The West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy girls hockey team opened the season in dramatic fashion Wednesday evening. Behind freshman Julianna Picard’s overtime tally, the Westie Sharks topped Hand/Coginchaug/Valley/Old Lyme 3-2 at the Northford Ice Pavilion.
Picard’s tally with 7:06 remaining in the extra session came off an assist from Maya Boyhen and capped a comeback which saw Caitlin Welch score the equalizer with 4:32 remaining in regulation off assists from Anne Plunkett and Rachel Harrison.
After a scoreless first period, the Westie Sharks took a 1-0 lead with 7:42 remaining in the middle period when Julianna Montano scored off an assist from Ashley Welch.
Hand/Coginchaug/Valley/Old Lyme scored twice in a span of 1:12 early in the third, before the Westie Sharks rallied.
West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy’s rally combined with the goaltending of senior Grace Nowak, who made 17 saves, helped the Westie Sharks open the season with a win.
West Haven / Sacred Heart Academy fell to 1-1 with a 3-2 loss against Guilford in the team’s home opener Tuesday evening at the Edward L. Bennett Rink in West Haven.
Nowak was stellar in goal with 33 saves, but it was not enough as the Grizzlies scored twice early in the third period to rally for the victory. Nowak played well, making 12 saves in the opening period, 10 in the second, and 11 in the third.
Trailing 1-0 in the first period, the Westie Sharks evened the contest when Boyhen scored off assists from Plunkett and Julianna Picard with 1 minute, 43 seconds remaining in the opening period.
West Haven / Sacred Heart Academy took a 2-1 lead in the second period when Picard picked up a rebound of a Boyhen shot and slid the puck into an empty net for a 2-1 lead 4:30 into the middle period.
That was it for the Westie Sharks as Guilford scored twice in the first 2:29 of the third period to take a 3-2 lead it never relinquished.
The Westie Sharks had 26 shots on goal, but Guilford goaltender Julia McDonald was at her best, making 10 saves in the second period alone. ‘
West Haven / Sacred Heart Academy rebounded from its first loss of the season with a 4-1 victory over Masuk/Barlow/Newtown Saturday evening in Shelton.
Nowak was stellar in goal with 17 saves as the Westie Sharks improved to 2-1 on the season. Boyhen led the offense with three goals and an assist, while Meghan Dupre had a goal and an assist in the win.
The Westie Sharks took a 1-0 lead 4:20 into the contest when Boyhen scored an unassisted goal. The lead increased to 2-0 in the second when Meghan Dupre scored off an assist from Anne Plunkett at the 2:55 mark.
When Boyhen scored her second of the game 51 seconds into the third period, the Westie Sharks led 3-0. Leading 3-1, Boyhen clinched the contest with 6:23 to go when she recorded the hat trick off assists from Dupre and Taylor Alfano.
For 4:47 , the West Haven boys hockey team did not have the start it would have liked to the 2021-2022 season. That time frame proved to be the most important.
Scoring four times in the game’s opening five minutes, New Canaan topped West Haven 4-0 at the Darien Ice Arena Monday evening in the season opener for both teams.
The Rams outplayed the Westies in the game’s first six minutes, before the Westies settled down the rest of the way. West Haven finished with a 33-27 shot advantage in the game, but it was the first four minutes which proved to be the difference.
Just 19 seconds into the contest, New Canaan’s Gavin Fitzpatrick skated around the West Haven defense and beat West Haven goaltender Javed Ullah for a quick 1-0 lead.
The Westies had trouble clearing the zone in the opening period and watched as New Canaan took a 2-0 lead when senior Nick Megdanis scored from in front 2:54 in for a 2-0 lead. Just 38 seconds later, it was 3-0 when Fitzpatrick scored his second of the game. When Bryce Lyden scored 1:25 later, New Canaan led by four.
The Westies came out a different team in the second period and had scoring chances, but could not bury the puck in the net.
Seniors Nico Bruneau and Ryan Bernardi had a two-on-one 32 seconds in, but could not get a shot off. Anthony Peschell shot wide one minute later, and Bruneau was denied with a pad save by New Canaan goaltender Beau Johnson on the power play 1:46 in.
The shots kept coming, but did not produce any results in the period. Jack Aloi’s point shot was turned aside, and Mike Alfano’s shot off a turnover in the slot was denied by Johnson with 7:04 remaining in the middle period.
West Haven had two more opportunities in the second period, but shots by Jayden Spreyer and Marcus Burrows were denied by Johnson in the final four minutes.
The Westies again had scoring opportunities in the third, but Johnson turned each away to complete the shutout. The New Canaan goaltender denied Peschell with a blocker save 20 seconds in, made a glove save on Alfano from the slot 1:14 in, before denying Bruneau with 9:07 to go.
While Johnson was denying the Westies, Ullah turned up his game to finish with 23 saves. Ullah’s best work came later in the opening period when he denied a pair of New Canaan shots and the rebound. Ullah gave his team a chance in the final two periods with more saves, but it was not enough in the loss.
West Haven dropped its second straight contest to open the season with a 6-3 loss to Xavier in the home opener at the Edward L. Bennett Rink Wednesday evening.
Despite playing very well in the opening period and having numerous scoring opportunities in the first 15 minutes, the Westies could not capitalize. West Haven had a 5-on-3 for 1 minute, 29 seconds, but failed to get a shot off in the sequence.
The best scoring opportunities for the Westies came early when Burrows was stopped in front 1:20 in, and Alfano was denied from in front 5:06 into the contest.
