Printer Friendly Version - Blades Get Their First Three Wins of the Season

Senior goalie Caitlin Ranciato helped the Blades girls’ ice hockey squad earn its first victory this winter with an 8-3 win over the Wings at DiLungo Rink on Jan. 2. Ranciato and the Blades went on to notch two more victories later in the week. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier

The Amity-North Haven-Cheshire (A-NH-C) girls’ ice hockey team picked up a trio of victories last week to improve its record to 3-7 this year. The Blades earned their first win of the season by routing Branford-North Branford-Sheehan-Lyman Hall (B-NB-S-LH), after which they claimed two more victories later in the week.

The Blades started last week by taking an 8-2 road loss to Ridgefield-Danbury at Winter Garden Ice Arena on Dec. 28. Meaghan Hogan scored a goal and also assisted on a goal by fellow senior Hannah Sosensky for A-NH-C.

Then on Jan. 2, the Blades recorded an 8-3 road win over B-NB-S-LH at DiLungo Rink in East Haven. Senior goalkeeper Caitlin Ranciato earned the win in net for the Blades. Juniors Tess Csejka and Haley Cable scored goals to give A-NH-C a 2-0 lead after the first period. Cable scored from Sosensky to make it 3-0 early in the second period. The Wings netted a pair of goals to cut it to 3-2, but Hogan scored a goal on an assist by DelVecchio, who later scored from Csejka for a 5-2 advantage through two. DelVecchio scored early in the third period to increase the lead to 6-2. Following a goal by the Wings, DelVecchio posted her third goal of the day to complete hat trick, with Csejka and Cable getting the assists. Csjeka added one last goal to finish off an 8-3 win for Head Coach John Peschell’s club.

On Jan. 5, the Blades hosted Hand-Coginchaug-Old Lyme and prevailed 5-4 at Lou Astorino Ice Arena. The Blades stormed out to a 3-0 advantage in the first period. DelVecchio scored the first goal on an assist from fellow senior captain Shannon Reilly. Sophomore Caroline Cadelina and junior Nadia DiNatale followed with unassisted goals for a 3-0 lead. DelVecchio scored another goal in the second period as the Blades brought a 4-2 lead into the final frame. The Tigers scored a goal to cut it to 4-3, but Cable netted an insurance goal on an assist by Csjeka to solidify the victory. Ranciato earned another win in goal by making 21 saves.

The very next day, the Blades notched a 7-4 win versus Masuk-Barlow-Newtown-Lauralton Hall in a road game at The Rinks at Shelton. A-NH-C netted five goals during the opening period. Haley Cable scored from fellow junior Sara Cable, DiNatale scored from Csejka, DelVecchio netted an unassisted goal and then assisted a goal by freshman Mia Dow, after which DiNatale scored from Hogan to cap off the first-period flurry. Csejka scored an assisted goal in the second period. DiNatale notched the Blades’ final score on an assist from Sosensky during the third. Ranciato stopped 22 shots for her third win of the week.

The Indians took three defeats at Northford Ice Pavilion last week to move to 1-5-1 on the season.

On Dec. 29, North Haven dropped a 5-1 decision versus Hand. Then on Jan. 2, North Haven squared off against Trumbull and took a 4-3 defeat against the Eagles. Three days later, the Indians lost a 4-1 contest versus Amity at Northford Ice Pavilion.

North Haven competed in the third annual Fred Kelly Holiday Tournament and then faced Foran on the road in last week’s action. The Indians notched a 36-29 victory over Bristol Central in the semifinals of the tournament on Dec. 27 and took a 51-49 overtime loss against Coginchaug in the championship game the following night. Then on Jan. 4, North Haven lost a 61-44 decision at Foran to move to 3-4 on the season.

North Haven opened play in the Fred Kelly Holiday Tournament by defeating Bristol Central 36-29 in the semifinal round. Trailing 18-16 at halftime, the Indians outscored the Rams 15-5 in the third quarter and then hung on in the fourth to emerge victorious on their home floor. Senior Leah Zeisner scored 12 points, and junior Laura Petrafesa had seven points to lead Head Coach Ray Degnan’s squad to the win.

The next day, North Haven squared off with Coginchaug in the final of the tournament and dropped a 51-49 overtime decision to the Blue Devils. The Indians were down after the first (8-5), second (23-12), and third (41-25) periods, but used a furious fourth quarter come back to tie the game and force overtime. North Haven outscored Coginchaug 21-5 during the fourth quarter, ultimately tying the game on a basket by sophomore Julia Bogen. The Blue Devils edged out North Haven by a 5-3 margin in OT to come away with the win. Petrafesa scored 16 points, sophomore Carly Fresher had 10 points, and Zeisner added eight points for North Haven. Coginchaug had reached the final with a 44-30 semifinal victory against Montville on Dec. 27.

