The West Haven Mite B hockey team had both games at home this weekend. On Saturday, Westies went up against Wonderland of Ice. In net for the Blue Devils was Moriah Frost, who made many great saves during the game. Goals were scored by Kierra Harrison, JP Beebe, Landon Alling, Jack Weiss, and Sadie Moll.
The Westies played the River Hawks on Sunday. Frost was in net again for the Blue Devils and made many excellent saves.
To start off the day, Finn McLaughlin got the first goal of the game. Multiple goals were then scored by Beebe, Weiss, and Austin Picard. Landon Alling and Gabby Jenei also scored a goal.
The West Haven Mite C hockey team played South Windsor Mite C in an away matchup on Saturday. In net for her goalie debut was Quinn Uscilla, who made many amazing saves during the game.
Multiple goals were scored by Maddy Bruder, Brayden Gagliardi, Ryan Shannon, Caleb Ford and Ava Healy, with a goal also scored by Jackson Ford. Gagliardi had numerous assists, and an assist was also made by Ford. Excellent defense was playing by Caleb Ford and Jackson Ford.
West Haven took on East Haven on Sunday in another away matchup. In net for the Blue Devils was Caleb Ford, who made many great saves for his team.
Multiple goals were scored by Gagliardi, Bruder, Uscilla and Jackson Ford. A goal was also scored by Healy, with additional shots on net being made by Shannon. Shannon had numerous assists, with an assist each going to Uscilla and Bruder.
The West Haven Mite C hockey team hosted Southeastern Mite C at Bennett Rink on Saturday. In net for the Blue Devils was JP Beebe, who made his goalie debut, making many excellent saves during the matchup.
Multiple goals were scored by Healy, Gagliardi, Bruder and Caleb Ford. Shannon, Uscilla and Jackson Ford also scored a goal each, with one assist each from Caleb Ford and Bruder.
The West Haven Squirt AA hockey team dropped its first state contest, falling 2-1 to New Canaan AA. The Westies bounced back the following day by downing the same team 8-2.
The Westies upended the CT Junior Whalers 4-1 in South Norwalk. Wade Roach posted the hat trick and Nick Ciccosanti added the other goal. Assists on the day came from Daniel Moll, Dane Walsh and Henry Strada.
Dylan Spreyer took his turn for a hat trick as the Westies blanked Elite AA 7-0. The combined shutout went to Michael Paone and Gabe Calabrese. Jeremiah McGrath, Roach, Ciccosanti, Charlie Gunning, Cody Young and Alex Jenei posted assists.
The Westies rolled the CT Chiefs AA 12-0. Gunning finished with the hat trick. Peyton Burlepsch, Roach and Ciccosanti each posted two goals. Also posting goals were McGrath, Spreyer, and AJ Farrell. Colby Cushing added two assists, and Strada, Moll and Walsh also had helpers.
Paone and Calabrese again combined for the shutout.
Farrell scored two quick goals to pace the Westies to a 7-1 win over the Greater Springfield Aces. Roach posted another hat trick and McGrath and Ciccosanti also posted goals. Moll, Strada, Young and Cushing posted assists. Paone and Calabrese combined for 12 saves in the win.
The West Haven Peewee AA hockey team started the weekend off with a 5-3 win over CJR U12 Girls Elite Saturday morning at Bennett Rink. Max Barbera started the game in net and earned himself another shutout.
The Westies put up four goals in the first period to take a 4-0 lead over CJR. Colin Dempsey started things off with a beautiful shot from the circle only 30 seconds into the game after a face-off win by Sophie Digioia. Andrew Lacasse scored the second goal for the Blue Devils halfway through the period, shooting from the top of the circle.
Santino Desantis spoiled countless breakaway attempts and led the charge on defense. With six minutes left in the first period, Jaxon Troyer shot the puck deep into the zone. Drew Bereski won the battle to keep it inside and earned himself an assist when he passed it to Digioia for a goal.
With less than two minutes left in the first, Kyle Guarino stepped up and kept the puck in the zone, skating up and passing it behind the net to Sophia Locklear. Locklear won the battle and passed it out front to Dempsey who took a shot. Lacasse was right in front of the net to get the rebound shot and score his second goal of the day.
CJR started a comeback at the end of the second period and continued into the third. With less than a minute left, CJR pulled their goalie and Andrew Grillo took a shot across ice to secure the 5-3 win.
On Sunday, the Westies took the long drive up to South Kent to play Northwestern and posted a 6-2 victory.
Although Northwestern scored in the first period, the Westies quickly found their groove as soon as the second period started and controlled the remainder of the game.
Alessandra Picard got West Haven on the board first and had a big day with two goals in the second period and an assist in the third. Bereski assisted on one of those goals with a pass from behind the net. Locklear was on a mission and earned herself a spot on the scoresheet in the second period to tie the game at two.
Lacasse continued his hot streak from Saturday and took a pass from Persico behind the net and backhanded in the third goal to put the Westies in the lead.
Dempsey dominated the third period with two goals to secure the Blue Devils 6-2 win over Northwestern. Quinn Smith got the game started for West Haven and stopped all but two shots on net. Barbera finished the second and third periods without allowing Northwestern to come back.
The West Haven Peewee AA team started off its weekend with a night game at the Greenwich Skate Club and fell 3-2.
The second period started off with a powerplay goal for the Westies. Tyler Persico skated the puck into the zone and took a shot. Colin Dempsey gained possession behind the net and passed it out to defenseman Santino Desantis, who made an absolutely perfect on-point shot allowing Jaxon Troyer to tip in the rebound and get the Blue Devils on the board.
