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02/16/2019 11:00 PMGirls’ Ice Hockey
The Amity-North Haven-Cheshire (A-NH-C) girls’ ice hockey team completed its regular season by earning a tie versus Hamden and a win against Northwest Catholic-Mercy to finish with a record of 9-10-1. The Blades won nine of 13 after starting the campaign with seven straight defeats. The team is competing in the SCC South Division Tournament this week.
On Feb. 13, A-NH-C hosted Hamden and battled the Green Dragons to a 3-3 draw at Lou Astorino Ice Arena. Junior Haley Cable scored a goal on assists from senior captains Andrea DelVecchio and Shannon Reilly to give the Blades a 1-0 lead. After Hamden tied it, Cable scored from sophomore Carolina Cadelina to make it 2-0. Hamden came back with two goals to knot the score at 2-2 after the first period. Hamden scored a goal to take a 3-2 lead in the second, but senior captain Meaghan Hogan tied the game for the Blades by netting an unassisted goal later in the period. The game stayed tied through the rest of regulation and overtime, resulting in the 3-3 stalemate. The Blades outshot Hamden 33-13 in the game.
Three nights later, A-NH-C claimed a 12-6 home victory over Northwest Catholic-Mercy in its regular season finale. The Blades trailed 3-1 after the first period, but broke loose for nine goals during the second to run away with the win. Reilly had a huge game by netting five goals, including three during the decisive second period. Katie St. Peter scored a goal, while fellow North Haven senior Caitlin Ranciato made 24 saves in net. Junior Tess Csejka had two goals and four assists, DelVecchio scored two goals with an assist, and Cadelina had a goal with two assists. Hogan scored a goal, while Haley Cable and junior Sara Cable added one assist apiece.
The Blades are the No. 3 seed in the SCC South Division Tournament and hosted No. 6 seed Guilford for a first round game at Lou Astorino Ice Arena on Feb. 18 (after press time). With a win, A-NH-C would play at No. 2 seed Hamden in a semifinal game at that same site on Feb. 20 (after press time). The final takes place at Bennett Rink in West Haven on Friday, Feb. 22 at 7:15 p.m.
Boys’ Ice Hockey
The Indians earned a win against New Fairfield-Immaculate and then took a loss to Branford last week. North Haven has a record of 3-12-2 with three games to go in the season.
North Haven faced off against New Fairfield-Immaculate at Ingalls Rink in New Haven on Feb. 14 and prevailed by a 2-0 final. Sophomore Eli Brubacher scored both goals for the Indians in the victory. Brubacher netted the first goal of the game on assists from senior Simon Brubacher and sophomore William Fiore to give North Haven a 1-0 lead in the first period. In the second period, Brubacher scored from junior Donny Funaro and senior goalie Dan Godlewski to make it a 2-0 game. Godlewski came up with 27 saves in net to get the shutout for North Haven.
Then on Feb. 16, the Indians took a 3-1 loss versus Branford in an SCC/SWC Division II matchup at Northford Ice Pavilion.
Boys’ Indoor Track
North Haven was represented by a few athletes at the State Open Championship that took place at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Feb. 16.
Junior Kyle Maruca delivered the best showing for the Indians by finishing 12th in the shot put with a toss of 47 feet-10.25 inches. Maruca had previously finished second in the shot put at the SCC West Sectional Championship (43-10.25), then came in first place at the SCC Championship (48-1), followed by a fifth-place finish in the Class L State Championship (47-4.5).
Also at the Open, junior Robert Farley finished 17th for the preliminaries of the 55-meter hurdles by clocking in with a time of 8.44 seconds. Previously in the postseason, Farley won the 55 hurdles at sectionals (8.05), took third in SCCs (8.10), and finished second at states (8.06).
Additionally, senior Eric Spignesi qualified to compete in the pole vault at the State Open. Spignesi advanced to the Open by clearing 12 feet in a fourth-place finish at the Class L meet, matching the same height from his first-place performance at the West Sectional Championship and his second-place showing at the SCC Championship.
Girls’ Indoor Track
Erica Marriott competed in the long jump for the Indians at last week’s State Open Championship.
Marriott recorded a leap of 16 feet-2.5 inches to finish in 13th place in the long jump at the State Open. Earlier in the postseason, Marriott won the long jump at the SCC West Sectional Championship with a distance of 17-10.75, placed second in the SCC Championship by reaching 17-6, and then finished first at the Class L State Championship by recording a jump of 16-4.
Girls’ Basketball
The Indians hosted Foran for their regular-season finale on Senior Night and took a 50-34 defeat versus the Lions on Feb. 11. North Haven finished the regular season with an overall record of 7-13 and has qualified for the Class L State Tournament. The Indians will open the bracket by playing a first-round game on Monday, Feb. 25.
In the game against Foran, North Haven fell behind 15-10 after the first quarter and was down 23-18 at halftime. Foran outscored the Indians in the third (16-11) and fourth (11-5) quarters to seal the victory. Sophomore Sarah Puzone scored nine points for North Haven, while junior Laura Petrafesa had eight points. Sophomore Carly Fresher added five points for the Indians.
Boys’ Basketball
North Haven took two defeats last week to move to 5-14 with one game remaining in the season. The Indians lost a road game versus Cross and took a home loss against Fairfield Prep in last week’s matchups.
On Feb. 13, North Haven lost to Cross by a 70-30 final in an SCC Housatonic Division contest. Senior RJ Hager scored nine points, while senior Jamorea Hooks and junior Jaden Watson each had seven points for the Indians, who finished with a record of 1-7 in the division.
Two nights later, North Haven hosted Fairfield Prep on Senior Night and dropped a 68-49 decision. Fairfield Prep went up 20-11 after the first quarter and held a 39-20 halftime advantage on its way to the victory. Senior RJ Hager scored 13 points for North Haven, while fellow senior Mike Collins and junior Dave Christoforo both scored 10 points. Hooks added seven points for the Indians.
Boys’ Swimming and Diving
North Haven finished its regular season by competing against Sheehan in an SCC Division II matchup at Sheehan High School on Feb. 14. The Indians took a 97-88 defeat versus the Titans to finish the regular season with an overall record of 4-6 to go with a mark of 4-2 in SCC Division II action.
Sophomore Marco Criscola swam lifetime-best times in both the 200 individual medley (2:35.51) and the 100 breaststroke (1:22.10) at the meet. Fellow sophomore Ahmed Anwar turned in lifetime-best performances for both the 100 freestyle (1:30.55) and the 100 breaststroke (1:40.41). Also swimming lifetime-best marks for the Indians were sophomore Ray Lewis in the 100 butterfly (1:39.80), sophomore Cameron Cargan in the 100 freestyle (51.70), freshman Kyle Borrelli in the 500 freestyle (6:29.52), and senior Thomas O’Connor in the 100 backstroke (1:12.69).
On Friday, Feb. 22, North Haven is holding its annual Lion Heart Lap-a-Thon fundraiser in support of breast cancer research in conjunction with the swimming and diving teams from Amity, Hamden, and Lyman Hall-Coginchaug. The event, which is being held at Gawrych Town Pool from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m., will feature an hour of continuous sprint relays and exhibition diving. The proceeds from the fundraiser will go to the Lion Heart Foundation. To make a donation, visit lionheart.everydayhero.do.