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02/24/2018 11:00 PMBoys’ Ice Hockey
The East Haven-Old Lyme-Old Saybrook-East Hampton boys’ ice hockey squad was only able to win one of its four games last week, but that one victory was enough to punch the team’s ticket into the Division II State Tournament. The Yellowjackets, who have a record of 8-9-1 on the season, have qualified for states in each of the past 32 seasons with Head Coach Lou Pane.
On Feb. 20, East Haven hit the road and defeated Woodstock Academy by a 4-2 count to clinch its postseason berth. Joe Consiglio scored a pair of goals, while Jonathan Moscato and Zach Paquin also found the back of the net in victory. Five different Yellowjackets finished with assists as Paquin, Alec Speirs, Jean-Luc Bolduc, Joe Pappacoda, and Charlie Carlo all tallied one apiece. Matt Twarowski recorded 24 saves in net to get the victory for the Easties.
Following the win, East Haven took a 2-0 loss to Branford on Feb. 21, lost to New Fairfield-Immaculate by that same score on Feb. 23, and then closed out the week with 3-1 loss to North Branford on Feb. 24. East Haven was unable to qualify for the SCC/SWC Division II Tournament this season, but the team still has the Division II State Tournament on the horizon beginning this week.
Girls’ Ice Hockey
The Branford-East Haven-North Branford girls’ ice hockey team hosted the Notre Dame-Fairfield/Foran/Weston/Law co-op squad for a SCC South Division semifinal game last week. The Wings lost a 2-0 decision at DiLungo Rink on Feb. 19 to drop to 16-4 with the State Tournament on the way.
The Wings were the 4th in the tournament, while the Lancers were the No. 5 seed. The Wings had previously defeated the Lancers twice during the regular season by scores of 5-0 and 3-0.
Head Coach Jack Norton’s squad is the No. 8 seed in the State Tournament and will host No. 9 seed Northwest Catholic-Mercy in the first round at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 27. If the Wings win, they will play at No. 1 seed Greenwich 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 is being held at Bennett Rink at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 10.
Boys’ Basketball
The Yellowjackets wrapped up their season by posting a 67-55 victory against Platt Tech on their home floor on Senior Night on Feb. 22. With a record of 7-13, East Haven came up one why shy of qualifying for the SCC and State tournaments this year.
In last week’s win against Platt Tech, senior Eddy Popolizio scored a game-high 26 points, while Gabe Longley had 15 points for the Easties. Ryan Spano scored 11 points, and Tristan Punzo added eight points for the Yellowjackets, who connected on nine 3-pointers as a squad.
Wrestling
East Haven sent three wrestlers to the State Open Championship at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Feb. 23 and 24. Josh Rao, Alec Divito and Tanner Divito wrestled for the Yellowjackets at the Open.
In the 195-pound weight class, Rao, a junior, received a first-round bye and then won a 14-1 major decision against Ledyard’s Jadian Mackenzie, before taking a loss. In the consolation bracket, Rao earned a pin at 1:47 against Hall’s Justin Searls and then was eliminated from tournament action by Law’s Kevin Brocksom via a pin.
Also competing for the Yellowjackets at the State Open were sophomore Alec Divito and Tanner Divito, who each took defeats in both of their bouts in the 126 and 132 divisions, respectively.