The West Haven boys hockey co-op team has been playing well of late. After three solid outings, which included West haven’s first win of the season, the Westies could not keep that play going.
Allowing three goals in the first period, West Haven fell 6-1 against Ridgefield at the Edward L. Bennett Rink in West Haven Monday evening. The loss dropped West Haven to 1-6 on the year.
West Haven never got going on offense with just ten shots in the game. The Westies were outshot 47-10 in the loss.
For two-plus periods, it looked as if the West Haven boys co-op hockey team was headed to its second victory of the season. Everything changed in the second half of the third period.
Watching as Cheshire scored twice in the final nine minutes, including the equalizer with 41.6 seconds to go in regulation, the Westies fell to the Rams 6-5 in overtime Wednesday evening in Hamden. The crushing loss drops the Westies to 1-7 on the year.
Despite playing well in three of its last four games, West Haven has just one win to show for its efforts. Wednesday was no different.
The Westies had leads of 3-1 and 5-3, but a short bench could not hold on in the final seconds when Cheshire’s Will Gaudet scored from in front to force overtime with less than a minute remaining in regulation and Cheshire skating with an extra attacker.
West Haven entered its contest knowing it would need its best effort as West Haven faced an undefeated North Haven team. While the effort was there, West Haven fell short in a 3-1 loss at the Northford Ice Pavilion.
Javed Ullah was solid in goal with 34 saves, including 15 in the third period. The loss was West Haven’s third in a row and dropped the Westies to 1-8 on the year.
West Haven opened the scoring in the first period when Price set up Spreyer in front for a 1-0 lead 3:56 into the game.
West Haven lost its fourth straight contest with a 2-0 decision at Hamden. With the loss, West Haven fell to 1-9 on the year.
The Westies had just 23 shots on goal, and none found the back of the net. Hamden scored just 35 seconds into the second and that was all the Green Dragons needed.
Astravukh made 24 saves in the loss, including 10 in the third period for West Haven.
West Haven dropped its fifth straight game and fell to 1-10 with a 4-1 loss at Glastonbury Wednesday evening. Glastonbury scored twice in the first period and never looked back in the victory over the Westies.
West Haven trailed 4-0 in the second period before getting on the board on the power play. Madera circled behind the net and found Price in front to cut the deficit to 4-1 as Axelrod also added an assist.
West Haven has been searching for its offense. Inconsistent over the last handful of games, the Westies have been looking to break out.
That break came as nine different players had points in a 7-2 home victory over St. Dominic Regional of Maine at the Edward L. Bennett Rink. The win, on a day where the Westies honored the 35th anniversary of the 1988 State Championship team, helped improve West Haven’s record to 2-10 on the year.
Porto led the offense with two goals and two assists, Axelrod had four assists, Price had two goals, and Burrows and Spreyer each added a goal and an assist. J.J. Hall also scored his first career varsity goal.
The Westies were also solid on defense, allowing just 22 shots. Astravukh made 20 saves in the victory for West Haven.
The West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy girls hockey team snapped its three-game losing streak with a 5-1 victory over Masuk. With the victory, the Westie Sharks improved to 7-4 on the year.
Anne Plunkett scored twice, Julianna Montano had a goal and two assists, and Geena Montano recorded a pair of assists in the win. Isabelle Desrosiers made 18 saves for the Westie Sharks.
Looking to keep the momentum from four days earlier when the girls had a solid victory over Masuk, the Westie Sharks were unable to do so.
Despite rallying with two goals in the final 1:19 to force overtime, WH/SHA fell to Hand, 5-4, in overtime. With their fourth loss in five games, the Westie Sharks fell to 7-5 on the year.
Trailing 4-2, the Sharks inched closer when Julianna Montano scored with 1:19 remaining in the third. With the pressure on, Julianna Montano scored her second of the period off an assist from Plunkett with 36 seconds remaining in regulation.
The hard work of the Westie Sharks went for naught when Hand scored the game-winner at the 3:02 mark of overtime.
Desrosiers made 26 saves in the loss for West Haven / Sacred Heart Academy.
Following the loss, the gilrs were looking to get back on track. Traveling to Ridgefield, the Westie Sharks did exactly that.
