The season did not start the way the West Haven boys hockey team would have liked. Despite controlling play for a large part of the third period, West Haven could not get the equalizer and fell to North Branford, 5-3, at the Northford Ice Pavilion..
Jayden Spreyer led the offense with two goals and an assist, Mike Madera had one goal and one assist, and Thomas Porto added two assists in the loss. Javed Ullah made 18 saves in the loss.
The West Haven hockey team is in the win column. Behind three goals from Porto, two assists from Madera, and 30 saves from Javed Ullah, West Haven topped North Haven, 4-2, in the homer opener at Bennett Rink.
Ullah came up big in goal, especially in the first period when he turned aside 11 North Haven shots. While the West Haven goaltender was doing his part, the Westies took a 1-0 lead just 1:52 into the contest when Porto scored off assists from Madera and Spreyer.
The trio continued to put the pressure on and nearly extended the advantage twice in the final 5:20 of the opening period, a Spreyer to Madera set up on a 2-on-1 was turned aside with a pad save by North Haven goalie Jack Keaney, and a Madera to Spreyer set up in the final two seconds was also denied.
After Keaney made a pair of stellar saves two minutes into the second, Price set up Josh Rodrigue in front for a 2-0 advantage with 9:19 left in the middle period.
Ullah kept the two-goal lead with two saves in front, before Burrows fed Porto on a 2-on-1 short-handed break for a 3-1 lead with 3:50 to play in the middle period.
“I thought he played well in net,” Violano said of Ullah. “He made some big saves for us today.”
Bryce Mastriano scored the first of his two goals 6:13 into the third, but order was restored when Porto completed his hat trick off assists from Madera and Haygen Axelrod 1:21 later.
“He had a great game,” Violano said of Porto. “That line really distributes the puck well.”
Mastriano capped the scoring with 19.1 seconds remaining in the game.
The season opener for the West Haven / Sacred Heart Academy girls hockey team was moving along nicely, until it was not. Twice leading by a pair of goals, the Westie Sharks could not hold on in a 5-4 overtime loss to Trumbull/St. Joseph at the Edward L. Bennett Rink.
Trailing, 1-0, the Westie Sharks evened the game at the 7:14 mark of the opening period when Juliana Gonzalez scored off an assist from Geena Montano. WH/SHA took a 2-1 lead 2:13 later when Alina Lipinsky tallied off an assist from Olivia Twarowski, before the margin increased to 3-1 with 2:51 remaining in the first when Hailey Azzarone scored off an assist from Taylor Alfano.
The two-goal lead held until the third period. With a 3-2 advantage, the Westie Sharks again went up by a pair of goals 3:33 in when Olivia Twarowski scored an unassisted goal.
The Westie Sharks could not hold on as Trumbull/St. Joseph got within one with 4:08 left and evened the game with 1:57 to go to force overtime.
Evelyn Twarowski made 15 saves in the loss.
The team rebounded with a 5-2 victory at Greenwich. The win over the Cardinals was the first for the Westie Sharks.
Evelyn Twarowski made 19 saves in the win, while Rachel Harrison had a goal and an assist.
The Westie Sharks took a 3-0 first period lead when Gonzalez scored off an assist from Harrison, and Julianna Montano and Azzarone each scored unassisted goals.
Greenwich scored twice in the second period to get within a goal, but Harrison and Alfano got those goals back in the final period to secure the win.
WH/SHA picked up its second straight road victory with a 5-3 decision over Hand in Northford.
Evelyn Twarowski made 30 saves, including 10 in the scoreless final period, to pick up the victory. Azzarone and Ashley Welch each had a pair of goals to lead the offense, while Geena Montano finished with a goal and an assist.
All the scoring came in the first two periods as the Westie Sharks took a 1-0 lead when Azzarone scored off an assist from Harrison 54 seconds into the game. Hand evened the game 1:12 later to send the contest to the intermission even at one.
The Westie Sharks took control of the game with the next three tallies to start the second period. Welch scored 1:07 into the middle period off an assist from Geena Montano, before Welch scored again 7:26 later off an assist from Heather Fonda for a 3-1 lead.
Hand got within 4-3 on a pair of goals 45 seconds apart with 3:37 left in the middle period, but Azzarone restored the two-goal lead 24 seconds later off an assist from Elena Losito.
The start of the season did not go the way the West Haven girls basketball team had hoped. Going through a scoreless first half scoring stretch, and tallying just 17 first half points, West Haven fell to Newtown, 43-41, in the season opener at West Haven.
Isabella Fiorillo led West Haven with 15 points, while Noelle Lawrence and freshman Fatoumata Keita each scored eight points. Ciara Harp finished with six points in the loss.
The Westies were held to just six points in the second quarter, including four by Fiorillo and two by Lawrence. Fiorillo’s bucket with 55 seconds remaining in the first half cut the deficit to 19-17.
West Haven was hurt in the third quarter as Newtown held a 15-8 advantage and took a 34-25 lead. Trailing, 34-21, West Haven got within striking distance when Aniah Glover and Fiorillo connected to end the quarter.
The Westies stormed back in the fourth quarter, using a 7-0 run to get within 39-34 when Lawrence drained a 3-pointer and Keita followed with another basket.
Trailing 42-34, West Haven went on another 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 42-41 with 50 seconds left in the game. Keita started the run, Lawrence hit another 3-pointer, and Keita, who had eight points in the fourth quarter, connected again.
After West Haven held twice defensively, the Westies failed to convert the winning shot in the opening day loss.
West Haven fell to 0-2 with a 66-53 home loss against North Haven. West Haven’s offense started slowly and never caught up in the 13-point loss.
Harp led the way with 18 points, while Fiorillo and Lawrence each added 12 points, and Ella Morgan chipped in seven.
The Westies connected on just one field goal in the opening quarter, a bucket by Lawrence, and trailed by 10. Fiorillo connected on four free throws in the opening eight minutes.
The shooting woes continued in the first half as West Haven hit on only four first half field goals. Fiorillo, Lawrence, and Arianna Titus each connected in the second quarter, while Morgan drained all four of her free throws, but the Nighthawks increased the lead to 35-20 at the half.
West Haven outscored North Haven, 35-31, in the second half, but it was not enough in the second straight loss to start the year.
The season started in impressive fashion for the West Haven boys basketball team as the Westies traveled to top Prince Tech, 81-45.
Ten different players were in the scoring column for the Westies, with four hitting double digits. Michael Singleton led the way with 23 points, Bernett Scott and Ethan Griffin each had 12, and T.J. Ogletree finished with 10 in the win. Adam El Kharraz finished with nine points.
The Westies broke open a close game with 23 points in the second quarter and 30 more in the third to pull away in the road victory.
Scott had nine points in the second quarter, while Singleton led the way in the third quarter with 11 points. Griffin and El Kharraz each had four points in the quarter.
For all your West Haven sporting news throughout the year, including game articles by Mike Madera, highlights, photos and more, visit www.westieblue.com.