The West Haven Mite A hockey team played two games this weekend. On Saturday, the Mites hosted Northwest, winning the contest. Jax Guarino and Logan Minio both picked up hat tricks for the Westies, while Caden Minio scored a nice one-timer off of a Guarino assist.
Jameson Eid also scored, putting away a passing sequence which started when Ben Trenchard won the puck and started the breakout with a pass to Brady Salkins. Salkins set up Eid in front of the goal. Henry Seslar and Salkins rounded out the scoring.
On Sunday, the Blue Devils fell to a very skilled Wonderland Mite A team in Bridgeport. Jameson Schempp gave it his all in net, making several spectacular saves. Cooper Owens and Trenchard played hard on defense, and Salkins and Seslar scored for the Westies.
The West Haven Mite C hockey team had two games over the weekend. The first game was at home against CT Northern Lights on Saturday. Sarah Mastroni was in net for the Blue Devils, and Mastroni had several great saves during the game.
Multiple goals were scored by Landon Alling, JP Beebe and Carter Liston. Emmett Hemming and Caleb Ford each also had a goal for the Blue Devils. Other shots on goal were contributed by Abby Hemming and Jackson Ford.
The second match up for the Mite C’s was against Northwestern CT at The Gunnery. Landon Alling, Beebe, Ford and Emmett Hemming each scored multiple goals. In addition, Hemming and Mastroni each contributed a goal for the Blue Devils. Ford was the goalie during Sunday’s match-up, making many excellent saves.
The West Haven Mite C hockey team took on the CT Northern Nights on Sunday. Abby Hemming was in goal for West Haven and she had an excellence performance during the game. Caleb and Ford each contributed a goal for the Blue Devils.
Additionally, multiple goals were scored by Liston, Emmett Hemming, Beebe and Alling. Shots on goal were made by Mastroni and Kiera Harrison, who also played great defense.
The West Haven Squirt AA travel hockey team split a pair of games this weekend.
The Westies traveled to New Canaan Saturday to play outside and fell to New Canaan A, 3-2. After falling behind, 3-0, Rocco Kelly set up Charlie Gunning to get on the scoreboard. AJ Farrell cut the lead to one as he went end to end from his defensive post, but the Westies could not get the equalizer.
On Sunday, Quinn Smith finished with nine saves to shut out the Wonderland Wizards AA 2-0.
Dylan Spreyer’s wrist shot went top shelf to put the Westies up, 1-0. Spreyer continued his strong play, keeping a loose puck alive, allowing Jeremiah McGarth to bury the insurance goal.
Stella Porto, Cody Young and Owen Santos starred defensively for the Squirt AA.
The team played only one game this weekend. The Westies got payback from an earlier loss as Smith had 16 saves in West Haven’s shutout of the Connecticut Chiefs 7-0.
McGrath and Sophie Digioia each netted two goals, while Colby Cushing, Kelly and Santos tallied the other goals for the Westies.
The Westies received strong defensive games in front of Smith by Santos, Jaxon Troyer, AJ Farrell, Stella Porto and Cody Young.
Last Saturday’s Peewee A tilt pitted the Blue Devils against the Southeastern Seahawks A1 team with West Haven posting an 11-4 victory. Mason LaCroix drew the start and cruised his way to 13 saves, an assist and the win.
The Westies were on fire from the drop of the puck, flying out to a 4-0 lead within the first five minutes. Sophia Locklear struck first, Rush Jaworski slammed home a rebound. Cameren Lipford took just 36 more seconds to net the first of his three, and Kyle Guarino. Lipford kept it going 47 seconds later that by going top corner for his second, with David D’Aiuto, once again, getting the assist.
Michael D’Aiuto then scored his first of the game, from Lipford and Gavin Coady. Aedan Guarino finished off the frenzy of first period goals by cruising coast to coast, with LaCroix picking up the assist after a save.
West Haven only gave up three shots on LaCroix and entered the third up 6-1.
The Westies came storming out with a dominating shift by Alessandra Picard, Locklear and Ty Silva, with Picard getting a goal. She picked up her second goal three minutes later off a smooth pass from Ryan Walsh and Locklear’s third point of the game.
The Seahawks crept back to within 8-4 after the brief Westie scoring reprieve, but the D’Aiuto brothers scored consecutive goals, David D’Aiuto scored off a solo effort and Michael D’Aiuto followed with a goal from Lipford 11 seconds later on a give-and-go.
Brendan Silva got the call in between the pipes to close out the final few minutes and continued his perfect season in net.
Lipford capped off his five-point night with less than a minute to go, assisted by a Michael D’Aiuto faceoff win.
The Westies found more success on Sunday, battling their way past the Enfield Eagles A1 team, 5-2. Kai Lupa got the start and was busy, making 32 stops for the win.
