West Haven’s boy’ hockey team is headed to the postseason. Behind 28 saves from Javed Ullah, two goals from Thomas Porto, and a goal and an assist from Madera, West Haven topped Glastonbury, 4-0, at the Edward L. Bennett Rink.
With the victory, the Westies improved to 8-6 on the season.
After a scoreless first period, the Westies took control of the contest with three goals in the middle period. Porto gave West Haven a 1-0 lead just seconds after a West Haven power play expired when he scored in front of assists from Madera and Leo Mazuroski 42 seconds into the period.
West Haven held a 34-28 shot advantage in the game and had plenty of scoring opportunities in the second period. Haygen Axelrod was denied from the point 2:38 in, Bruno was turned aside from the slot 4:35 in, and Madera was turned aside in front with 3:06 to go.
Just seconds later, Bruno scored on a one-timer off a pass from Marcus Burrows. Brady Price also added an assist on Bruno’s goal for a 2-0 lead.
Madera increased the lead to 3-0 with just under a minute to go in the period. Picking up a loose puck in neutral ice, Madera crossed into the zone and ripped a shot from the slot with 55 seconds remaining in the period.
Burrows had two golden opportunities to increase the lead in the third period, but his one-timer was turned aside with 5:02 to go, and his breakaway attempt was shot wide 32 seconds later.
Porto sealed the victory with an empty-net, short-handed goal with 54.2 seconds remaining.
Javed Ullah was on in goal from the start, making 10 saves in the first period, 11 in the second, and seven more in the third for his first shutout of the season.
They set up the qualifier two games earlier. Behind one goal and an assist apiece from Brody DiNuzzo, Yousaf Ullah, and Mike Madera, two assists from Jayden Spreyer, and 25 saves from Javed Ullah, West Haven topped Lyman Hall, 4-2, at home.
The win was West Haven’s third in a row and helped West Haven improve to 7-5 on the year.
The first period was evenly matched with West Haven holding a 10-9 shot advantage. The Westies had solid scoring opportunities, but they fell behind 1-0 with 2:01 remaining in the opening period.
The deficit was a short one as DiNuzzo scored on a one-timer in front of assists from Spreyer and Yousaf Ullah on the power play with 1:08 remaining in the period.
The Westies took the lead for good with three goals in the second period. Jason Alling put the Westies on top 2-1 after Madera and Brady Price were stopped on an odd-man rush. Madera then sent a pass to Alling, who scored from the point 1:28 into the second.
West Haven then used its special teams to secure the win. Yousaf Ullah scored West Haven’s second power play goal of the game off an assist from DiNuzzo 2:50 into the second, before the penalty killing unit came up big.
Coming up with a big defensive play, the Westies capitalized when Spreyer fed Madera on a 2-on-1 break and Madera scored a short-handed goal 1:51 later for a 4-1 lead.
The Westies had chances to increase the margin, but Justin Bruno was denied from the slot with 1:40 left in the second, Price was stopped with a pad save 35 seconds later, and Spreyer was denied from the slot in the final seconds.
Looking to clinch the bid to the postseason and inch closer to a berth in the Southern Connecticut Conference tournament, West Haven knew it was going to be in for a tough match against rival Hamden.
Hamden made sure it was going to be tougher for the Westies to qualify as the Green Dragons turned in a dominant performance to defeat West Haven, 4-1, in Hamden. With the loss, West Haven fell to 7-6 on the year.
Despite early opportunities in the game, West Haven could not convert as DiNuzzo was stopped twice in front two minutes apart.
A West Haven turnover then proved costly as Gio DeStefanis fed Joe Seaman in front for the first of his two goals and a 1-0 Hamden lead. The Westies had an opportunity to even the game four minutes later, but Madera was denied by Hamden goaltender Brody Sargolini off the left wing.
The Green Dragons then turned another West Haven turnover into an odd-man rush, and DeStefanis beat West Haven goaltender Javed Ullah for a 2-0 lead with 5:08 left in the opening period.
The Westies controlled play to start the second, but again could not get anything by Sargolini as Madera and Price were denied in front one minute apart. West Haven finally converted when Bruno scored an unassisted goal, but Hamden scored less than a minute later on Seaman’s second of the game for a 3-1 lead.
