The West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy girls hockey team continues to roll along, winning seven straight to open the 2019/2020 season.
Behind 19 saves from Hailey Alfano, two goals and an assist from Taylor Nowak, and a goal and an assist each from Brooke McNabola and Jianna Cohrs, the Westie Sharks improved to 5-0 with a 6-1 victory over Fairfield Warde/Ludlowe at the Edward L. Bennett Rink Monday evening.
Alfano was stellar in goal, making five saves in the first and four more in the second with the Westie Sharks in a tight contest. Alfano was at her best in the third period with 10 saves, and the rest of the team responded with four goals to put the game away.
The Westie Sharks took a 1-0 lead on an unassisted goal by McNabola 2 minutes, 56 seconds into the game and held that lead until the second period. With the game even at one, Cohrs scored off an assist from Anne Plunkett at the 9:24 mark of the second to give West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy a lead it never relinquished.
The Westie Sharks scored four times in the third as Emilee DeGrand opened the scoring at the 6:10 mark off assists from Mia Celentano and Jenna Hunt for a 3-1 lead. Mackenzie Gardner increased the lead to 4-1 just 4:22 later off an assist from Nowak, before Nowak put the game away.
The senior gave West Haven / Sacred Heart Academy a 5-1 lead with 1:57 left off assist from Cohrs and McNabola, before scoring an unassisted tally with 12 seconds remaining.
The West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy girls hockey team continues to find different ways to win. Through six games, the Westie Sharks are a perfect 6-0.
The latest victory for the Westie Sharks came Wednesday evening against rival Hamden. Scoring six times in the second period, West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy posted a 10-8 victory at the Lou Astorino Rink in Hamden.
Megan Froehlich led the way for the Westie Sharks with three goals and two assists, Jianna Cohrs added two goals and three assists, while Taylor Nowak had three goals and one assist in the win.
Trailing 4-2 in the second period, the Westie Sharks scored five straight times to take a lead they never relinquished.
Froehlich scored off an assist from Cohrs to get West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy within 4-3 5:04 into the second, before an unassisted goal by Nowak evened the contest at four just 54 seconds later.
Cohrs scored an unassisted goal 1:34 later for a 5-4 advantage, before Nowak set up Froehlich for a 6-4 lead 41 seconds later. Froehlich made it a 7-4 contest off an assist from Anne Plunkett with 4:31 left in the second.
The Westie Sharks increased the margin to 8-5 with 18 seconds remaining in the middle period when Nowak scored her third of the game off assists from Cohrs and Froehlich.
With the lead at 8-6, the Westie Sharks increased the margin to three goals on a tally by Hunt with 6:54 to go. Hamden got with 9-8 on a pair of goals in 1:05, but Brooke McNabola iced the contest with 32 seconds to go.
Cohrs gave West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy a quick lead in the contest, scoring 5:36 in, before Hamden scored the next two goals. Nowak evened the contest at two with her first of the game off assists from Cohrs and Froehlich with 2:57 left in the opening period.
Hailey Alfano made 15 saves in the win for the Westie Sharks.
The winning streak to start the season reached seven games for the West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy girls hockey team. Behind four goals from Taylor Nowak, including the game-winner with 11 seconds remaining in the third period, the Westie Sharks topped Notre Dame-Fairfield 6-5 at the Edward L. Bennett Rink Saturday afternoon.
Leading 5-3 heading into the third period, WH/SHA watched as the Lancers evened the contest with a short-handed goal with 1:09 remaining.
Nowak was there to bail her team out. Off an assist from Mackenzie Gardner, Nowak found the back of the net in the final seconds for a 6-5 advantage.
Notre Dame took a 2-0 lead in the first period before the Westie Sharks got within 2-1 when Nowak scored off an assist from Hunt with 15 seconds to go in the opening period.
Off an assist from Brooke McNabola, Megan Froehlich evened the game at two 1:11 into the second.
Trailing 3-2, WH/SHA closed the period with three consecutive goals. Nowak evened the contest off an assist from Froehlich at the 8:21 mark, and an unassisted goal by Nowak put the Westie Sharks on top 4-3 with 4:20 remaining in the period. Jenna Hunt increased the lead to 5-3 with 40 seconds to go in the period off an assist from Mia Celentano.
Hailey Alfano made 17 saves in the win as the Westie Sharks held a 45-22 shot advantage in the game.
After cruising through the first five games of the season, the West Haven boys hockey team is faced with some adversity. Fresh off its initial loss of the season against Branford, the Westies were looking to regroup against Fairfield Warde/Ludlowe Monday evening at the Wonderland of Ice.
Despite winning the first meeting of the two teams earlier in the year, West Haven could not match that effort and fell, 5-2.
The two teams played to a scoreless game through two periods, before Fairfield Warde/Ludlowe scored three times in the first 5 minutes, 51 seconds of the final period, including the initial goal just 1:02 into the third.
Trailing 3-0, the Westies tried to rally, scoring twice in a span of 2:10 to get within a goal. Ben Carfora opened the West Haven scoring with 7:25 remaining off an assist from Sean Dupre, before D.J. Carfora scored off an assist from Robbie Forleo with 5:15 to go to get West Haven close at 3-2.
The Westies got no closer as Fairfield Warde/Ludlowe scored twice in the final 3:10, including goals 39 seconds apart, to pull away for the win.
The losing streak reached three games for the Westies. Despite putting 49 shots on goal, West Haven fell to East Haven 2-1 Saturday afternoon on Sammy Hotchkiss Day at the Edward L. Bennett Rink.
East Haven goaltender Logan Hamilton made 48 saves, several in spectacular fashion as the Yellowjackets sent the Blue Devils to their third straight defeat.
West Haven took a 1-0 lead in the opening period when Kaden Morgillo skated in from the slot area, went to the backhand and beat Hamilton. Richie Greene and Kevin Moriarty assisted on the goal which came 5 minutes, 45 seconds into the contest.
Morgillo’s tally was the lone goal for the Blue Devils as Hamilton was on his game, including making stellar stops on Forleo, D.J. Carfora, Ben Carfora, Kevin Moriarty and Joe D’Aurio in the middle period in which West Haven held a 16-4 shot advantage.
While West Haven was held off the scoreboard, East Haven’s Parker Sprankle won the battle to a loose puck and beat West Haven goaltender Jared Pliszka at the 2:49 mark.
West Haven then held a 19-9 shot advantage in the third period, but again was denied by Hamilton. DJ Carfora was turned aside by a blocker save with 11:10 remaining, Forleo was denied in front and Carfora was turned aside from the slot within seconds with 8:10 to go.
East Haven scored the go-ahead goal with 5:07 remaining when Alec Speirs knocked in a rebound of a Dave Amatruda shot,
West Haven put the pressure on in the final minutes, but Hamilton was not to be beaten as he denied Morgillo in front with a pad save with 3:12 to go. Moriarty then had a pair of opportunities in front, but saw his initial shot deflected over the goal, and his second sail just over the crossbar.
The four-game win streak came to an end for the West Haven girls basketball team this week. Unable to get in a groove, the Westies fell at North Haven 57-43 Tuesday evening.
The Westies were hurt at the free throw line where they connected on just 8-of-17 shots, and on the outside, where they did not drain a 3-point shot. With the loss, West Haven dropped to 4-2 on the year.
Despite 10 points from freshman Amani Abuhatab in the opening quarter, the Westies trailed 14-13. Abuhatab continued her string of scoring in double figures in all six games with 26 points.
West Haven remained in the game in the second quarter with 10 points, four each from Abuhatab and Dealyce Howard, but trailed 26-23 at the break. The Indians pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring the Westies 16-8, and holding West Haven to just four field goals in the quarter.
Abuhatab added eight more points in the final eight minutes, but it was not enough in the road loss.
Howard finished with six points in the loss, while Tenique Gates and Elena Petrie each scored four.
First-year Sacred Heart Academy head coach Jason Kirck has a young squad. Youth does not matter when a team is poised.
For Kirck and his team, that poise came through down the stretch Friday evening as the Sharks held off a feisty West Haven squad in a 43-35 Southern Connecticut Conference interdivision victory at West Haven High.
Behind 12 points from Rosa Rizzitelli, including three 3-pointers, and 10 points apiece from senior Elena Farquharson and freshman Emma Kirck, the Sharks had a balanced attack which came through with clutch shots throughout the contest.
Farquharson led the key run in the game as she scored the last eight points of the third quarter to give Sacred Heart Academy a 37-29 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
West Haven held an 18-17 lead in the final seconds of the opening half, before Emma Kirck drained a 3-ponter to give Sacred Heart Academy the lead at the half.
After Ally Kirck put the Sharks in the third quarter, the Westies (4-3) took a 27-25 lead on a 3-pointer by Sarah Evangelista and a pair of buckets by Elena Petrie. When the Westies had the chance to expand the lead, rushed shots hurt them.
Rizzitelli evened the game at 27, and after a bucket by West Haven’s Petrie tied the game at 29, Farquharson went on a run to give Sacred Heart Academy a lead it never relinquished.
The Sharks hit only one 3-poiter in the final quarter, that from Rizzitelli, while scoring the remaining points from the free throw line to seal the victory.
The Westies took a 10-7 lead after one quarter of play as freshman Amani Abuhatab gave her team a 6-4 lead with a bucket and free throw. Petrie increased the margin to 10-5 with 15 seconds left in the quarter, but a key bucket by Gianna Pye got the Sharks within three as the quarter expired.
Rizzitelli opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer, then hit another for a 13-10 lead for the Sharks with 5:40 remaining in the first half. Baskets by West Haven’s Dea Howard and Petrie, along with a pair of buckets from Abuhatab had West Haven on top 18-17.
Abuhatab, who has scored in double digits in all seven of West Haven’s games, led the Westies with 13 points. Petrie finished with 10 and Evangelista had five in the loss.
The West Haven boys basketball team got back to its winning ways with a 60-56 victory over Cheshire Tuesday evening at West Haven High. With the win, West Haven improved to 3-2 on the year.
West Haven had four players in double figures, led by Malcolm Duncanson and Marlin Walker with 14 points each. Shea Sheffield scored 13 points and Laron Holmes scored 10.
Cheshire jumped out to an early 19-9 lead after one quarter, but the Westies held the Rams to just 16 points over the next two quarters. West Haven hit on only three field goals in the opening quarter, before going on an 18-7 run in the second quarter for a 27-26 lead at the half.
Walker and Sheffield each scored five points in the quarter, while Duncanson added four to help turn the game around.
West Haven pulled away with another big run, this one 19-9 in the third quarter for a 46-35 lead. Holmes drained three field goals, Duncanson had five points, and Sheffield drained a big 3-pointer.
The Westies were outscored 21-14 in the final quarter, with all but five points coming from the free throw line.
West Haven won its second straight contest and improved to 4-2 on the year with a 70-61 road victory over Fairfield Prep Thursday evening.
Holmes led three players in double figures with 15 points, while Duncanson added 11, and Walker had 10.
Despite leading after one quarter of play, led by Duncanson’s five points, the Westies trailed at the half by six.
West Haven’s offense awakened in the second half, including the third quarter when Walker drained a pair of key 3-pointers and Duncanson and Tyrese Hargrove each scored four points.
The Westies closed out the game in the fourth quarter draining ten free throws, getting a big 3-pointer from Sheffield, and nine points from Holmes.
The West Haven boys swimming team fell to Xavier Friday evening. Xavier came in and placed in the top three in every individual event except for the 200 IM and breaststroke.
Luis Lopez scored third in 2 minutes, 27.04 seconds in the 200 IM and third with a 1:13.96 in the breaststroke. Issac Gorske was third in the 50 free in 24.45 seconds and third in the 100 free with a 57.41. Chris D’Inzio scored third in the 100 Butterfly in 1:08.89.
West Haven was third in the 200 medley relay with a team of Shane Taulty, D’Inzio, Lopez, and Christopher Olsen in 2:03.36.