The West Haven boys’ hockey team came up with two, big wins last week. On Wednesday evening the Westies hosted the Cheshire Rams at the Bennett Rink, Robbie Forleo circled behind the net and made a pass into the slot where Niko Kyle’s shot was denied but, Kaden Morgillo was there to score on a rebound with 1:49 left in the first period to give the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead. After a scoreless second period the Rams took advantage of a giveaway and evened the score at 4:38 of the third period. The teams battled for the remainder of the period but neither was able to capitalize, necessitating overtime. In the OT, Cheshire’s attempted clearing pass was intercepted by Richie Greene, who spun around and threw the puck toward the front of the net, where Kaden Morgillo made a beautiful tip over the Ram goaltender’s shoulder and into the top corner at 1:48 to give the Westies the 2-1 victory. Jared Plizska made 22 saves between the pipes for West Haven.
On Saturday afternoon, the Blue Devils headed to DiLungo Rink in East Haven to take on the East Haven/Old Lyme/Old Saybrook/East Hampton/Morgan/Valley Yellow Jackets. The Blue Devils jumped on the Yellow Jackets early when Nick Boanno scored assisted by Kaden Morgillo 1:24 into the game for a 1-0 lead. Boanno capitalized again on a rebound of a Richie Greene shot with 47 seconds left in the first period to make it 2-0. It was Boanno 5:29 into the second period when he battled through several Yellow Jackets, broke in on goal and his shot trickled through the Easties’ goaltender to increase the lead to 3-0.
The Yellow Jackets got one back on a deflection on the power play with 5:18 left in the second period to cut the lead to 3-1. The Easties tallied again 3:39 into the third to make it 3-2 before Nick Boanno made a beautiful pass to Kaden Morgillo on a 2 on 1, Morgillo’s shot caromed off the post but Boanno crashed to the net and picked the puck out of midair to score his fourth goal of the game. The Yellow Jackets responded less than two minutes later to get the Easties back to a one goal deficit at 4-3.
The Blue Devils made it 5-3 when Kevin Moriarty scored on a rebound on the power play assisted by Niko Kyle and D.J. Carfora. Thirty-four seconds later Ryan Bernardi went top shelf to put the Westies up 6-3 and then Kevin Moriarty tipped a Robbie Forleo point shot with 2:06 for the 7-3 final. Also picking up an assist on the goal was Conner Fowler. Jared Pliszka stopped 38 shots in goal for West Haven.
This week, the Blue Devils hosted the Fairfield Prep Jesuits on Wednesday evening and will have the weekend off before hosting the Hamden Green Dragons next Wednesday at 6:30.
After dropping its first game of the season, the West Haven/Sacred Heart girls’ hockey team has reeled of six, straight victories, included two 4-1 wins last week. On Tuesday evening, the Westie Sharks scored two goals in the first period and two, more in the second period to cruise to victory over the Notre Dame of Fairfield/Law/Foran/Weston/Pomperaug Lancers. Megan Froehlich took a pass from Taylor Nowak and found the back of the net 5:39 into the game for a 1-0 lead. Nowak then buried a one-timer from the slot with 4:55 left in the period to make it 2-0. Brooke McNabola’s point shot made it a 3-0 lead 3:14 into the second period followed by a Jenna Hunt redirection of a Veronica Lynn shot from the point increased the lead to 4-0 with 4:35 left in the period. The Lancers got one back with 38.1 seconds left in the period but, that would be their only offense in the game. Kyleen Crowe preserved the victory in between the pipes for the Westie Sharks.
On Saturday evening, the Westie Sharks extended their winning streak to eight games with a 4-1 triumph over the Branford/North Branford/Sheehan/Lyman Hall Wings.
This week, the streak will be tested with two, tough games on the schedule. On Wednesday, the girls traveled to Darien to face the perennial powerhouse Blue Wave and then finish the week with a trip to face Northwest Catholic/Mercy on Saturday at 4:10 in Cromwell.
The boys’ basketball team dropped two games last week to Cheshire and Fairfield Prep. On Wednesday evening the Westies lost to the Cheshire Rams 63-55.
On Friday evening, the Blue Devils trailed the Fairfield Prep Jesuits 32-25 at halftime but rallied to take the lead in the third quarter setting up a classic fourth quarter. The Westies took an eight-point lead in the final quarter but then watched the Jesuits battle back. The game was tied at 50-50 with 1:50 left in the game but, Jesuits hit a 3-pointer, a foul shot and after a West Haven turnover hit another basket to extend the lead to six at 56-50. The Westies continued to battle but fell short by a score of 59-58. Quannel Straughter had 14 points to lead the Blue Devils while Mufee Cooper had 11 points, Malcolm Duncanson had 10 points and Shea Sheffield added nine points in the loss.
This week, the boys traveled to North Haven to face the Indians on Tuesday and host the Sheehan Titans on Thursday at 7.
The girls’ basketball team has been struggling to get back on track but couldn’t find the answer last week. On Monday evening, the Westies traveled to East Haven to face defending state champion East Haven. The Yellow Jackets never gave the Blue Devils a chance in a 75-27 loss. Freshman Davina Mendez led the Westies with five points while Natalia Frazer had four points in the loss.
On Friday evening, the girls didn’t fare much better in a 55-36 loss to the Amity Spartans in Woodbridge.
This week, the girls hosted Lauralton Hall on Tuesday, traveled to face the Harding Presidents on Wednesday and finish the week hosted the Hillhouse Academics on Friday at 7.