Greenwich tied the game a few minutes later. Sophia Locklear, who was a missile on offense all game, took things into her own hands when she stole the puck and sniped it over the goalie’s shoulder to tie the game 2-2 with 6:44 left in the game.
Penalties plagued both sides, but ultimately the Westies ran out of time and were unable to come back from the 3-2 loss. Barbera blocked 30 out of 33 shots on goal.
On Sunday, the Westies traveled to Milford to take on the Southern Stars and posted a 4-1 win. Quinn Smith played well in net, allowing one goal. Dempsey, Persico, Lacasse, and Rocco Kelly scored for the Devils, and Russo and Dempsey had assists.
The West Haven Bantam AA Major hockey team lost a pair of CHC games this weekend. The Blue Devils are now 20-11-2 on the season.
On Saturday afternoon at Twin Rinks in Stamford, Darien AA dropped the Blue Devils, 7-1. The lone goal for West Haven was scored by Sean Studley as Brett Kayser centered to Studley in front, and he lifted a wrister under the cross bar. Bryce Upson made 35 saves in goal for West Haven.
On Sunday, the Westies headed to Champions Skating Center in Cromwell to face Whalers A. Down 2-0 and short-handed, Studley shoveled the puck out to Ethan Kelly who went to the net, deked, and scored.
In the second period on a power play, Ethan Kelly slid the puck to Matthew Kelly for a point shot. Mike Madonick swept in the rebound to make it 4-2. The Whalers scored three power play goals in the third to win 7-2. Upson made 31 saves in the loss for West Haven.
West Haven split a pair of closely contested games this weekend. The Westies defeated Simsbury A, 4-1, and lost 3-2 to Whalers A. Their record is now 21-12-2.
On Saturday morning, the Blue Devils faced Simsbury A at their outdoor ice rink at Simsbury Farms. Madonick gave the Westies a 1-0 lead four minutes into the opening period when he banged in the rebound of Matt Kelly’s point shot. Simsbury tied it with a power play goal late in the period.
The Westies regained the lead in the second when Ethan Kelly skated in alone, deked the goalie, and scored with a backhand shot. Later in the period, Studley grabbed a loose puck behind the Simsbury net and quickly stuffed it just inside the post for a 3-1 lead.
Studley iced the game when he flipped the puck over the goalie’s pad off a scramble in front with just over three minutes to play in the game. Bryce Upson made 36 saves as the Westies outshot Simsbury 38-37 in the contest.
On Sunday morning at Edward L. Bennett Rink, the Whalers went up 1-0 with a power play goal, but the Westies responded 13 seconds later. Ethan Kelly won a faceoff back to his brother Matthew and the defenseman’s point shot found the net.
The Whalers went up 2-1 early in the second period but again the Westies responded just 17 seconds later. Studley knocked in the loose puck off a scramble in front of the net with Matt Kelly and Aaron Campbell assisting.
The Whalers scored midway through the second period and the two teams then skated back and forth to the finish with both squads getting chances, but the defenses stood tall. Upson made 35 saves as the two teams both took 38 shots in the game.
The Bantam Minor AA team headed to Hicksville, NY to play against the Nassau County Lions 13U team on Saturday and fell 3-2. Benny Pikul was in net for the Blue Devils and played well for West Haven.
The Lions scored a few minutes into the first period for a 1-0 lead. With only 34 seconds left in the first, Benji Brown took a shot after a pass from Keegan Dobratz and got the Blue Devils on the board to even the game at one.
Although the defense held strong, the second period yielded two more goals for the Lions. Going into the third period down by one, Dylan Dicioccio got the Westies within a goal to make it 3-2. The Blue Devils ultimately ran out of time despite a courageous effort by all.
The Bantam Minors headed back home to Bennett Rink Sunday night to take on the GNH Warriors 14U A and fell 4-2. The first period was almost scoreless until GNH went up by one with two minutes left.
The Blue Devils answered right back less than a minute into the second period to tie it up as Enzo Plano got the Westies on the board after a shot from defenseman Aedan Guarino from the blue line.
GNH answered right back to take a 2-1 lead, before the trio of Michael D’Aiuto, Dobratz, and Ian Olszewski pressured and D’Aiuto was able to get it past the goalie with an assist from Cameren Lipford to tie the game at two.
Kai Lupa played phenomenally for the Blue Devils and stopped 35 out of 38 shots.
West Haven had a busy weekend. The Westies started with a game in Norwich against Southeastern and won 6-0. Lupa was strong in net for the Blue Devils, earning himself a shutout and stopping well over 15 shots throughout the game.
Dicioccio did not waste any time getting his team on the board, scoring just five minutes into the first period. Lipford followed up with the second goal just two minutes later. Jackson Heyn scored next after shooting from the blue line, Eddie Thomas followed shortly after with another shot on net and the fourth goal for the Westies. D’Aiuto came off the bench and got one past the goalie with help from Ian Olszewski. The sixth and final goal for West Haven was the first of the season for Carson Frost, with an assist from his linemate Dobratz.
The Blue Devils carried the momentum of the win into the next game at Northford against Yale AA. Pikul was between the pipes and showed off his skills with over 20 saves in a 2-1 loss.
Yale went up by a goal early on in the second period after a power play goal. The Blue Devils were down by two in the third period but with 58 seconds left, Enzo Plano passed the puck to Zach Melchiore who shot it over the goalie’s shoulder to get on the board.
Sunday brought yet another tough game for the Blue Devils as they took on Simsbury at Bennett Rink. Despite great effort by all, the Westies suffered a 7-0 defeat.
For all your West Haven sporting news throughout the year, including game articles by Mike Madera, highlights, photos and more, visit www.westieblue.com.