The West Haven Squirt A travel hockey team earned a win and a tie over the weekend to push its record on the season to 17-11-3. The Blue Devils knocked off Hamden in the second annual “Winter Classic” to complete a sweep of the Dragons on the season.
On Saturday morning at Edward L. Bennett Rink, the Westies took on the Huskies of Northeast A in a back-and-forth game that eventually ended in a 5-5 tie. Cameren Lipford led the offense with a hat trick.
Northeast came out fast and took a 2-0 lead after one period. West Haven got on the board 4:02 into the second period when Sean Studley won a battle for the puck along the left boards. He sent a backhand pass to Lipford, who roofed a wrist shot to make it 2-1. The Huskies regained the two-goal advantage just 18 seconds later.
West Haven came right back when Studley found Ethan Kelly on the breakout. Kelly hit ahead to Lipford who skated in and wristed home another laser to make it 3-2.
Just over two minutes into the third period, the Westies tied it. Leo Mazuroski blocked a shot and skated the puck all the way into Huskies territory. He slid it to Rafi Treat who wristed it off the far post and in.
A minute and a half later the Blue Devils took their first lead. Ryan Pniewski fired from the blue line and Studley tried to tip it. While falling, he nudged the puck over to Lipford who slid it under the goalie to complete his hat trick.
Northeast tied it again less than a minute later. West Haven continued to battle and retook the lead at 5-4 when Ethan Kelly finished off a tremendous individual effort with 3:17 to play. Northeast forced the tie when they scored with 1:45 left in the game. Maddex LaFountain made 15 saves in net for the Westies.
West Haven traveled to Louis Astorino Arena early Sunday morning for part two of the West Haven-Hamden “Winter Classic” series. The Blue Devils jumped on the Dragons early and skated to a 5-1 win, led by Studley’s pair of first period goals.
Lipford fought to win a puck off the boards and centered to Studley for a one-timer and a 1-0 lead 1:23 into the game. Midway through the period, Ethan Kelly skated behind the net, flipped the puck out front, and Studley buried it for a 2-0 advantage. Pniewski worked the puck off the boards and scored from the high slot to give West Haven a 3-0 lead after one period.
The hustle of Zach Melchiore led to a 4-0 lead four minutes into the second. Melchiore forechecked and battled against the boards, won the puck, and centered it to Ethan Kelly who snapped it home. Hamden began to pressure the Westies, but LaFountain was up to any challenge in net, including a tough save on a breakaway.
Mazuroski fired through traffic to complete the scoring for the Blue Devils later in the third period. The Dragons converted a breakaway in the final minute to make the final score 5-1. LaFountain made 14 stops in the game.
The West Haven Peewee A travel hockey team lost a pair of contests this weekend. The Westies were blanked by second-ranked Simsbury on Saturday, then fell to Hamden, 8-3, Sunday morning in Hamden. Michael Madera and Zach Goetze each had a goal and two assists, while Mickey Dowd added a goal and an assist.
Trailing 5-0 against the Green Dragons, the Westies tried to come back with three goals in 4:18 to get within 5-3 in the second period. Goetze fed Madera, who scored from in front for the first tally. Madera and Dowd set up Goetze 3:37 later and Dowd scored off assists from Madera and Goetze 41 seconds after Goetze’s tally, but the Westies never got closer.
The West Haven Bantam A travel hockey team went 2-0 on the weekend, where it did some great things as a team playing two great games.
On Saturday, the Blue Devils welcomed the Western CT Jr. Colonials to the Bennett Rink, where they came out on top 4-0. Sean Bosworth got the scoring started on a short-handed unassisted goal from the point in the first three minutes of the game. After going the rest of the first period and the first twelve minutes of the second period scoreless, Matt Morgan then scored two unassisted goals in the final three minutes of the second period. Justin Pniewski scored the fourth and final goal of the game early in the third period, with Joey Honcz getting the assist.
Colin Deane, Carl Murgo, Bosworth and Dante Hardt all played well in the contest.
On Sunday, the Westies went and visited their rivals, the Hamden Green Dragons, where they went home with a 10-1 victory.
After going down a goal in the first thirty seconds, David Brown answered for West Haven less than a minute later and the Westies never looked back. Bosworth and Hardt got the helpers on Browns tally. Morgan then scored with six minutes left in the first, with Brown and Pniewski getting the assists. The Blue Devils would then score four goals in the second, the first coming off Hardt, with Honcz getting credit with the assist. Jayden Spreyer then scored an unassisted goal with 2:47 left in the second. Brown scored his second of the day a minute and a half after Spreyer’s goal, with Nolan Cole getting the helper. Cole then scored his own goal just 11 seconds later.
West Haven then went on to score four in the third, scoring two goals in the first four minutes, with both goals coming from Pniewski. Morgan and Cole got the assists on Pniewski’s goals. Cole then scored his second of the game with six minutes left off an unassisted goal. Cade Simone scored the final goal of the game with five minutes left, with Cole getting the assist, his fifth point of the game.
Kevin Gardner, Matt Wezenski and Brown all played well in the game.
Brendan Smith played phenomenal in net in both contests over the weekend, getting a shutout in Saturday’s game.
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