided into the “over thirties” and the “under 30s” who played against each other while their wives and children—and dogs–watched. For now, some of the Boys of Autumn were fathers and family men.

And their children grew up. And today, some of them are participating in the Turkey Bowl, alongside their fathers, many of whom are now in their forties. This Thanksgiving marks the 26th playing of the event, which in past years has been played in freezing cold, falling snow, and torrential rain. We wish them luck—and many more years of playing The Turkey Bowl.

Our thanks to Mike Hawes for contributing this story.

Girls hoops opens Junior Division year

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West Haven Girls Basketball kicked off its junior division schedule with the Bruins and Panthers jumping out with two wins to start the season.

The Chuck’s Garage Panthers outlasted the TBNG Eagles, 13-3, as Jaecianna Mitchell hit for 6 points in the win. Kylie Gibbons, Jaearrah Mitchell, Aleya Lachance and Jocelyn Silber also scored for the Panthers. The Eagles were led by the play of Perez Rosario and Asihan Tuzco.

The Panthers used the scoring of Tiranka Keita, Hayden Holm, Jaecianna Mitchell and Jaearrah Mitchell to upend the Oyster River Energy Cardinals. The Cardinals were led on the defensive end by Cristel Miguel and Danavia Pittman.

The Emmett’s Auto Bruins, using the scoring of Sarah Went, Amare Bennett and Jada Turner, downed the Oster River Cardinals 15-6 to open the season. Cristel Miguel accounting for all the Cardinal scoring and Parish Rutledge played well for the Cardinals.

Samantha Boyd, Yeganeh Mohammadkhani, Jada Turner and Sarah Went led the offensive attack as the Bruins downed the Gunning Law Huskies, 19-8. The Huskies were led by scoring of Taryn Walker, Lehanna Philogene and Ella McDonnell.

The Huskies opened the season with a 20-7 win over the Prospect Fish and Game Blue Devils. Finley Gunning and Taryn Walker combined for 16 points in the win. Sophia Empric also scored for the Huskies. Terrianna Rodgers and Kylee McCort accounted for the Blue Devil scoring.

Perez Rosario and Justice Butler combined for 8 points as the TBNG Eagles held off the Prospect Fish and Game Blue Devils, 8-5. The Blue Devil attack was led by Timyra Rodgers, Talia Decresenzo and Isabella Vanbrederode.

Squirt A squad takes 7-3 victory

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Dante Hardt (2) and Dave Brown (17) celebrate a goal by Will Giaquinto (11) against Ramapo in Bantam A action Saturday. 

The West Haven Squirt A travel hockey team beat Wonderland, 7-3, at Bennett Rink on Saturday to notch its 10th win of the season.

The Blue Devils shut down the Wizards of Bridgeport behind Cameren Lipford’s five goals and one assist, and goaltender Alex Werle’s 24 saves. The dynamic duo was supported by center Tyler Silva (1 goal, 2 assists), forward Ryan Walsh (1 goal) and defenseman Kyle Guarino (2 assists), who also made several poke checks in key situations.

Walsh put the Westies on the scoreboard first, crashing the net and rebounding a shot by Silva at 5:04 of the first period. Lipford made it 2-0 just over two minutes later, catching a pass from Silva in the West Haven zone, deking his way up to the net, and backhanding a shot high to the glove side. The Wizards answered nine seconds later to make it a one-shot game. At 1:01 of the first, Lipford fired a wrist shot from the right faceoff dot to put the Blue Devils up 3-1. Kyle Guarino assisted on the play.

At 6:59 of the second, Silva rebounded a shot by Lipford and backhanded the puck into the upper corner to make it 4-1. Lipford then scored a short-handed goal to put the Westies up by four late in the period.

Less than two minutes into the third, Lipford one-timed a laser pass from forward Michael D’Aiuto to make it 6-1. After the Wizards cut it to 6-2, Lipford scored on a pass from Kyle Guarino and forward David D’Aiuto at 7:30 of the period to give the Blue Devils a five-goal lead. The Wizards scored once more at 5:27 of the third to pull within four.

On Sunday, West Haven fell 6-4 to Darien A1 in a hard-fought game at the Darien Ice House.

The Blue Devils came out strong, opening the contest with three straight goals. Lipford scored first on a rebound from forward Aedan Guarino. Michael D’Aiuto made it 2-0, crashing the net and scoring on a rebound set up by Walsh and Kyle Guarino. Lipford gave the Westies a three-goal lead at 6:59 of the first, going coast-to-coast before slipping a shot between the Darien goaltender’s legs.

Darien answered with three successive goals of its own, however, and tied the contest at 10:56 of the second. Lipford put the Blue Devils up 4-3 at 5:31 of the period after Westies defenseman Andrew Grillo made one of the defensive plays of the game. With Darien pressuring in the West Haven zone and tying Werle up on the left side of the net, Grillo dived across the ice to block a shot and stop a surefire goal. Lipford then picked up the loose puck, deked his way into the Darien zone, and wristed a shot from inside the box high to the blocker side.

Darien tied it at 10:57 of the third and netted the game-winner at 1:24 of the period. The team added a final goal 17 seconds later.

