Printer Friendly Version - Three North Branford Teams Qualify for States

Matt Pedersen’s hat trick helped the North Branford boys’ ice hockey squad post a 6-3 win versus Branford last week. The Thunderbirds are now 9-2, have won their last seven games, and they also qualified for states last week. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound

The North Branford boys’ ice hockey squad punched its ticket into the Division II State Tournament last week by posting a pair of victories to improve to 9-2 this season.

On Jan. 24, The T-Birds hit the road and came away with a 7-3 victory at East Catholic. Then on Jan. 27, North Branford pushed its winning streak to seven straight games by posting a 6-3 victory over Branford.

Against Branford, the T-Birds scored four goals in the second period and held off the Hornets the rest of the way to come away with the victory. Matt Pedersen led the charge by recording a hat trick for North Branford. Pedersen opened up the scoring in the second period by getting a goal on an assist from Brendan Dupuis, after which Nick Mancini scored unassisted to make it 2-0. Branford scored the next one, but then Pedersen and Nick Vecchio assisted Joe Carbone for North Branford’s third goal of the period. The Hornets made it 3-2, but Henderson scored his second of the contest on an assist from Carbone to close out the frame. Branford opened the scoring in the third period to cut it to 4-3, but Pedersen and Sean McKee closed out the game by scoring goals that pushed the T-Birds to victory. John Lovelace made 18 saves in net to get the win.

The Thunderbirds moved to 8-5 and sealed a spot in the Division V State Tournament after splitting their two games last week.

North Branford’s week started with a 63-34 victory over Haddam-Killingworth on Jan. 24 that clinched its playoff berth. Brett Lequire had a monster game by recording a triple-double with 15 points, 24 rebounds, and 10 assists. Jake Haeckel scored a game-high 23 points on seven three-pointers, while Matt Cosgrove netted 13 points for the Thunderbirds. North Branford held a big edge early and won every quarter in the win. The T-Birds went into halftime with a 27-19 lead and then outscored the Cougars 23-8 in the third quarter to put the game away.

North Branford closed out the week by taking a 49-31 loss to East Hampton. Sean Esposito scored 10 points, Haeckel added eight points, and Lequire scored six points for the T-Birds.

North Branford split its two games last week, but the T-Birds’ one victory marked their eighth of the season, and earned a team a spot in the Class M State Tournament.

North Branford took a 56-48 loss to Haddam-Killingworth on Jan. 24, but then rebounded by notching a 34-31 victory on the road against East Hampton to make states. Morgan Violette scored nine points, while Jessie Kilburn and Angelina Ramada had eight points apiece for the T-Birds.

Jake Haeckel hit seven shots from downtown and scored 23 points when the T-Birds beat Haddam-Killingworth to clinch their Division V State Tournament berth.Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound