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02/24/2018 11:00 PMGirls’ Ice Hockey
The Amity-North Haven-Cheshire girls’ ice hockey team defeated the Hand-Old Lyme-Coginchaug co-op squad in the quarterfinals of the Southern Connecticut Conference South Division Tournament, before taking a 3-2, double-overtime loss against Hamden in the semifinals last week. With their record of 17-5, the Blades get ready to compete in the State Tournament that gets underway this week.
The Blades were the No. 3 seed in the SCC South Division Tournament and hosted No. 6 Hand-Old Lyme-Coginchaug for a quarterfinal contest at The Rinks at Shelton on Feb. 19. The Blades posted a 3-2 victory against the Tigers, a team that they had recently defeated by a 5-3 score in their regular-season finale. In the rematch, the game was tied 2-2 when Tess Csjeka scored the go-ahead goal on an assist from North Haven sophomore Melissa Montesi in the third period.
The two teams had scored two goals apiece in the opening period. North Haven junior Shannon Reilly netted the first goal of the game on an assist from Clara Halloran, after which the Tigers came back with a goal to make it 1-1. Cally Dixon scored from Meghan Hogan for a 2-1 Blades’ advantage, but Hand came back with another goal, and it was 2-2 after the first period. The game stayed that way until Csjeka’s goal gave Head Coach John Peschell’s squad the lead for good. North Haven sophomore Julianna Daddio made 15 goals in goal for the Blades, who outshot the Tigers 34-17.
Two nights later, the Blades played at No. 2 seed Hamden in the SCC semifinals. The Blades brought a 2-0 lead into the third period, where the Hamden scored twice to tie the game, after which the Green Dragons won it by scoring a goal in double overtime.
Dixon scored from Megan Spring to put the Blades up 1-0 just 1:50 into the first period. With 5:27 to play in the frame, Reilly found the back of the net to give the squad a 2-0 lead through two. Following a scoreless second period, Hamden’s Demeri Carangelo scored two goals for the Green Dragons in the third to tie the game. The first goal came six minutes into the period, and then Carangelo scored the tying goal 59 seconds later. The two teams played one scoreless overtime period, before Maggie Gould scored to win it for Hamden 1:03 into the second overtime.
“Although we are very disappointed with the outcome against Hamden, I and the entire coaching staff are so proud of our girls. They left everything out on the ice,” Coach Peschell said. “We are a resilient group and intend to bounce back. We feel we have a good chance as any team to have a successful run in states and are looking forward to our matchup versus Hand.”
The Blades are the No. 5 seed in the Connecticut High School Girls’ Hockey Association State Tournament that gets underway this week. The team will once again play Hand-Old Lyme-Coginchaug, which is seeded 12th, in a first-round game at The Rinks at Shelton at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 27. If the Blades prevail, they will play No. 4 seed Suffield at the International Skating Center in Simsbury in the quarterfinals on either Friday, March 2 or Saturday, March 3. The semis are at The Rinks at Shelton on Wednesday, March 7, and the championship game takes place at Bennett Rink at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 10.
Boys’ Ice Hockey
The North Haven boys’ ice hockey squad picked up recent victories versus New Milford and Cheshire to clinch a berth in the Division II State Tournament. The Indians, who had missed states in each of the last two seasons, now have a record of 8-9-1 in their first campaign with new Head Coach Nick Costanzo, doubling their won total from last year. North Haven’s last two games of the regular season are against the East Haven-Old Lyme-Old Saybrook-East Hampton co-op squad and Branford with both taking place at Northford Ice Pavilion.
In last week’s games, North Haven started off by facing off against SCC/SWC Division II opponent New Milford and claimed a 5-3 victory over the Green Wave at the Canterbury School on Feb. 21.