When West Haven took a penalty to end the opening period, Xavier went to the power play. A late save by Javed Ullah, who made 11 in the opening period, kept the game scoreless at the intermission.
Xavier quickly took control of the game in the middle period, scoring four times in a span of 4:46 for a 4-0 lead.
Trailing by four goals, the Westies continued to fight. A splendid opportunity was missed when Bernardi found Burrows in front, but the sophomore could not connect. Bruneau then shot wide on a 2-on-1 break, before the Westies received another golden opportunity.
Picking up a loose puck, Mike Madera attempted to break in on goal. Madera was taken down for a penalty, and when Xavier argued the goal, West Haven had a 5-on-3 for two minutes with 1:35 left in the middle period.
The Westies finally capitalized and scored their first goal of the year on the ensuing power play when Spreyer took a pass from Peschell and roofed a shot with 47.9 seconds left in the period to cut the deficit to 4-1. West Haven had a chance to get within a pair of goals, but Bernardi was stuffed in front with 18 seconds remaining in the period.
West Haven pressured to start the third but could not get closer. When the Falcons scored with 6:24 remaining and added another 3:17 later, the game was sealed.
Carfora added a tally with 2:14 remaining off assists from Yousaf Ullah and Bernardi, before freshman Brady Price scored with 1:22 remaining off an assist from Spreyer.
Javed Ullah finished with 39 saves in the loss.
The West Haven girls basketball team opened the season in impressive fashion with a 63-49 victory over eighth-ranked Stamford at West Haven High Thursday evening.
The Westies rode the scoring of juniors Amani Abuhatab, Kassidy Carrano and Dealyce Howard as the trio combined for 57 of the 63 points. Abuhatab led the way with 24 points and 15 rebounds, Carrano had 19 points, and Howard added 14 in the win.
While the Westies struggled from the free throw line, hitting just over 50% (16-30), they were solid from the outside with seven 3-pointers. Carrano led the way with three, while Abuhatab and Howard each drained a pair.
West Haven held Stamford to nine points in the opening quarter and took a 6-point lead as Abuhatab had eight points and Carrano added five.
The Westies extended the margin to 14 points at the half, taking a 37-23 lead as the trio of Abuhatab, Carrano and Howard got going. Howard drained a pair of 3-pointers and had eight points in the quarter, Abuhatab had six points and Carrano five.
Stamford cut the deficit to 12 in the third quarter, before West Haven connected on 12-of-16 free throws in the fourth quarter to ice the game.
The Westies connected on just two field goals in the final quarter, one apiece from Abuhatab and Carrano, as Stamford looked to get back in the game by sending the Westies to the line.
Madison Lockery led Stamford with 16 points.
If opponents are going to slow down the West Haven girls basketball team, they will need to find a way to hold down the team’s plethora of weapons. In the season opener against Stamford, it was the trio of Abuhatab, Carrano and Howard.
Lauralton Hall found out the Westies are more than the feared trio. When Isabella Fiorillo and Ella Morgan are added to the mix, the Westies are almost unstoppable.
Behind 29 points from Carrano, 16 from Abuhatab, 11 from Fiorillo and seven from Morgan, the Westies cruised to a 72-40 victory over Lauralton Hall and improved to 2-0 Friday evening at West Haven High.
Abuhatab was dominant with 13 rebounds, 11 steals and 8 assists, while Carrano added 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals, and Morgan pulled down 8 rebounds. Fiorillo also had 3 assists and 2 steals.
Carrano was the story of the game early for the Westies as she helped the Westies to a 24-10 lead with 13 points in the opening quarter, including a big 3-pointer. Morgan added six points in the first eight minutes, including a 3-pointer as well.
Abuhatab picked up the Westies in the second quarter as the Westies were held to just nine points. The West Haven junior had six of those points as West Haven led 33-21.
Carrano and Abuhatab then sealed the win in the third quarter, combining for 16 of the team’s 17 points, on the way to a 50-27 advantage. Carrano hit on three field goals, and also drained a 3-pointer, while Abuhatab also hit on three field goals.
Fiorillo nailed three from long range in the final quarter and Carrano hit two 3-pointers as the Westies pulled away. Lila Pinho led Lauralton with 11 points.
The West Haven boys basketball team knew the start of its season was going to be tough, squaring off against powers Notre Dame-West Haven and Naugatuck to open the campaign. The Westies saw just how tough Thursday evening.
Holding the Westies to just two first quarter points, the Green Knights easily defeated the Westies 74-40 at Notre Dame in the season opener for both teams. Mekhi Conner led the way for the Green Knights with 18 points as the contest was never in question.
West Haven struggled from the start, finally getting on the scoreboard with six seconds to go in the opening quarter on a basket by Adam El Kharraz. Notre Dame responded with a bucket by Amare Davis at the buzzer, taking a 12-2 lead after one quarter.
For all of West Haven’s struggles in the first quarter, there was still time to make up the 10-point deficit. That time quickly faded away as the Green Knights opened the second quarter on a 9-0 run for a 21-2 lead.
The Westies never stopped the Green Knights to slow the momentum and Notre Dame built a 36-12 lead at the half.
Kyle Kearson’s basket got the Westies within 25-6 and a 3-pointer by Henry Smith had West Haven within 26-9, but the Westies never got closer.
Smith led West Haven with 12 points, Manny Belcher had six, and Tavares Tuck, El Kharraz, and Roderick Smith each scored five.