West Haven continued to pressure, but a Spreyer shot in front went wide with 3:55 left in the second, before Bruno hit the post later in the third.
Less than a week after topping Amity/Cheshire/North Haven on the road, the West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy girls hockey team was looking to do it again. Unfortunately for the Westie Sharks, that never materialized.
Despite scoring the first goal of the game, the Westie Sharks were unable to score again, and fell to the Blades, 2-1, at the Edward L. Bennett Rink Monday afternoon. The loss dropped the Westie Sharks to 5-7 on the year with their third straight loss.
All the scoring came in the opening period as Hailey Azzarone gave the Westie Sharks a 1-0 lead off an assist from Taylor Alfano just 1:05 into the contest.
The Westie Sharks never scored again and saw two first period goals by Lucy Dickenson prove to be the difference in the contest.
Evelyn Twarowski made 16 saves in the loss for the Westie Sharks.
In a hard-fought contest, the Westie Sharks used a last-minute goal by Julianna Montano to defeat their rival Hamden, 2-1, in Hamden.
The victory was a big one for the Westie Sharks as the team improved to 6-7 on the year.
With the game even at one and the final seconds ticking away in overtime, Montano took a pass from Alfano and scored from the point for the game-winner.
The goal capped a thrilling game which also saw Gonzalez score at the 14:56 mark of the second period off another assist from Alfano.
Evelyn Twarowski made 26 saves in the win, including seven in overtime.
West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy fell to 6-8 with a 7-0 loss against East Catholic in West Haven.
The Westie Sharks could not get going offensively and East Catholic led 2-0 after one period and 4-0 after two periods of play. Evelyn Twarowski made 15 saves in the first two periods, while Megan Losito made 12 saves in the final period.
Looking to get on a roll WH/SHA could not do so, and fell to Stamford/Westhill/Staples, 3-1, at home.
Trailing 1-0, the Westie Sharks scored their lone goal of the contest at the 4:47 mark of the second period when Ashley Welch found the back of the net off assists from Geena Montano and Julianna Montano.
Despite 21 saves from Evelyn Twarowski, the Westie Sharks fell when Stamford/Westhill/Staples scored twice in the final two minutes, including the go-ahead goal with 1:19 to go.
West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy snapped its two-game skid with a 4-3 victory at. They improved to 7-9 on the year.
Olivia Twarowski and Gonzalez led the Westies with a goal and an assist apiece. Losito made 17 saves in the win, including seven in each of the last two periods.
Trailing 1-0 in the second period, the Westie Sharks evened the contest 1:55 in when Olivia Twarowski scored off assists from Gonzalez and Heather Fonda. West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy took a 2-1 lead less than a minute later when Alfano scored off an assist from Welch.
With the game even at two, Alina Lipinsky gave West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy a 3-2 advantage off assists from Azzarone and Olivia Twarowski. Just 42 seconds later, the Westie Sharks had a 4-2 lead when Gonzalez scored off assists from Azzarone and Welch.
Ridgefield got within 4-3 before the period ended, but neither team scored in the third as the Westie Sharks picked up their seventh win of the season.
Despite overcoming a two-goal deficit, West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy fell to Hand 3-2 Saturday afternoon at the Edward L. Bennett Rink in West Haven.
Evelyn Twarowski made 30 saves in the loss as the Westie Sharks fell behind early, and they could not get the late score to even the contest.
Trailing 2-0 in the second period, the Westie Sharks scored twice in one minute to even the contest. Julianna Montano scored with 8:45 left in the middle period on a penalty shot, and Welch scored off an assist from Azzarone to even the game at two.
Hand answered with the eventual winning goal with 5:12 remaining as West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy fell to 7-10 on the year.
The West Haven boys’ basketball team saw its seven-game win streak come to an end with a 77-41 loss against cross-town rival Notre Dame at West Haven High. With the loss, the Westies fell to 9-4 on the year.
With West Haven trailing 12-9 and within striking distance, the Green Knights put the game away with a 46-16 run in the second and third quarters, including a 20-0 run to end the third quarter.
