Printer Friendly Version - Branford Boys’ Hockey Makes States; Track Teams Compete at Big Meets

Junior Daniel Farricielli scored a goal to help the Branford boys’ ice hockey team earn a 6-1 win over Watertown-Pomperaug last week. The defending champion Hornets qualified for the Division II State Tournament with the victory. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound

The Branford boys’ ice hockey squad picked up some points by earning a tie versus North Haven and then notching a win against Watertown-Pomperaug (W-P) in last week’s action. With these results, Branford moved to 8-1-1 on the year and also qualified for the Division II State Tournament.

On Jan. 15, Branford battled North Haven to a 2-2 draw in a road game at Northford Ice Pavilion. Three days later, the Hornets qualified for states skated to a 6-1 victory versus W-P at the Taft School Athletic Center. Senior Jack Manware had a goal with three assists to lead Branford to the win.

Following a scoreless first period, senior Spencer Engstrom gave Branford a 1-0 lead over W-P when he scored from senior Max Manware and Jack Manware early in the second period. W-P scored a goal to tie the game, but the Hornets came back with a pair of goals before the period ended to take a 3-1 lead into the third. First, Jack Manware scored from sophomore Wes Raymond put Branford up 2-1. Later in the frame, junior Billy Linder scored on assists by Jack Manware and senior Zach Jones for a 3-1 advantage.

The Hornets tacked on three more goals during the third period. Junior Dan Farricelli scored from Jones and freshman Sean Bosworth, Jones netted a goal on helpers from Jack Manware and junior Sawyer Moriarty, and then freshman Mike Farricelli scored from Moriarty and Linder to put a bow on the 6-1 victory.

The Branford-North Branford-East Haven (B-NB-EH) girls’ ice hockey team took two defeats while playing a pair of road games last week. The Wings now have a record of 2-8-1 on the year.

The Wings started off last week by taking a 6-3 defeat to Hamden-Wilbur Cross-Lyman Hall at Lou Astorino Ice Arena on Jan. 15. The next day, B-NB-EH dropped a 6-2 decision against West Haven-Sacred Heart Academy at Bennett Rink.

The Hornets stand at 5-5 on the season after winning one of their last three games. Branford lost to Amity and then took defeats against Wilcox Tech and East Haven later in the week.

Branford started off last week by losing a 53-39 contest at Amity on Jan. 13. Two days later, the Hornets hosted Wilcox Tech for a non-conference game and prevailed by the score of 42-32. On Jan. 17, Branford took a 51-47 overtime loss versus East Haven in a home game.

The Hornets took a 52-27 home loss to Hillhouse on Jan. 13. Then on Jan. 17, Branford dropped a 50-34 decision versus Shelton on the road.

Branford saw several people compete at an SCC Developmental meet that was held at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Jan. 14.

Senior Andrew Wirtz took sixth place in the pole vault by clearing a height of 10 feet for the Hornets at the SCC Developmental. Junior Mekhi Barnette finished sixth for the high jump with a height of 5 feet-8 inches. Wirtz and Barnette also teamed up with junior Julio Tozetto and senior Nolan Scott to take third place in the 1,600 sprint medley relay with a time of 3:54.12.

Junior Noah Brown qualified for the Class M State Championship in the long jump by recording a personal-record distance of 19 feet-6 inches at the meet. Brown also ran a nice race in the 300, finishing with a time of 40.74 seconds. Senior Enrique Hachac timed in with a mark of 41.07 in the 300.

A few days before the SCC Developmental, Branford sent a handful of athletes to the Yale Track Classic at Coxe Cage on Jan. 10. The Hornets’ 4x400 relay of sophomore Cam Meli, Wirtz, Scott, and Tozetto came in fourth place with a time of 3:48.42.

The Hornets were represented by several athletes at the SCC Coaches Invitational that took place at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Jan. 18.

Sophomores Julia Duffy and Bella Finta had breakthrough meets for Branford. Duffy qualified for the Class M State Championship in the 600 by running a time of 1:47.71 and also teamed up with junior Noor Issa, sophomore Katie Laska, and senior Rose Lockery to post a state-qualifying time of 4:50.07 in the 1,600 sprint medley relay. Finta joined forces with junior Steph Toste, senior Juli Dillon, and senior Maya Kyriakides to record a time of 11:33.06 and then came back to finish with a mark of 5:56.43 in the 1,600.

Issa ran a solid race in the 300 for Branford, clocking in with a time of 48.12. Lockery finished with a 49.05 for the 300.

The Hornets’ 4x400 relay finished in fourth place at the Yale Track Classic. Pictured in the Yale Bowl are Cam Meli, Andrew Wirtz, Nolan Scott, and Julio Tozetto. Photo courtesy of Rich Biondi