Since a midseason slump, the West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy girls hockey team has picked a good time to get going again. The last four games have been kind to the Westie Sharks.
In a complete team effort, West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy picked up its third win in four games, and remained undefeated in that same time frame, with a victory over Notre Dame of Fairfield.
Led by two goals from Megan Froehlich and two assists from Jianna Cohrs, West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy topped Notre Dame-Fairfield, 5-1, at the Edward L. Bennett Rink in West Haven Saturday afternoon.
With its third straight victory and having gone 3-0-1 in its last four games, West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy improved to 12-4-1 on the season.
The Westie Sharks needed just 55 seconds to take the lead for good in the game as sophomore Taylor Nowak gave the team a 1-0 lead. Just 1:23 later, West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy had a 2-0 advantage as Celina Condon scored off an assist from Jenna Hunt.
West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy increased the lead to 4-0 with two goals in the second period, both coming from Megan Froehlich.
Froehlich increased the lead to 3-0 off assists from Cohrs and Mackenzie Gardner 54 seconds into the middle period, before Cohrs set up Froehlich at the 8:29 mark for a 4-0 advantage.
Veronica Lynn gave West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy a 5-0 lead at the 8:18 mark of the third.
Kyleen Crowe played well in goal, stopping 15 shots and coming within 3:44 of earning a shutout, before Notre Dame snapped the shutout bid by Crowe and the Westie Sharks.
The West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy girls hockey team had improved to 11-4-1 with its second straight win. The latest victory came last Friday evening with a 6-0 decision over Masuk at Shelton.
Crowe stopped all three shots she faced to earn the shutout, while Shannon Siclari and Nowak each finished with a goal and an assist.
Siclari gave the Westie Sharks a 1-0 lead just 51 seconds into the contest off an assist from Mia Celentano. Nowak increased the lead to 2-0 with an unassisted goal 7:06 later, before an unassisted goal by Veronica Lynn sent the Westie Sharks to the intermission with a 3-0 advantage.
Celentano set up Grace Plunkett 2:52 into the second, Froehlich scored 56 seconds later for a 5-0 advantage, and Makenna White scored off assists from Siclari and Nowak with 4:32 left in the game for a 6-0 lead.
With the season approaching the time of year when teams like to be peaking, the Westie Sharks had hit a few bumps along the way. A win and a tie, combined with three losses over the prior five games had slowed the team.
Looking to get back to its winning ways, the team played a sound game in a 2-0 victory over Hand last Tuesday evening at the Edward L. Bennett Rink in West Haven. With the win, the Westie Sharks improved to 10-4-1 on the season.
“We are so proud of how our girls have been playing,” West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy coach Erin Blake said. “We have had some bumps in the road, but one thing these girls don’t do is give up. Tonight, they got the win we have been working for. Taylor (Nowak) played great offensively and defensively tonight. Tatum (Courtmanche) was our backbone in net again with a shutout. This was an entire team win tonight.”
Nowak, who moved from the offensive side and played defense in the contest, led the way with a pair of goals, and Tatum Courtmanche turned aside all 18 shots she faced as the Westie Sharks moved away from a 1-3-1 stretch.
Nowak gave West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy a 1-0 lead at the 2:30 mark of the first period off an assist from Condon, then increased the margin to a pair of goals with an unassisted power play goal at the 10:05 mark of the second.
That was all Courtmanche needed, as coupled with a strong defensive effort, she was only counted on to turn aside just five shots in each of the first two periods, and eight in the third.
Read about the girls hockey team and all West Haven sports, including game articles, statistics, photos, and more, at www.westieblue.com.