West Haven scored the first five points of the game, capped by an Ethan Griffin dunk, but the Green Knights closed the quarter on a 12-4 run. A 3-pointer by Adam El Kharraz got West Haven within three points.
Notre Dame used a 7-0 run for a 20-11 lead, before a dunk by Abdou Toure increased the Notre Dame lead to 31-16 with 1:08 left in the half.
The Westies got within 33-21 in the third quarter on a pair of free throws by Bernett Scott, but the Green Knights closed the third quarter on a 20-0 run, highlighted by dunks from Toure and Landon Krygier.
Toure led all scorers with 29 points. Isaiah Jackson led West Haven with 11 points, Griffin had six, and Scott, Jayce Perry, and Clifton Jones each scored five.
The race for the postseason is getting shorter for the West Haven girls’ basketball team. With a handful of games remaining and still needing a pair of wins to qualify, every contest has more meaning.
The Westies could not take that step, falling to a tough Hamden team, 61-39, at West Haven High. With the loss, West Haven fell to 6-10 on the year.
Noelle Lawrence led the way with 14 points, while Isabella Fiorillo scored 13 points in the loss.
Hamden took control of the game in the first half, extending a 16-9 advantage with a 17-6 second quarter run for 33-15 halftime lead. West Haven got within 12 points through three quarters, but a 14-4 Hamden run in the final eight minutes sealed the game.
Lawrence scored four of West Haven’s nine first quarter points, but the Westies were cold in the second quarter, connecting on just two shots from the field, both by Fiorillo.
Lawrence scored 10 of her team-high 14 points in the third quarter, and Fiorillo added four in the same time frame.
West Haven inched closer to the postseason with a 54-44 victory over Cheshire. With the victory, the Westies improved to 7-10 on the season.
Fiorillo led the way for West Haven with 13 points, six rebounds and four steals. D’Lyana Dixon had 12 points, and Ella Morgan had a big day as well with 10 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and five steals.
The Westies took control of the contest early with a 16-7 first quarter run and a 34-15 halftime advantage.
Arianna Titus and Morgan led the first quarter run with four points apiece, while Dixon hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with seven points in the second quarter. Fiorillo also had five points in the second quarter.
Fatoumata Keita finished with eight points, including six in the fourth quarter.
The West Haven boys swim team fell to Sheehan/Lyman Hall, 87.5-77.5, at Sheehan.
Andrew McLarty won the 200 free in 2 minutes, 10.03 seconds, Nate Charron won the 100 back in 1:03.27, and Edward Fagnani won the 100 breast in 1:40.80. The 400 free relay team of Jeffery Flores-Copa, McLarty, Charron, and Benjamin Proano won in 4:21.59.
West Haven fell to 0-7 with a 92-78 loss at Waterford Tuesday afternoon.
Charron won the 200 free in 2 minutes, 30.19 seconds, Fagnani won the 100 breast in 1:49.54, and the 400 free relay team of Brandon Sihaphong, Flores-Copa, Charron, and McLarty also posted a victory.
West Haven dropped to 0-8 with a 95-67 home loss against Fitch Co-Op at home. The Westies placed first in just two events.
Fagnani won the 100 breast in 1 minute, 41.80 seconds, while the 400 free relay team of Isiah Correira, Mathew Loo, Fagnani, and Yousaf Khan was also victorious.
West Haven fell, 93-75, at Shelton. With the loss, the Westies dropped to 0-9 on the year.
McLarty won the 500 freestyle in 5 minutes, 58.86 seconds, and Flores-Copa was victorious in the 100 back in 1:14.04. The 400 free relay team of Proano, Ivo Dedo Frias, McLarty, and Johnny Chen also came away with a victory.
West Haven fell to Milford, 93-69, at West Haven. With the loss, the Westies dropped to 0-10 on the year.
Flores-Copa won the 100 backstroke in 1 minute, 12.60 seconds, Charron was victorious in the 100 breast in 1:14.87, and the 400 free relay team of Sihaphong, Flores-Copa, McLarty, and Proano won in 4:21.93.
For all your West Haven sporting news throughout the year, including game articles by Mike Madera, highlights, photos and more, visit www.westieblue.com.