Youth Hockey

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.

The West Haven Youth Hockey Mite C team played its first two games of the season. On Saturday, the Westies lost 5-3 against a tough Wallingford Hawks squad.  Evan Harrison played well in goal, supported by Joey Mondo and Julius Stokes.  Jax Guarino scored the first goal of the season for the team, and Tony Parise added the second, before Guarino picked up the third. 

Ben Trenchard worked hard to get the puck and created a few scoring chances that forced the Wallingford goalie to make some great saves.  Brady Salkins and Kyle Johnson showed off their growing stick-handling skills as they worked the puck down the ice. 

On Sunday, the Mite C Blue Devils were back in action against a skilled Greater New Haven Mite B team.  New Haven dominated early, but Guarino made some fantastic saves in goal. Mondo and Stokes worked hard to get their team back into the game. Trenchard played a great defensive game, as Harrison, Salkins, Johnson, and Parise tried to put the puck into the back of the New Haven goal.

The West Haven Squirt A travel hockey team defeated Greenwich A, 7-, in a convincing victory at Dorothy Hamill Rink on Sunday. The Blue Devils played with grit and determination for three periods en route to winning their ninth game of the season.

Forward Cameren Lipford (3 goals), center Tyler Silva (2 goals, 1 assist) and forward Aedan Guarino (2 goals) led the offensive charge for the Westies, with goaltender Alex Werle stopping 24 shots to smother the Cardinals’ offense.

In the first period, Silva put the Blue Devils up, 1-0, crashing the net and rebounding Lipford’s shot off the Greenwich goaltender. The Cardinals tied it on a power-play goal at 1:46 of the period.

Early in the second, Lipford caught a pass from Silva and fired a wrist shot from inside the right faceoff circle to put the Westies up 2-1. Silva made it 3-1 at 9:27 of the period on a rebound assisted by defenseman Andrew Grillo.

At 6:18 of the second, Lipford went coast-to-coast to give the Blue Devils a three-goal lead. Lipford then scored his third of the contest on a power play, launching a wrister from inside the right blue line at 2:56 of the period.

At 2:16 of the second, Werle made a highlight reel-worthy save. While lying on his back, he reached behind his body with his stick on the ice and batted a shot away, robbing a Greenwich goal.

Grillo and fellow defenseman Kyle Guarino complemented Werle’s tremendous defensive efforts and blocked several shots as well.

At 0:02 of the second, Aedan Guarino scored in front of the net to put the Blue Devils up, 6-1.

The Cardinals scored twice to start the third, cutting the Westies’ lead to 6-3. Aedan Guarino put the game out of reach at 3:45 of the period with his second goal of the contest on a rebound from forward Ryan Walsh. The Cardinals scored a final time at 1:35 of the third to pull within three.

The West Haven Peewee A travel hockey team went 2-1 over the weekend with a pair of convincing wins and a close loss.  The Westies knocked off New Canaan A, 9-2, and Greater New Haven A1, 9-6, but dropped a 4-3 decision to Greenwich Skate A.  The Peewee A squad is now 11-13-1 overall and 10-9-0 in CHC action.

On Saturday, the Blue Devils traveled to the New Canaan Winter Club’s outdoor rink for a game under the bright afternoon sun. New Canaan jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first five minutes before the Westies righted the ship. 

Sean Studley broke into the New Canaan zone and fed Ronnie Mastroni to get West Haven on the scoreboard.  Mastroni later connected with Mike Page for a one-timer with only twenty seconds remaining in the period to tie the game at two.

The Blue Devils erupted for four second period goals to take over the game.  Studley fed Mastroni again in the opening minute.  Brady Price found Page for his second goal of the game,  Studley buried a wraparound goal, and Alex Bowery jammed home a rebound of Chris Consorte’s shot to give the Westies a 6-2 lead.

In the third period, Price roofed a wrist shot, Mastroni returned the favor and assisted Studley for a one-timer, and Page’s shot deflected to Price, who fired it in to close the scoring and give West Haven the 9-2 win. 

Greg Galasso started in goal and made four saves, before falling ill and leaving the game. Jacob Silva relieved and shut out New Canaan the rest of the way with 15 saves.  After shaking off the start, the Westies’ defensemen- Leo Mazuroski, Ryan Pniewski, Matt Kelly and Jonathan Charbonneau- were stout.

