Youth Hockey squads play in tourneys

The West Haven youth hockey Mite A team won the Mite Upper Division at the Haunted Shootout Tournament in Marlborough, MA. The Westies had an undefeated 6-0 record over the weekend.

In round robin play, the Westies faced the Palisades Predators and Woodbridge Wolfpack Hockey Club, each from New Jersey, along with the Greater New Haven Warriors and East Coast Thunder from Hyannis Mass.

The Blue Devils were led by goaltender Landon Silverman who recorded two shutout wins and only allowed six goals all tournament. The team scored over 40 goals in all with every player finding the back of the net.

Solid defense by Cooper Owens and Keegan Jackson also made it difficult for opposing teams to score on Silverman. Offensively the Devils were led by Henry Seslar, Santino Martin, Caden Minio, Emmett Hemming and Alexa Jacob.

The highlight of the weekend was a 2-1 semifinal overtime win against rival Hamden with Brody Miller netting the game winner. In the final game, the Westies found themselves down early to Weymouth, Mass. and fought back for a 5-3 victory and a championship trophy. 

The West Haven Mite C team played the Wallingford RiverHawks Mite B. Wesley Morazzini was in goal for the Westies and he made great saves during the match up. Multiple goals were scored by Caleb Ford and Jackson Ford. Brayden Gagliardi also scored a goal and an assist was made by Caleb Ford. Shots on goal were made by Maddy Bruder, Ava Healy, Ryan Shannon and Quinn Uscilla.

On Sunday, the Mite C’ played the Shoreline Sharks at Bennett Rink. In net again for the Blue Devils was Wesley Morazzini, who made more great saves. Multiple goals were made by Caleb Ford, Jackson Ford and Gagliardi. Uscilla, Bruder and Shannon also each contributed a goal, which assists made by Jackson Ford, Uscilla, Gagliardi and Shannon. Shots on goal were also made by Healy. 

The West Haven Mite C team played South Windsor at Bennett Rink. In net for the Blue Devils was Healy, who made many great saves during the matchup.

Multiple goals were scored by Caleb Ford, Jackson Ford and Gagliardi. Bruder also scored a goal, while shots on net and passes were made by Uscilla, Morazzini, and Ryan Shannon.

The West Haven Squirt AA hockey team took home the Squirt A title at the Haunted Shootout in Marlborough by posting a 5-0 record, including three shutout wins. The team was paced all weekend by the strong goaltending tandem of Gabe Calabrese and Michael Paone, and a strong defensive attack led by Cody Young, AJ Farrell, Henry Strada and Danny Moll which limited scoring chances.

In the final, the Westies topped the Westchester (NY) Vipers AA 10-0 behind the multi-goal games from Colby Cushing, Nick Ciccosanti, Dylan Spreyer, Farrell and Charlie Gunning. Assists in the game came from Dane Walsh (2), Peyton Berlepsch, Young, Jeremiah McGrath and Alex Jenei. Paone and Calabrese combined for the shut out.

Paone and Calabrese shut out the Weymouth AA, 10-0, in the semifinal. Cushing and Gunning combined for eight goals, while Jenei and Strada also found the back of the net. Westie assists came from Moll, Walsh Young, Strada and Farrell.

In the opening round, Gunning, Spreyer and Jenei paced the Westies to a 6-1 win over the Palasides Predators. Young had two assists on the day and Berlepsch added another.

The Westies trailed the Vermont Flames AA, 2-0 ,entering the third period before rallying to a 5-2 win. Gunning scored two goals to pull the team even, before Berlepsch buried the game-winner. Cushing and Gunning each added another goal for the difference. Paone and Calabrese combined for the win.

McGrath, Spreyer, Young, Cushing and Gunning combined for 10 goals as the Westies were all over the New Jersey Avalanche 12-0. Assists on the day came from Walsh, Strada, Berlepsch and Moll. Paone and Calabrese combined for the shut out.

In a matchup of the two top-ranked teams in the state rankings the Squirt AA hosted the Connecticut Jr. Whalers and came away with a 5-2 victory.

Walsh set up Gunning early in the first period to give the Westies a 1-0 lead. Farrell then weaved through traffic and went top shelf, Gunning had two more, and Ciccosanti also scored for the Westies, Assists on the day came from Young, Strada, Jenei, Spreyer and McGrath. Paone went the distance for the win with 14 saves on the day.

The final game of the weekend saw the Westies upend the Junior Wolfpack AA 13-1. Walsh started the scoring off with a wrister, and McGrath, Ciccosanti, Spreyer, Cushing and Gunning all found the back of the net.

