The West Haven Mite A Travel Team was back in action right after Thanksgiving with a pair of road wins.
On Saturday, the Westies traveled to Ridgefield, winning 6-4 in a very competitive match-up. Logan Minio had the hat trick in the win, being set-up for two of the goals by line mate Jax Guarino.
Brady Salkins picked up two goals, with an assist from Henry Seslar, and Jameson Eid rounded out the scoring. Caden Minio played well on the wing.
On Sunday, the young Blue Devils were on the road again, this time traveling to Bridgeport to take on the Wonderland Wizards A1 team. The Westies continued their strong play, with Seslar getting a hat trick.
Guarino was the beneficiary of Minio assists this time, scoring a nice one-timer. Salkins scored on a nice breakaway, getting the assist from Ben Trenchard.
Trenchard had another assist on offense, and contributed with strong defensive play. Cooper Owens was also strong on defense, with the pair of defensemen helping Jameson Schempp pick up the shut-out in goal.
West Haven continued its streak of strong play on the first Saturday of December, getting revenge and overcoming a strong Riverhawks team.
The Riverhawks jumped to an early lead, but then the Westies leveled the game from a Jax Guarino goal, after Logan Minio set him up. The Westies never looked back, with Salkins scoring the next three goals, as Trenchard and Seslar picked up assists on two of them.
Seslar and Minio both completed their hat tricks later in the game, and Jameson Eid rounded out the scoring.
On Sunday, the Blue Devils traveled to Newburgh, New York to play the Polar Bears. The Polar Bears proved to be a strong opponent, and the Westies were unable to grind out the win.
Caden Minio worked hard on the wing and was scrappy in his back-checking. Cooper Owens played hard on defense, breaking up several plays and skating the puck forward when he had open ice.
Jameson Schempp gave his team a fighting chance, as he turned shot after shot away. Trenchard also played well defensively, blocking shots and poking the puck away as the Polar Bears threatened the goal. Salkins and Guarino did their best to threaten the Polar Bears goal, but the strong defense of the home team stifled their efforts.
The West Haven Mite C hockey team played the Milford Mudhounds on Saturday. Landon Alling served as goalie for the Blue Devils, and had a great performance, making many great saves.
JP Beebe, Emmett Hemming, Carter Liston, and Sarah Mastroni all scored multiple goals during the matchup. Abby Hemming and Kiera Harrison also each had a goal for the Blue Devils.
The West Haven Bantam A hockey team dropped its only game of the weekend in a 4-1 loss to Yale Junior Bulldogs 2008 AA on Saturday at the Edward L. Bennett Rink. The Blue Devils are now 17-5-4 overall and 14-3-4 in CHC play.
Gio Ferrucci gave the Westies a 1-0 lead midway through the first period when he won the faceoff on a power play and zipped a shot through traffic that found the back of the net.
Trevor Cathey and Johnny Kennedy split the game between the pipes for West Haven.
West Haven split a pair of games this weekend. The Westies dropped a 1-0 decision to Holy Name A of Springfield, Mass. and then rebounded to post a 5-1 win over Northwestern A1. The Blue Devils are now 18-6-4 overall and 15-3-4 in CHC play.
On Saturday at the Edward L. Bennett Rink, the Westies hosted the Stars of Holy Name from Springfield. The Westies outshot the visitors, but could not find the net in the 1-0 loss. It was the first time the Westies were shut out this season.
On Sunday morning, the Blue Devils headed to South Kent to face the Icehawks of Northwestern at Stockdale Arena. The Westies broke their scoring drought with a power play goal with 12.8 seconds left in the first period as Ferrucci flicked the puck out from behind the net and Sean Studley banged in a one-timer.
The Westies made it 2-0 6:11 into the second when Tanner Walsh started a breakout and found Alex Bowery. Bowery fed Theo Diakomis who fired it in off the far post. The Icehawks made it 2-1 on a power play later in the period.
The West Haven defense held strong throughout the third and allowed the offense to take over. A defenseman started the rally when Joey DiGioia grabbed the puck at the red line, flew into the zone and backhanded it under the goalie’s arm to make it 3-1.
Off the ensuing faceoff, Parker Guarnieri fed Ferrucci who zipped in a riser from the slot. Studley capped the scoring when he picked off a pass and buried the biscuit in the top corner for the 5-1 final score. Cathey was stout all weekend and earned the win between the pipes.
For all your West Haven sporting news throughout the year, including game articles by Mike Madera, highlights, photos and more, visit www.westieblue.com.