Three days later, the Indians battled another divisional foe when they took on Cheshire at Wesleyan University. North Haven earned a 2-1 victory versus the Rams on Feb. 24 to punch its ticket into the Division II State Tournament. Following a scoreless first period, sophomore Jack Marotollo put North Haven on the board by scoring a goal six minutes into the second. The Indians’ second goal came from senior captain CJ Kenny off a great breakout pass from junior Simon Brubacher with five minutes left in the frame. Cheshire scored a goal with six minutes left in the game to cut it to 2-1, but the Indians staved off the Rams the rest the way, and emerged victorious to put their berth in states in the bag.
Boys’ Basketball
On the heels of wrapping up a nice regular season, the North Haven boys’ basketball team tipped off the 2017-’18 postseason by competing in the Southern Connecticut Conference Tournament last week. The Indians entered the SCC tourney as the No. 10 seed and dropped a 65-52 decision at No. 7 seed Career in a first-round contest in New Haven on Feb. 22. With the defeat, North Haven has a record of 12-9 as it gets ready to play in the Division III State Tournament that begins this week.
In the SCC Tournament, North Haven held an 11-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Career outscored the Indians 17-13 in the second quarter to take a 26-24 lead into halftime. The Panthers then outscored North Haven in both the third (19-16) and fourth (20-12) quarters on their way to the 65-52 victory.
Sophomore Ethan Okwuosa scored 19 points to lead the Indians. Senior Jake Lafond had 11 points, senior Jared Sancho scored 10, and sophomore Dave Christoforo added seven points for Head Coach Justin Falcon’s club in the defeat.
North Haven is playing in the Division III State Tournament that begins with first-round action on Monday, March 5. The second round is on Wednesday, March 7; the quarterfinals take place on Friday, March 9; the semis are on Tuesday, March 13; and the championship game is at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville on either Saturday, March 17 or Sunday, March 18. The Indians are projected to be either the No. 11 seed in the 25-team field.
Boys’ Swimming and Diving
The North Haven boys’ swimming and diving team celebrated its Senior Night in style by posting a 99-66 victory home victory over West Haven-Platt Tech at Gawrych Town Pool on Feb. 21. With the win, the Indians finished their regular season with an overall record of 7-4 to go with a mark of 6-1 in SCC Division II meets, marking the team’s best record in Martha Phelan’s tenure as head coach. North Haven also tied Sheehan for the best record in SCC Division II this year.
North Haven held its Senior Night festivities when the team hosted West Haven-Platt Tech last week. Prior to the meet, the Indians honored their senior captains Riley Powell and Albi Koleci, along with fellow seniors Ryan Tanguay and Marcus Zikaras for their contributions to the program.
In terms of the meet, several Indians’ swimmers notched lifetime-best times to propel the team to victory. Freshman Cameron Cargan swam a lifetime-best mark in the 100 freestyle with a time of 55.79 seconds, as well as in the 200 freestyle at 2:04.45. Junior Kevin Powers posted a lifetime best of 2:19.53 in the 200 individual medley for North Haven. Carlo Frunzio did a lifetime best of 1:00.54 in the 100 butterfly, freshman Marco Criscola went a lifetime best of 6:35.91 in the 500 freestyle, and Tanner Powell’s time of 1:08.93 in the 100 backstroke also marked an all-time best.
Prior to winning last week’s meet, North Haven had defeated Foran, Law, Shelton, Hamden Lyman Hall/Haddam-Killingworth/Coginchaug, and Branford-Guilford on its way to its 7-4 record this season.
“Just a few years ago, we barely had enough swimmers and divers to fill the roster, and it is most gratifying to watch the program grow and to finish this year at the top of the division,” Coach Phelan said. “We now move into the postseason championship meets, and I’m hopeful we will fare well as we advance.”
North Haven is competing in the SCC Championship this week and then has the Class M State Championship after that. The Diving Championship is at Bulkeley High School at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 8; the Swimming Qualifying takes place at Masuk at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 10; and the Class M State Swimming Championship will be held at Wesleyan University at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13.