Werle tallied 23 saves for the Blue Devils.

The West Haven Peewee A travel hockey team used solid goaltending, tough defense and balanced scoring to post two wins over the weekend.  The Blue Devils defeated Darien A, 3-1, and Western Minor, 6-1.  West Haven is now 13-13-1 overall and 12-9-0 in CHC league play.

On Saturday night at Stamford Twin Rinks, the Westies faced Darien which had beaten West Haven, 8-0, earlier in the season.  After a scoreless first period, Darien took a 1-0 lead off a scramble in front of the West Haven goal midway through the second. 

Alex Bowery tied the game for the Westies six minutes later when he stole the puck from a defenseman and slid it through the five-hole.

Early in the third period, Ryan Pniewski hustled to keep the puck in the Darien zone.  Bowery took it off the boards and centered to Ronnie Mastroni for a one-timer and a 2-1 lead.  Jacob Silva (17 total saves) made a couple of clutch saves during a Darien power play late in the third. Mastroni then iced the game when Sean Studley won a face off to him and he snapped a wrist shot bar down for the 3-1 win.

On Sunday morning at Edward L. Bennett Rink, the Westies hosted Western Minor and posted the 6-1 win. Mastroni picked up right where he left off when he gathered the opening face off and fired a laser over the goalie’s shoulder seven seconds into the game.

The Colonials tied the contest in the opening minute of the second period and went on a power play looking for more.  Bowery denied them when he took Jonathan Charbonneau’s pass and slid a shot inside the far post for a short-handed score. 

West Haven then took over the game from there.Brady Price took the puck to the net and Chris Consorte cleaned it up with six seconds left in the second.  Zach Melchiore made it 4-1 in the third with helpers from Price and Consorte.  Mastroni fed Bowery for a long wrist shot and Dylan Bosworth finished the scoring with a breakaway goal with Matt Kelly assisting.  Greg Galasso was clutch with his glove and finished with 18 saves.

The West Haven Bantam A travel hockey team won its only game of the week, defeating the Ramapo Saints, 8-0, Saturday afternoon at the Edward L. Bennett Rink.

Cade Simone led the way with two goals and an assist, Michael Madera added a goal and an assist, while Dante Hardt and Gabe Mongelli each had two assists.

West Haven took control of the game with three goals in a span of 41 seconds in the opening period. Cam Delvecchio got the ball rolling with a goal off an assist from Sean Bosworth, before Mickey Dowd scored off an assist from Jayden Spreyer 31 seconds later. Just 10 seconds later. Madera took a pass from Simone and scored for a 3-0 advantage.

The Westies increased the lead to 4-0 with 1:10 remaining in the second as Dave Brown scored off assists from Mongelli and Hardt.

West Haven put the game away with four goals in the third period. Will Giaquinto scored off assists from Matt Stevens and Jason Alling, 4:16 in, Simone scored an unassisted goal with 6:06 remaining, then added another tally off assists from Kyle Droney and Madera. Chris Adkins rounded out the scoring, assisted by Hardt and Mongelli.

Bryan Hong and Brendan Smith each played well in goal, combining for the shutout. West Haven’s defense of Bosworth, Brown, Alling, Haygen Axelrod, Josh Gyolai and Matt Wezenski each played very well to aid in the shutout.

The West Haven Bantam A travel hockey team won three games this weekend.

On Saturday, the Blue Devils traveled to South Kent to play Northwestern and came away with a 6-4 victory. Northwestern jumped out to an early lead, but the Westies took the lead by the end of the first with unassisted goals from Yousaf Ullah and Matt Wright.

In the second period, Javed Ullah connected on a pass from Zack Fonda to take a 3-2 lead into the third. After falling behind 4-3 halfway through the third, the Westies tied the game on a goal from Wright off an assist from Alex Kurowski. The Westies took the lead on a goal from Yousaf Ullah off an assist from Ashley Welch. An empty net goal from Wright, for his hat trick, and 24 saves from Austin Fruin sealed the win.

On Sunday morning, the Westies started December in Pawling, New York against Trinity-Pawling and posted a 7-2 victory. Trailing 1-0, Cody Rocchio answered back 30 seconds later with assists to Danny Johnson and Carson Lee.

The Westies added goals from Fonda (Javed Ullah assisted), Yousaf Ullah (unassisted and short-handed) and Nate Chiappetta (Kurowski assisted) to end the first period up, 4-1.

In the second period, the Westies got goals from Yousaf Ullah (unassisted), Jamie Kerzner, his first of the season off an assist from Kurowski, and a short-handed goal from Wright off an assist from Fruin.

Both teams were held scoreless in the third as West Haven won 7-2. Fruin had 22 saves.

In their third game of the weekend, the Westies faced off against the Southern Stars and once again fell behind in the first period before posting the victory. The Westies were unable to get a puck past the Stars goalie until the third period when Fonda scored off assist from Welch and TJ  Levenduski to tie the game.

With four minutes left on the clock, Yousaf Ullah found a seam to get around the Stars defense and tucked a puck around an outstretched Stars goalie. Despite a valiant effort from the Stars, Fruin and the rest of the Westies shut the door and win the game, 2-1.