Behind 27 saves from Evelyn Twarowski, WH/SHA defeated Ridgefield, 4-2, on the road.
Twarowski was impressive from the start with six saves in the first period, but she got even better as the game went on with nine saves in the second period and 12 more in the third.
Geena Montano, Alfano, and Plunkett led the offense as Montano finished with two goals and an assist, Alfano had one goal and two assists, and Plunkett finished with three assists.
WH/SHA won its third contest in four games and improved to 9-5 on the year with a 4-2 victory over Amity/North Haven/Cheshire.
The Westie Sharks were led by Picard with two goals and an assist and Geena Montano with one goal and two assists. Twarowski made 22 saves in the victory, including nine in the second period.
Isabelle Desrosiers was solid in goal for the Westie Sharks, making 29 saves in the contest. Desrosiers made 10 saves in the first period, 12 in the second, and seven more in the third.
On the flip side, the Westie Sharks (9-6) managed just 14 shots in the game, including six in the first period and five more in the third.
West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy knew it was going to be in for a battle against Greenwich. Turns out, the Westie Sharks were correct.
Despite 22 saves from Desrosiers, including 12 in the third period, WH/SHA fell to Greenwich, 4-2. The loss was the second straight for the Westie Sharks and dropped their record to 9-7.
They snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 10-7 with a 4-2 victory over Trumbull/St. Joseph Saturday evening in Shelton.
Rachel Harrison led the offense with three goals, and Picard had a goal and an assist. Desrosiers made 21 saves in the win for the Westie Sharks.
Trailing 1-0, the Westie Sharks evened the contest with 8:53 left in the opening period as Harrison scored an unassisted goal.
West Haven / Sacred Heart Academy trailed 2-1 in the second, but Harrison answered again with a goal off an assist from Picard with 3:53 remaining in the middle period.
The Westie Sharks then won the game with two goals in the third period. Harrison’s hat trick with 6:42 remaining off an assist from Plunkett gave West Haven / Sacred Heart Academy a 3-2 lead, before Picard iced the game with an unassisted tally with 1:31 remaining.
The four-game winning streak came end for the West Haven girls basketball team as it fell to Sacred Heart Academy 77-54.
Amani Abuhatab led West Haven with 18 points, Dealyce Howard scored 12, and Ciara Harp scored 11 in the loss. Howard added a pair of 3-pointers in the loss.
Abuhatab’s basket with 3. 1 seconds remaining in regulation lifted the Westies to a 60-59 victory over fifth-ranked Hand. West Haven’s fifth win in its last six games helped improve the team’s record to 8-4, and also avenged an earlier season loss to the Tigers in West Haven.
The Westies trailed 10-0 and 12-1 in the opening quarter, but they turned the game around with a 21-9 run of their own in the opening half. The game remained close, allowing Carrano to give West Haven a 58-57 lead late in the fourth quarter.
Scoring the first 20 points of the game, West Haven cruised to a 72-34 victory over Jonathan Law. The win was West Haven’s sixth in seven games and helped the Westies improve to 9-4 on the year.
The Westies converted four steals in the opening minutes and forced eight turnovers in less than a dozen Law possessions to start the contest. As a result, the transition game of the Westies got going early.
It may not have been as easy as the team would have liked, but West Haven picked up its tenth win of the season with a 39-31 victory over Notre Dame-Fairfield.
Trailing 31-28 in the fourth quarter, West Haven closed the game on an 11-0 run to win it seventh contest in its last eight games.
Carrano drained a 3-pointer to even the game at 31 with 2:30 remaining, before Harp gave the Westies the lead for good when she followed with a basket. Carrano then connected on a pair of buckets in the final 39 seconds for a 37-31 advantage, before Harp sealed the deal with a pair of free throws.
Carrano led West Haven with 12 points, Abuhatab finished with 11 and Harp added 10.
Despite her team’s offensive struggles, Abuhatab knew the Westies just needed to find a way in the final eight minutes. Regarded as one of the best players in the state, Abuhatab showed everyone why that is so.
Scoring six of her team’s 10 fourth quarter points, including four consecutive points to break a tie with three minutes remaining in regulation, Abuhatab led the Westies to a 43-39 victory over Sheehan in a Southern Connecticut Conference interdivision contest.