On Sunday morning at Edward L. Bennett Rink, the Westies hosted Greenwich Skate Club and fell behind 3-0 in the second period before mounting a comeback attempt. 

While short-handed, Studley dug out the puck and hit a streaking Mastroni who converted a beautiful wrist shot.  Greenwich extended the lead to 4-1 in the third period when, with just over five minutes remaining, the Westies pulled Silva and added the extra attacker. 

Page found Dylan Bosworth at the right point and he fired one over the goalie’s shoulder.  With the Westies’ net still empty, Bosworth again shot from the point and Studley redirected it in to cut it to 4-3. The equalizer could not be found though and time ran out on the Westies.  Silva made 23 saves in goal.

On Sunday afternoon, the Westies headed to the Northford Ice Pavilion to face Greater New Haven and won, 9-6. 

Consorte opened the scoring with a laser assisted by Studley.  Matt Kelly then scored on a power play with assists to Bowery and Bosworth. The Warriors came back with three straight goals to open the second period and went up, 3-2. 

Page quickly tied the game when he converted Studley’s drop pass. GNH then scored twice more for a 5-3 lead, but Consorte scored less than ten seconds later when Bosworth won the face off to him.  The Westies tied the game with 29 seconds left in the period when Studley’s shot was saved and Bowery swept in the rebound.

West Haven scored four goals to start the third period and ice the game. Page chipped in Matt Kelly’s pass, Price was foiled on a wraparound attempt, but Studley knocked in the rebound, Bowery found a streaking Studley for a wrist shot, and Mastroni converted a breakaway with assists from Kelly and Bowery. 

Galasso started the game and made 13 saves while Silva finished up with 10 saves.

The West Haven Peewee AA travel hockey team has finally arrived atop the CHC ratings as it continues to ride a winning streak which has earned the team rights to the number one rating in the state. The Devils opened the weekend in Long Island against the Nassau County Lions AA on Saturday, looking to avenge an earlier season loss.

John Donohue gave the Devils a 1-0 lead in the first when he beat the Lions goaltender. Nick Eberhart added to the lead off a beauty started by Thomas Porto behind the net who fed Nicky Steven before he put a pass on Eberharts tape for a goal and a 2-0 lead.

The Lions tried to claw their way back but ultimately fell to West Haven, 4-3. John Donohue finished with a hat trick, including the game-winner. Tyler Donroe, despite allowing three goals, played extremely well as he was tested early and often.

On Sunday, the Westies hosted New Canaan (ranked 3rd in CHC) and posted a 6-3 victory at the Bennett Rink.

Donohue delivered again after picking up a loose puck and going the rest of the way shorthanded with 7:23 remaining in first for a 1-0 lead. Donohue scored again 4:15 into the second period, adding to the lead with a power play goal and he completed his hat trick five minutes later for a 3-0 advantage.

Porto opened the third by battling to win possession along the boards, before scoring for a 4-0 lead. New Canaan bounced back to cut the deficit in half, before Nicky Stevens scored off an assist from Eberhart for a 5-2 lead. Leading 5-3 with 33 seconds remaining in the game, Billy Mascari sent a backhand pass across the slot to a wide open Porto, giving West Haven the final margin of victory.

Nate Kempton tended net, completed the game and was outstanding along the way. The Devils are now riding an 18-game winning streak. 

The West Haven Bantam A travel hockey team swept three games this weekend, topping Greater New Haven, Long Island Mustangs, and Southeastern. Bryan Hong was the story in goal all weekend as he came up with several big saves in each of the three games.

The Westies opened the week with a 5-3 victory over Greater New Haven Friday evening at the Edward L. Bennett Rink. Michael Madera and Dave Brown led the offense with two goals apiece, while Colin Deane added two assists.

Brown gave West Haven a 1-0 lead with an unassisted goal 1:19 into the contest, before Madera broke a 1-1 tie in the second period when he knocked in a rebound of a Deane shot. With the game even at two, Brown scored off an assist from Cade Simone for a 3-2 advantage with 5:05 to go in the second.

