Printer Friendly Version - North Branford Boys’ Hockey Ready to Play in Conference Tourney

Nick Vecchio was one of North Branford’s goal scorers as the T-Birds beat the East Haven co-op team 3-1 to cement their place in this week’s SCC/SWC Division Tournament. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound

The North Branford boys’ ice hockey squad secured its spot in the upcoming SCC/SWC Division II Tournament by posting an 8-2 record in conference play to go with an overall mark of 13-6-1 for the regular season.

North Branford is the No. 3 seed and will host No. 2 Watertown-Pomperaug in the semifinals at Bennett Rink on Thursday, March 1 at 7:30 p.m. If the T-Birds win, they will play the winner of No. 1 seed Guilford and No. 4 Amity for the title at Bennett Rink at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 3.

In last week’s games, North Branford took a 1-0 loss to Staples on Feb. 20, lost 2-0 at Conard on Feb. 22, and then closed out its regular season with a 3-1 victory over East Haven-Old Lyme-Old Saybrook-East Hampton on Feb. 24.

John Lovelace made 20 saves for the T-Birds against Staples last week and then had 22 stops versus Conard. Facing the East Haven co-op squad, North Branford allowed the Yellowjackets to take an early lead, but then scored the next three goals to win get its eighth conference victory. North Branford’s goals were scored by Nick Vecchio, Sean McKee, and Nick Barrett, while McKee and Matt Pedersen each tallied an assist.

The Thunderbirds’ boys’ basketball squad earned the No. 4 seed in the Shoreline Conference Tournament and took a 60-59 overtime defeat to No. 5 seed Old Saybrook in a quarterfinal game on Feb. 24. North Branford dropped to 14-7 on the season with the loss.

The T-Birds and Old Saybrook played an even game in the Shoreline quarterfinals and wrapped up regulation with the score knotted at 54. The Rams then edged North Branford 4-3 in the extra frame to move on to the semifinal round. Senior captain Brett Lequire scored a game-high 36 points for North Branford in the loss. Jake Haeckel added 11 points for the Thunderbirds.

Prior to the Shoreline Conference Tournament, North Branford completed its regular season by earning a 64-42 victory against Haddam-Killingworth on Feb. 20. Lequire had a monster game by scoring 33 points and pulling down 24 rebounds in the win. Sydney Franklin scored 10 points and Haeckel had eight points for North Branford.

Next up for the T-Birds is the Division V State Tournament that begins on Monday, March 5.

The North Branford girls’ basketball team is the No. 16 seed in the Class M State Tournament and will open up the tourney by hosting No. 17 seed Nonnewaug (13-7) in a first-round contest at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 26. If the Thunderbirds win, they will either play at No. 1 Northwestern or host No. 32 Valley Regional in the second round at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 1. The quarterfinals take place on Friday, March 5; the semis are on Friday, March 9; and the championship game takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville on either Saturday, March 17 or Sunday, March 18.