Not only did Abuhatab finish with a game-high 20 points, she was a force on the boards, finishing with 21 rebounds, including several early in the fourth quarter when the two teams were battling for the lead.
The victory was West Haven’s fourth in a row and eighth in nine games to help the Westies improve to 11-4 on the year. The win also capped a week of three more victories after a thrilling win over Hand a week earlier.
Abuhatab iced the game at the free throw line for the Westies with seven seconds remaining. The Westies only hit on three field goals in the final quarter, the first by Morgan to even the game at 35, and the final two by Abuhatab.
Morgan had six points in the win for the Westies, while Lawrence added five. Hotaling led Sheehan with 12 points, while Megan Wresien added 10 in the loss.
West Haven won its sixth game in a row and improved to 13-4 with a 60-48 victory at Hillhouse Friday evening.
The Westies had a balanced scoring attack as four players were in double figures. Harp led the way with 18 points, including four 3-pointers, Ella Morgan scored 15, and Abuhatab and Carrano each scored 11.
Abuhatab (six points) and Carrano combined for all 10 of West Haven’s first quarter points, before Morgan scored six, and Carrano and Harp each scored five in the second quarter.
Harp turned it up in the third quarter with three 3-pointers and Morgan added four points. In the tight contest, Abuhatab, Morgan and Harp helped put the game away in the fourth quarter. Abuhatab and Morgan each scored five points, while Harp added four to seal the win.
The West Haven boys basketball team is looking to get into a groove. Unfortunately for the Westies, it has been a tough stretch of late.
Falling for the third straight game, and fourth time in its last five contests with a 70-57 home defeat against Hillhouse Tuesday evening, the Westies fell to 4-8 on the season.
The Westies got off to a slow start in the contest, trailing by six after one quarter and by 18 at the half. West Haven chipped away, but Hillhouse bounced back to lead by 16 points after three quarters.
In a slow start for the Westies, they scored just 10 points in the opening quarter on just three shots from the field, including 3-pointers from Adam El Kharraz and Jayce Perry, a basket by Perry , and two free throws by El Kharraz.
El Kharraz, who led West Haven with 18 points, scored eight more points in the second quarter, but only received offensive support from Bernett Scott and Perry with a bucket each in the same time frame.
Perry, with six points, and El Kharraz (5 points) led the way in the third quarter, but it was not enough for West Haven.
Perry finished the game with 15 points, and Scott added 12, including eight in the final 12 minutes. Joseph Williams added six points in the loss for West Haven.
West Haven snapped a four-game losing streak with a 77-51 victory over Prince Tech at West Haven Monday evening. With the win, West Haven improved to 5-9 on the year.
The Westies had four players in double figures, led by Scott and Terez Johnson, each with 14. Perry finished with 12 points and Isaiah Jackson added 10 for the Westies.
West Haven led by six points after one quarter of play as Johnson had six points, four from the free throw line, and Williams had four. The Westies went up 33-24 in the second quarter behind six more from Johnson and four from Bryan Tillman, before pulling away in the third when Perry scored six points, and Scott, Jackson, and Randy Alston each scored three.
Scott helped West Haven seal the contest in the fourth quarter with nine points, while Jackson had five, and Perry four.
Tillman finished with eight points and Amari Brooks had six in the win.
Looking to gain some momentum after its win over Prince Tech, West Haven faced a tough Jonathan Law team Tuesday evening. In a tight battle to the end, West Haven fell to the Lawmen 64-59 at West Haven High.
With the loss, the Westies fell to 5-10 on the year.
El Kharraz led West Haven with 21 points, Perry scored 11, Tillman added nine, and Scott eight in the loss.
The Westies took a 17-15 lead after one quarter as El Kharraz scored seven points, and Perry and Tillman each drained 3-pointers. Law held West Haven to just two field goals in the second quarter, including another 3-pointer by Tillman, to lead the Westies 30-26 at the half.
El Kharraz scored eight points and Scott contributed six in the third quarter, but the Westies still trailed by four points entering the final quarter.
The Westies were 10-of-18 at the free throw line, which proved to be the difference in the game.
For all your West Haven sporting news throughout the year, including game articles by Mike Madera, highlights, photos and more, visit www.westieblue.com.