Cam Delvecchio gave West Haven a 4-2 lead in the third off assists from Jayden Spreyer and Mickey Dowd, and Madera increased the lead to three off an assist from Deane with 1:12 to go.

The Westies won their second of the weekend with a 7-1 victory over Long Island in West Haven Saturday afternoon. Spreyer led the way with three goals, while Dowd and Delvecchio each had a pair of assists.

West Haven took a 3-0 lead in the first as Spreyer opened with an unassisted goal 3:02 in, then scored off an assist from Dowd 2:27 later. Delvecchio made it a 3-0 game off assists from Dowd and Matt Wezenski with 28 seconds left in the first.

Simone increased the lead to 4-0 off an assist from Madera 1:14 into the second, before Matt Stevens scored off assists from Kyle Droney and Josh Gyolai 2:29 later. Chris Adkins scored off an assist from Simone, and Spreyer scored off an assist from Delvecchio with 2:54 left in the second.

West Haven capped the weekend with a 4-1 victory over Southeastern in Norwich Sunday afternoon. Spreyer gave West Haven a 1-0 lead 32 seconds in off assists from Dowd and Delvecchio, before Brown scored with 9:16 left in the opening period off a helper from Will Giaquinto.

The Westies increased the lead to 3-0 when Madera fed Simone in front with 3:58 to go in the middle period. Spreyer capped the scoring off an assist from Dowd.

Dante Hardt and Gabe Mongelli played well offensively, while Sean Bosworth, Haygen Axelrod, and Jason Alling played well defensively.

The West Haven Bantam B travel hockey team faced off against Echo B in a non-CHC game on Saturday and posted a 4-1 victory. The Westies were led by a hat trick from Zack Fonda and a goal from Danny Johnson. Ashley Welch assisted on all three of Fonda’s goals and Carson Lee and Taylor Alfano would also contribute assists.

On Sunday, the Westies played East Haven in a rematch from earlier in the season and played to a 4-4 tie. The Blue Devils fell behind early in the first, but tied the game when Fonda connected from Lee and Yousaf Ullah. The Westies also received goals from Lee, off an assist from Fonda, and Yousaf Ullah, which was unassisted. 

West Haven fell behind, 4-3, with 5:32 left in the third period and goalie Austin Fruin was pulled with under 1:30 for an extra attacker. Ashley Welch drew the face off back to Taylor Alfano on the point who got off a high shot which found its way to the back of the net for the tying goal.

Fruin fended off an eight second attack by East Haven to seal the tie for the Blue Devils.

The West Haven Squirt A travel hockey team beat the Connecticut RiverHawks, 8-3, at The Rinks at Shelton on Sunday to notch its eighth win of the season.

Forward Cameren Lipford scored five goals and tallied an assist and goaltender Alex Werle saved 15 shots to lead the way for the Blue Devils.

Just 33 seconds into the game, Lipford put the Westies up 1-0 with forward Aedan Guarino assisting on the goal. The RiverHawaks tied it at 7:23 of the first before Lipford made it 2-1 at 2:47 of the period.

Bolstered by strong efforts offensively and defensively, the Blue Devils never looked back. Center Grady Schulte made it 3-1 at 10:10 of the second with Lipford assisting on the play. Lipford and Aedan Guarino then scored three minutes apart to give the Westies a four-goal lead. The RiverHawks cut it to 5-2 at 1:18 of the period.

Lipford opened the third with a goal assisted by forward Ryan Walsh, followed by a goal set up by Aedan Guarino. The RiverHawks cut it to 7-3 before Schulte netted his second goal of the contest at 1:23 of the period to seal the victory for the Blue Devils.

On Saturday, West Haven fell, 7-4, to Yale A in a tough game at Bennett Rink.

The Blue Devils struck first, with Lipford scoring 41 seconds into the game on a pass from center Tyler Silva. Lipford made it to 2-0 on a wrist shot from downtown at 9:16 of the first. Aedan Guarino assisted on the goal.

Werle, who stopped 38 shots during the game, made a pair of showstopping glove saves at 7:59 and 2:39 of the first to keep the Westies in the contest. Yale cut it to 2-1 at 1:55 of the period.

