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01/25/2015 11:00 PMThe Branford-East Haven-North Branford girls’ ice hockey squad has been dominating its fellow Division II foes and that trend held true to form last week, when the Hornets skated to a 7-0 victory versus Hand.
Bfd-EH-NB scored two goals in the first and four in the second. Senior captain Erin Sheehan scored from sophomore Sydney Hogan two minutes in, after which Hogan sent one home on helpers from senior captains Lexi Harney and Marissa Gugleilmi at the 5:30 mark.
The Hornets then posted a four-spot in the middle period. Freshman Emmy Norton scored unassisted 4:29 in, Hogan scored her second from Sheehan five minutes later, Sheehan netted her second goal from junior Julia Schatz less than a minute after that, and then Harney scored from Anne Pascale.
Freshman Emilie Wilkinson tallied her first varsity goal in the third period to seal the victory. East Haven’s Julia SanGiovanni made 10 saves and fellow freshman Hailey Manware, a Branford resident, stopped seven shots.
“We played a good game. I felt we had a slow start with our first few shifts, but then the girls seemed to pick it up quickly and, after we scored the first goal, things started rolling for us,” said North Branford resident Jack Norton, who joins the squad as a co-head coach with Lauren Wiggins and assistant Brian Haesche. “It was a balanced attack and, once the girls picked it up, we took it to them pretty good.”
Bfd-EH-NB improved to 7-1 and 6-0 in SCC Division II by beating Hand and has clinched the best record in the division for the regular season. The Hornets now look to bring home a second straight SCC DII title, along with qualifying for the State Tournament that combines teams from both divisions.
“Certainly, one goal is to win our division again and another is to make the State Tournament. That will depend on how we do against these Division I teams. Some are in the middle tier and I feel we can play with them and beat them,” said Norton, who also coaches in the Shoreline Sharks Youth Hockey program. “We’re in a good place. I certainly think we can get better and compete with these other teams that we haven’t seen before and these next few games will really show us that.”
Bfd-EH-NB next plays at non-conference Division I foe Trumbull in Shelton at 4 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 30, followed by a home game against SCC Division I Hall-Conard at 7 the next day.
The Hornets are being guided this season by their senior captain trio of defenseman Guglielmi (who’s from Branford), winger Sheehan (North Branford), and center Harney (East Haven). Coach Norton feels quite pleased about how his captains are helping athletes from three towns mesh.
“Our chemistry is really great. All the girls get along and it’s a really good group of kids. We have three captains from each school and it works out really well,” he said. “Marissa [who has 4 goals and 9 assists] is a tough defenseman who skates hard and is tough to beat. She brings a lot of team spirit and is very vocal. Lexi is also a skilled player who’s our leading scorer and does a lot of her talking with scoring goals and getting assists. Marissa and Lexi were captains already and we then we elected Erin at the start of this year. She’s another who leads by example with the way she plays. She gives it her all.”
Harney and Sheehan join Hogan on the Hornets’ top line, which Norton describes as “dynamic” as they’ve produced a large portion of the team’s points. Harney has 13 goals with 11 assists, Sheehan has nine goals with six assists, and Hogan owns eight goals and six assists. Coach Norton has also been satisfied with the performances of his two rookie goalkeepers in Manware and regular starter SanGiovanni.
“Julia is an extremely talented goalie. She’s grown up playing on boys’ teams and I think she’ll be a difference maker as we start playing the tougher competition,” Norton said. “This is Hailey’s first year playing hockey and it’s been amazing to watch her play with how well she’s done. The kids take hard shots at her in practice and she doesn’t flinch. She’s done well for stepping into the net for the first time.”