Lipford followed up Saturday’s hat trick with yet another one, bringing his tally total to six.
A tightly contested and scoreless first saw superb defensive play. Lipford got the Westies on the board with a power play goal from Michael D’Aiuto and Coady at 7:43 of the second.
The Eagles found an answer with 2:21 to go in the frame, but Sophia Locklear responded 9 seconds later from Walsh to put the Blue Devils up 2-1 at the end of two, and the Westies never looked back.
Rush Jawarski chipped the puck to Walsh, who flew coast to coast to score a short-handed goal, bringing the lead to 3-1. Lipford got his second a few minutes later, stealing a pass and scoring unassisted.
After a quick Eagles response made it 4-2, Lipford’s short-handed marker off a sensational Michael D’Aiuto effort finished off the scoring.
West Haven posted a pair of victories this weekend, before losing in the finale
The first game of the weekend saw the Westies face off in a heated rivalry rematch against the Hamden Dragons A team at Quinnipiac University and take home a 4-2 victory.
David D’Aiuto set up Lipford for a 1-0 lead in the middle of the first period. Despite the hard work up and down the lineup, including the solid all-around efforts of Brooklynn Maher, Ryan Walsh and Dhruva Garani, that would be all the Westies could muster in the early going.
After Mason LaCroix stopped all seven shots he faced, Lupa took over in goal.
Michael D’Aiuto swiped a puck with help from Lipford and scored on a breakaway, putting the Devils up 2-1. Just one minute later, Michael D’Aiuto’s wraparound attempt was kicked out to Lipford, who buried his second of the night and put the Westies up 3-1 with 4:17 to go.
Ahead 3-2, Lipford finished his third straight hat trick.
LaCroix and Lupa combined for 28 saves for the victory.
The Blue Devils then blitzed the visiting New Canaan B team, 9-0, on Saturday. LaCroix was phenomenal in net, stopping 19 New Canaan attempts, including a breakaway in the final seconds for his first peewee shutout.
Coady got the goal-scoring started less than two minutes in, firing off a goal from Grillo. Garani almost added another after his blocked shot sent him off to the races on a breakaway. The D’Aiuto brothers then combined on the power play as David scored from Michael, sending the Devils into the intermission up 2-0
Aedan Guarino gave the Westies a 3-0. Ayden Troyer sparked the first of three consecutive assisted goals, setting up Lipford all alone with a stretch pass. Lipford tallied his second with a backhand one minute later from Michael D’Aiuto and Troyer for a 5-0 lead.
Troyer then completed the playmaking early in the third, tipping the puck to Lipford who set up Michael D’Aiuto for his third point of the contest.
Picard piled more points onto the Blue Devil offensive surge, scoring from Locklear and aided by Ty Silva’s play. Lipford capped off his fourth consecutive hat trick from David D’Aiuto to close out the scoring.
On Sunday the Blue Devils went to Stamford to face off against a powerful Darien A1 squad and lost a tough game, 8-0. Lupa had 32 saves and Mason made four more in relief.
West Haven overcame third period deficits in both games this weekend to earn two gritty ties in come-from-behind fashion. The Blue Devils are now 17-4-4 overall on the season and 14-2-4 in CHC play.
On Saturday afternoon at Edward L. Bennett Rink, the Westies took a 1-0 lead over Southeastern when Bowery skated the puck into the zone. He slid it to Price who roofed it. The Seahawks tied it at 1-1 later in the period.
The visitors then took over the game with a flurry of goals to begin the second period. They scored four times in a span of 2:31 and led 5-1 heading to the third period.
Price stopped the bleeding just 14 seconds in when he weaved through the zone and ripped a rising wrist shot to make it 5-2. With seven minutes remaining in the game, Studley pounced on a rebound to make it 5-3.
Two minutes later, Cam Levy fired from the blue line and Price neatly redirected it in to cut it to 5-4. Finally, with 2:27 left, Price dropped a pass to Studley, who came down the slot and buried it to give the Westies a 5-5 tie.
On Sunday evening at the Northford Ice Pavilion, the Blue Devils faced Yale 2008 AA, playing to a 3-3 tie.
After Yale scored early in the second the Westies finally got on the board for a 2-0 lead. Bowery got a shot off, before Price swooped in and jammed in the rebound.
Yale made it 3-1 in the third with another power play goal, but midway through the period the Westies seized the momentum. Studley took the puck behind the net and tried a wraparound. It trickled out front where Bowery tapped it through the five-hole.
With 3:36 left in the game, Mike Page carried the puck into the zone and split two defensemen. He fed it back to Guarnieri flying down the slot, who rammed it home to tie the game at three.
Kennedy and Cathey split the game in goal and both were solid.
For all your West Haven sporting news throughout the year, including game articles by Mike Madera, highlights, photos and more, visit www.westieblue.com.