In the second, Yale tied the game on a power-play goal before scoring at 7:37 of the period to go up 3-2. Yale then scored twice in two minutes to make it 5-2. Lipford cut it to 5-3 on a rebound from Aedan Guarino at 2:00 of the second. Silva also assisted on the play.

At 5:40 of the third, Schulte made it a one-shot game, firing a wrister from inside the right faceoff circle that sailed off the Yale goaltender’s glove. The Blue Devils could not keep up the momentum, however, as Yale sunk two straight goals to close out the contest.

The West Haven Peewee AA travel hockey team has won 16 consecutive contests. The Westies opened the weekend in CHC action playing third-ranked Southeastern in the first of two games on Saturday.
Riding a 13-game win streak. The Westies increased the run to 14 games with an 8-0 victory. Nick Eberhart made sure the streak would not end at 13 as he beat the goalie with a wrister, assisted from Nicky Stevens and Thomas Porto with 3:42 left in the first period.

The Devils piled on seven more tallies. The goals were scored by Eberhart (2), Nick Salzano (2), Billy Mascari, John Donohue, Tim Donohue, and Brody DiNuzzo. Assists went to DiNuzzo (3), Thomas Porto (2), Zach Goetze, Gabe Locklear, Stevens, Tim Donohue and Jack Aloi. Nate Kempton started and finished in net as he turned aside everything Southeastern threw at him while earning another shutout.
West Haven then topped Hamden 10-1. To open the second contest of the day, DiNuzzo found a loose puck in the neutral zone and went the rest of the way, before beating the Hamden goaltender on his backhand with 8:07 remaining in the first.

The Westies tacked on seven more goals, before Hamden found the back of the net. West Haven added two more goals late as the team defeated Hamden, 10-1, behind another strong performance in net from Tyler Donroe.

Goals were scored by DiNuzzo (2), Locklear (2), Stevens, Eberhart, Connor Benz, Tim Donohue, and Porto. Collecting assists were DiNuzzo (2), John Donohue, Aloi, Eberhart, Drew Kauffman, Stevens and Mascari. Goetze and Beckett Stenz played well.

West Haven capped the weekend with a 2-0 victory over Whalers Black. Stevens scored the opening goal and DiNuzzo added an empty net goal. Kempton played well in a complete game shutout.
The West Haven Peewee A travel hockey team split a pair of games this weekend and now stand at 9-12-1 overall and 8-8-0 in CHC league play. The Blue Devils defeated Watertown A, 10-4, and fell to highly-ranked Avon A, 8-3.

On Saturday night at The Rinks at Shelton against Watertown, the Westies shook off a slow start when Ronnie Mastroni got them on the scoreboard 6:21 into the first period.  Brady Price’s slap shot bounced off the boards and Mastroni knocked in the loose puck.  Dylan Bosworth made it 2-0 with a wrist shot before the Red Wings cut the lead in half before the break.

West Haven came out flying in the second period. Connor Moriarty won a face off and Mastroni took the puck to the net to make it 3-1.  Alex Bowery then jammed home a wraparound.  Price roofed a back hand making it 5-1.  Zach Melchiore then fed Mastroni for a breakaway goal.  After a Red Wings score, Chris Consorte found Sean Studley in the slot for a wrist shot.  Price then redirected Bosworth’s point shot just before the second period ended.

In the third period, Studley converted another Consorte pass before Watertown scored a pair of goals.  Mike Page wrapped things up with a goal from Bosworth and Bowery giving West Haven the 10-4 victory.  Greg Galasso made six saves in net.

On Sunday morning at Edward L. Bennett Rink, the Westies and Avon were locked in a battle for the first half of the game. Avon scored in the opening minute, but the teams skated evenly into the second period.

Avon scored on a power play for a 2-0 lead, before the Westies got on the board. Bowery gathered a loose puck and found Studley cutting in front for a one-timer to make it 2-1.  Avon responded immediately though and scored three goals in the next three minutes to take control.

West Haven opened the third with a short-handed goal when Price took it to the net and Bowery fired in the loose puck.  Avon responded again, before Page completed the scoring with an unassisted goal.  Jacob Silva was strong in goal at times for West Haven and finished with 32 saves.