Ciccosanti had three assists on the day, and Young, Strada and Farrell each added one assist. Calabrese got the win in net with 10 saves.

The West Haven Squirt A1 squad faced off against the Northeast Junior Huskies on Sunday in what turned out to be a battle of goalies, The Blue Devils topped the Jr. Huskies, 5-4. 

Ethan McGrath and Matteo Kenworthy had a showcase performance between the pipes, facing 25 shots, only allowing four to touch the back of the net. McGrath had some amazing saves during the first shift, keeping 11 of the 12 shots he faced out of harm’s way. Kenworthy made some dazzling leg saves, and was able to account for 10 of the 13 shots he faced.  

Olivia Persico started the scoring for the Devils in the first period with an assist from Carter Liston at 5:59. Tyler Gyllensten was next on the board with an unassisted goal in the second period at 8:43. Gyllensten’s goal was shortly followed up by another unassisted goal by Julius Stokes at 10:57. 

Stokes went on to score two more unassisted goals in the third for his fourth hat trick of the season.

The West Haven Peewee AA hockey team started strong on its three-game weekend with a 3-1 victory over Darien A Saturday morning at Bennett Rink.

The first goal came just three minutes into the game by defenseman Santino Desantis, taking the puck all the way up ice. A scramble in front of the net ensued following a shot from Tyler Persico at the blue line, and Andrew Lacasse shot in the rebound for the second goal before the end of the first period.

The third period yielded the final goal for the Westies with a snipe from Jaxon Troyer. Barbera was flawless in net with a total of 26 saves in the game.

The second game of the day at Bennett Rink for the Peewee AA’s and they dominated the Yale AA, 7-1. Colin Dempsey earned himself a hat trick by getting a goal in each period, an unassisted goal and two with assists from Rocco Kelly, Sophie Digioia, and Desantis.

Troyer had an unassisted goal in the first and shortly after, TJ Russo scored with an assist from Austin Picard. Sophia Locklear had two goals in the game’ s second and third periods.

On Sunday, the team traveled to Simsbury and came home victorious 11-2. Digioia didn’t waste any time and put two goals on the board in the first few minutes. Lacasse followed suit and put another tally. The second period saw goals from Lacasse, getting his second, Troyer, Desantis, and Digioia getting her third to secure a hat trick. The third period did not disappoint with more goals from Kelly, Guarino, Dempsey, and the final goal from Desantis. Locklear, Bereski, and Russo.

The West Haven Bantam AA Major team won the 2022 Haunted Shootout at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough, MA over the weekend.  The top-seeded Blue Devils downed second-seeded Palisades Predators, 6-2, in the championship game on Sunday afternoon.  The Westies dominated the weekend offensively and defensively as they outscored their opponents 29-4 in the five games.

Ethan Kelly led all Blue Devil scorers with seven goals and eight assists in the tournament.  Studley followed with six goals and an assist.  Defensemen Leo Mazuroski and Ian Brezac each scored three goals, while Aaron Campbell and Shefter both had two goals and two assists. 

Alex Zhukovsky and Mike Madonick (one assist) had two goals apiece, Brett Kayser and Matthew Kelly each had a goal, and Sam Malangone had an assist. The Blue Devils earned the top seed by going 3-0 in pool play.

On Friday afternoon the Westies opened the tournament against the Predators.  It was a scoreless game into the third period when Mazuroski took a feed from Ethan Kelly and zipped it home.  Brezac and Ethan Kelly followed with unassisted goals and Upson earned the shutout.

The West Haven Bantam AA Minor team fought a tough back and forth game against Southern Stars Bantam A team on Saturday at Bennett Rink. Despite Southern scoring a goal within the first two minutes of the game, the Westies came back and scored one goal in the first period and two in the second.

Keegan Dobratz put West Haven on the board first with an assist from Enzo Plano. Plano then followed that up with the second goal with a little help from Dylan Dicioccio. Zach Melchiore found the net to make it 3-1 Westies with seven minutes left in the second period. Eddie Thomas and Cameren Lipford assisted on the goal.

Despite Southern scoring two more goals in the second to bring the score to 3-3, West Haven’s Mark Vere scored the fourth and final goal with 10 minutes left on the clock.

Southern pulled its goalie and tied the game at four with one minute left to play. Benny Pikul was outstanding in net, stopping multiple shots including many breakaway attempts.

For all your West Haven sporting news throughout the year, including game articles by Mike Madera, highlights, photos and more, visit www.westieblue.com.