On Jan. 4, the Indians traveled to Milford to face Foran and took a 61-44 defeat. Junior Mia Antonino scored 10 points for North Haven.

North Haven took an 86-77 defeat versus Cheshire at the Cheshire Community Pool on Jan. 3. The Indians have a record of 0-2 early on this season.

Senior JP Stoeffler finished with season-best times in both the 200 individual medley (2:17.72) and the 500 freestyle (5:20.26) against Cheshire. Fellow senior Will McCleery posted a season-best mark of 52.95 seconds in the 100 freestyle. The following athletes recorded lifetime-best times for North Haven at the meet: junior Stephen Borrelli in the 50 freestyle (25.80) and the 100 breaststroke (1:22.34), freshman Kyle Borrelli in the 50 freestyle (28.93) and the 100 freestyle (1:06.79), sophomore Raymond Lewis for the 50 free (32.85) and the 100 free (1:16.61), and sophomore Joseph O’Connor in both the 50 free (28.56) and the diving competition (134.70 points). Also notching lifetime-best marks were senior Tim Chin in the 50 freestyle (38.30) and the 100 freestyle (1:32.17), sophomore Ahmed Anwar in the 50 freestyle (43.93), and sophomore Marco Criscola in the 100 freestyle (1:04.52) and the 100 breaststroke (1:24.42).

North Haven competed at the Hillhouse Winter Relays at Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven on Dec. 29. The Indians’ shot put relay took first place at the meet by recording a combined distance of 128 feet-2.75 inches. As a team, North Haven came in fourth place.

Junior Kyle Maruca finished first in the shot put with a throw of 44 feet-11.5 inches for North Haven. Junior Luke Maruca finished third (43-11.75) in the event, and fellow junior Dominic Borrelli placed eigthth (39-3.5) to help North Haven claim first place in the event.

The Indians’ 4x800 relay of seniors Jack Opramolla, Jobin Valiyaveettil, and Jackson Frank, and sophomore Patrick Rourke came in second place with a time of 9:07.76. Eric Spignesi finished third in the pole vault by clearing a height of 11 feet-6 inches, while fellow senior Robert Farley finished sixth at 10-6. In the 4x400 relay, North Haven’s quartet of Farley, senior Jacob Wurm, freshman Jack Pollard, and Opramolla recorded a fourth-place finish by timing in at 3:51.28.

One week later, the Indians were back at Floyd Little Athletic Center to participate in the Elm City Coaches Invitational. Farley placed third for the preliminaries of the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.14 seconds, after which he ran a time of 8.18 seconds to finish fourth in the finals. Kyle Maruca placed fourth (46-11) in the shot put with Luke Maruca taking fifth place (46-10.5) for North Haven. Spignesi finished seventh in the pole vault by clearing 11 feet. North Haven’s 4x800 relay of Opramolla, Valiyaveettil, Frank, and Rourke took sixth place with a time of 9:03.83.

The Indians were represented by several athletes at last week’s Hillhouse Winter Relays. North Haven finished in ninth place as a team at the meet, which was held at Floyd Little Athletic Center.

North Haven’s 55-meter shuttle hurdle team of senior Giselle Zumerchik and junior Elizabeth DeVaux took third place by posting a total time of 20.28 seconds. Junior Courtney McFarland came in third place for the shot put with a throw of 31 feet-7 inches. In the high jump, senior Katie Rogers cleared 4 feet-6 inches to finish in sixth place. Senior Camille Sahirul took sixth place (15-3) in the long jump, while Zumerchik finished seventh (15-2) in the event for the Indians.

Then on Jan. 5, North Haven competed at the Elm City Coaches Invitational at Floyd Little Athletic Center. Zumerchik took 12th place in the long jump (15-8), while Sahirul finished in 14th place (15-4.5). McFarland finished 14th for the shot put with a toss of 30 feet-11 inches.

Senior Leah Zeisner and the Indians defeated Bristol Central in the semifinals of the Fred Kelly Holiday Tournament, before taking an overtime loss against Coginchaug in the championship game on Dec. 28. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier

Senior Will McCleery swam a season-best time of 52.95 seconds in the 100 freestyle when North Haven competed against Cheshire last week. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier

Senior Robert Farley claimed fourth place in the 55-meter hurdles for the Indians at the Elm City Coaches Invitational on Jan. 5. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier