The West Haven/Sacred Heart girls hockey experienced something they had not experienced all year – two, straight losses. After dropping a tough game to Amity/North Haven/Cheshire the previous week, the Westie Sharks came up short in a 2-1 loss to Simsbury on Wednesday night. The Trojans took the lead 10:49 into the first period. The Westie Sharks would get even when Taylor Nowak scored at 7:18 of the second period assisted by Mia Celentano and Mackenzie Gardner. Simsbury got the game winner 3:57 into the third period for the 2-1 final. Kyleen Crowe stopped 31 Trojan shots to keep things close.
On Saturday afternoon, the girls hosted the tough Hall/Conard Warchiefs. The Westie Sharks were without the services of two of their top players with Brooke McNabola and Taylor Nowak both sidelined but the defense and strong goaltending of Kyleen Crowe made sure the girls would not lose in a 0-0 tie.
This week, the girls hosted the Hand/Coginchaug/Old Lyme Tigers on Tuesday and finish the week with a trip to the Rinks at Shelton to face Masuk/Barlow/Newtown/Oxford/Bethel on Friday at 4.
The West Haven boys hockey team was looking for some answers and some offense when the Hamden Green Dragons came to town on Wednesday evening to renew the rivalry. Colin Braziel got the Blue Devils on the board just 4:49 into the game when from his knee, he roofed a shot just under the crossbar from a bad angle, past the sprawling Hamden goaltender. Unfortunately for West Haven that would be the only offense on the night. Although Logan Cole did his best in making 30 saves, the Dragons were able to get the equalizer 2:24 into the second, cash in again a little over three minutes later to take the lead and then iced the game with goals late in the period and midway through the third period for a 4-1 final.
On Saturday, the Westies hosted the Notre Dame of Fairfield Lancers at the Bennett Rink. The Blue Devils drew first blood with a goal by E.J. Pacapelli from the slot 8:20 into the game, assisted by Richie Greene. The Lancers responded 3:02 later to knot the game at 1-1. The teams would battle for the next, two periods with neither able to find the back of the net, necessitating an extra session. In overtime, the Lancers capitalized at 4:17 on a rebound to defeat the Westies 2-1. Logan Cole made 30 saves between the pipes for West Haven.
This week, the Blue Devils will host Notre Dame of West Haven at 1.
The boys basketball team faced the strong Hamden Green Dragons on Monday night in West Haven. The Dragons came into the game ranked 5 in the state with a 9-1 record, just coming off their only loss of the year to Hillhouse last week. The Westies tried to keep things close early and battled for the first quarter but, watched Hamden start to pull away in the second quarter on its way to a 90-60 victory over the Blue Devils. Josh Moncrieffe led the Westies with 16 points while Josiah Steinman and Jordan Berrios picked up 12 points each in the loss.
After three, straight losses, the Blue Devils were looking to get back on track with a trip to Milford to battle Jonathan Law on Wednesday. Things did not look promising in the first half with the Blue Devils falling behind 41-25 as the teams headed to the locker room.
Fortunately for West Haven, the second half was a different story. The boys played inspired defense and were able to narrow the lead in the third quarter and then outscored the Eagles, 24-12, in the fourth quarter to rally for a 70-63 victory. Josiah Steinman led West Haven with 26 points while Josh Moncrieffe added 14 points and Marquel Bookert had nine points in the win.
The Westies were back on the road on Friday with a trip to Middletown to face SCC rival Xavier. The Falcons were able to jump out to a 20-point halftime lead and maintained that margin in a 69-49 defeat of the Blue Devils. Jordan Berrios and Jamal Pate led the Westies with 12 points each while Josh Moncrieffe had nine points and Marquel Bookert added six points in the loss.
The Blue Devils had to come right back the next afternoon and host the Wilbur Cross Governors on Saturday. The Westies held an early first quarter lead but, didn’t have an answer for the Governor’s high-powered offense in an 85-62 loss.
This week, the boys hosted Branford on Monday, visited Foran on Wednesday and finish the week with a trip up the hill for a matchup with cross-town rival Notre Dame at 7.
The girls basketball team continued to struggle last week with losses the Cross and Career but rebounded in a big way with a 57-38 victory over the North Haven Indians on Friday evening. On Monday evening, the Westies dug a hole in the first half, falling behind 29-16 at halftime on the way to a 60-32 loss to the Governors. Amanda Carr led the Blue Devils with nine points while Ny’Aire Serrano contributed with seven points in a losing effort.
On Wednesday, the girls battled for the first quarter but started to watch Career pull away in the second quarter extending its lead to 12 by the half and defeat the Westies, 59-39. Carr again led the Blue Devils with eight points, Natalia Frazier had six points and Ebonie Jones and Keegan Riccio each picked up five points in the loss.
On Friday evening, the Westies headed to North Haven to take on the Indians and got a much-needed 57-38 victory to snap their losing streak. Amanda Carr scored 16 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead the Blue Devils. Ebonie Jones and Ny’Aire Serrano both contributed with 13 points each in the win. The girls used a strong second quarter to pull away from the Indians, going up 26-13 on their way to the victory.
This week, the girls traveled to Branford on Monday evening and host the Shelton Gaels on Friday at 7.