The West Haven Squirt A travel hockey team earned the top seed in the Squirt AA bracket and advanced to the semifinals of the 2018 Ocean State Classic in Rhode Island over the holiday weekend. They were eliminated after losing a thrilling, 5-4 game to the Boston Vipers. They finished the tournament with a 4-1 record and now stand 32-12-3 on the season.
In the semifinals at Benny Magiera Rink in West Warwick, the Blue Devils staged a furious, third period comeback against the Vipers, a Tier 1 team, but fell just short. Down 4-1 entering the final period, Zach Goetze made it 4-2 when he slammed home a rebound of Dylan Link’s shot just 48 seconds into the period. Brady Price cut the lead to one with 4:52 left in the game when he slipped in a back hand goal with Goetze assisting.
A Viper goal made it 5-3, but the Westies pulled goalie Jacob Silva and turned up the pressure in the final 90 seconds. On a power play with six skaters out, Thomas Porto snapped a rising wrist shot just under the bar to make it 5-4 with 37 seconds left.
The Westies continued to apply pressure, but could not find the equalizer. Silva was solid in net with 26 saves in the game. Ryan Pniewski scored for West Haven in the second period when he jammed in a loose puck after the Viper goalie could not handle Dylan Bosworth’s initial shot.
West Haven earned the top seed by going 4-0 in round-robin action. The signature win came on Sunday afternoon at Brown University’s Meehan Auditorium where the Westies faced off with the Providence Junior Friars, a top Tier 1 team in the region and eventual OSC tourney champions.
In a fantastic game, the Westies topped the Friars, 6-4. Silva was outstanding in net, and even recorded an assist. Ethan Kelly and Price scored two goals apiece. Porto and Goetze also scored goals. Silva made 31 saves, including three breakaway stops, in the win.
The Westies began play on Friday with a convincing 7-0 win over Boston Jr. Huskies at Thayer Arena in Warwick. Goetze led the way with two goals and three assists. Porto added two goals along with a pair of assists. Price scored twice, Connor Moriarty added a goal, while Matthew Kelly and Link each had an assist. Silva turned away 13 shots for the shutout.
On Saturday at Dennis Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, the Blue Devils knocked off the Boston Vipers 7-4. Goetze (two goals) and Porto (one) made it 3-0 Westies just over two minutes into the game. Goals by Goetze, Price, and Goetze again made it 6-1 after two periods. After the Vipers cut it to 6-4, Porto scored on a terrific individual effort while being dragged down to thwart the comeback. Silva had 19 saves.
On Sunday morning at Benny Magiera Rink, the Westies took down the Springfield Junior Thunderbirds by a 4-0 result. Goal scorers were Price, Matthew Kelly, Porto and Goetze. Bosworth, Link and Pniewski added assists. Sean Studley took six shots and played spirited hockey at both ends of the ice. Silva stopped 13 shots.
The West Haven Peewee A travel hockey team played well this past weekend, advancing to the Ocean State Classic (Rhode Island) semifinals, before falling 3-0 to the Sound Tigers of Long Island, New York. After dropping the opening game of the tournament 1-0 against the Minuteman Flames Friday morning, the Westies bounced back in fine fashion, winning the next three games.
West Haven rebounded Friday afternoon with a 5-0 victory over the Providence Jr. Friars. Jayden Spreyer led the way with four goals, while Michael Madera and Dante Hardt each had three assists. Brendan Smith made 14 saves to pick up the shutout victory.
Spreyer opened the scoring with an unassisted goal 2:26 into the contest for a 1-0 lead, before Kyle Droney scored off an assist from Cade Simone 1:20 later for a 2-0 advantage. Spreyer rounded out the scoring in the opening period off assists from Madera and Hardt.
West Haven took a 4-0 lead just 1:14 into the second period when Madera set up Spreyer in front with an assist also going to Hardt. Spreyer’s fourth goal of the contest again came in front after Hardt fed Madera and Madera’s pass from behind the net was one-timed home by Spreyer.
The Westies improved to 2-1 with a 3-1 victory over the Rhode Island Hitmen Saturday morning. Nolan Cole got the Westies on the board with 3:11 remaining in the first period as he picked up a loose puck and scored unassisted for a 1-0 advantage.
West Haven scored twice in the second period to take a 3-0 lead. Simone increased the lead to a pair of goals when he scored in front off assists from Droney and Colin Deane with 6:24 left in the middle period, and Dave Brown went the length of the ice for an unassisted tally with 2:47 to go in the second for a 3-0 advantage. The Hitmen scored with 7:37 left in the third, but a solid defensive effort by Brown, Bruno Martone, Sean Bosworth, Jack Sellman, Jason Alling and Haygen Axelrod, coupled with several big saves from Smith propelled the Westies to the win.
The Westies advanced to the semifinals with a 7-2 victory over the Stoneham Spartans Saturday evening. Cole and Madera led the offense as each had two goals and an assist. Brown had two assists, and Shane Repetto had a goal and an assist as ten players reached the scoring column.
The Westies struck early, scoring the first five goals of the contest. Cole gave the Westies a 1-0 lead off an assist from Repetto 1:09 into the game, and Madera scored an unassisted goal 3:55 later for a 2-0 lead after one period.
Bosworth increased the advantage to three goals with 5:01 left in the second off assists from Deane and Simone, before Repetto gave the Westies a 4-0 advantage off assists from Axelrod and Cole. Spreyer capped the second period scoring off a perfect give-and-go with Madera as Brown also assisted with 3:30 left in the middle period.
After Stoneham scored the next two goals, Madera increased the lead back to four goals off an assist from Brown with 3:19 left in the game, before Cole scored on a breakaway off an assist from Hardt with six seconds left in the game. Mickey Dowd also played well in the win.