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02/22/2020 11:00 PMBoys’ Ice Hockey
The Branford boys’ ice hockey squad notched a pair of recent home wins over divisional foes to raise its record to 15-2-1 entering the last week of the regular season. The Hornets routed Guilford and then earned an overtime victory versus North Haven in recent action.
Branford faced off with Guilford on Feb. 17 and defeated the Indians by a 12-4 score at Northford Ice Pavilion. The Hornets netted six goals in the first period, one in the second period, and five more during the third on their way to the lopsided victory over the Indians.
Senior Jack Manware turned in an unbelievable performance by scoring four goals and dishing out six assists to lead Branford’s offensive onslaught. Junior Dan Farricelli also scored four goals to go with two assists on the night. Senior Chris Donadio, fellow senior Spencer Engstrom, junior Finnegan Thompson, and fellow junior Sawyer Moriarty all had one goal with two assists for the Hornets. Senior Billy Linder added an assist in the victory.
Two nights later, the Hornets claimed a 2-1 overtime win against North Haven in another home game. Branford got on the board quick when senior Blake Kustra scored from Engstrom and Donadio just 1:05 into the game. The Hornets held their 1-0 edge until North Haven tied it by scoring a goal with 4:38 remaining in the second period. Following a scoreless third period, Branford won the game when Linder scored on an assist from Engstrom 6:07 into overtime to give the Hornets the 2-1 victory.
Junior goalie Jared Yakimoff made 34 saves in net to get the win for Branford.
Branford moved to 7-0 in the SCC/SWC Division II standings by defeating North Haven. The Hornets will finish their regular season with a big divisional game against Hand at Northford Ice Pavilion on Saturday, Feb. 29 at 7:30 p.m.
Girls’ Ice Hockey
The Branford-North Branford-East Haven (B-NB-EH) girls’ ice hockey team split a pair road games during the final week of the regular season. The Wings finished with an overall record of 4-14-2 for the campaign.
On Feb. 21, B-NB-EH posted a 6-3 victory against SCC opponent Masuk-Barlow-Newtown-Lauralton Hall-Shelton at the Sports Center of Connecticut. The next day, the Wings took a 4-2 loss to Wilton-Norwalk-McMahon in a non-conference game at Winter Garden Ice Arena.
Boys’ Basketball
Branford came away with a split of its last two regular-season matchups. The Hornets recorded a victory over Guilford and lost to Career to finish with a mark of 7-13 for regular-season play.
The Hornets hosted Guilford on Feb. 18 and claimed a 67-53 win against the Indians in an SCC Quinnipiac Division game. Three nights later, Branford traveled to New Haven to face divisional opponent Career and lost by a 58-40 final to finish with a mark of 2-6 in the Quinnipiac Division this year.
Boys’ Indoor Track
Junior Mekhi Barnette competed in the high jump on behalf of the Hornets at the State Open Championship last week. Barnette finished in 14th place for the high jump at the Open, which took place at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Feb. 22.
Barnette cleared a height of 5 feet-10 inches on his way to taking 14th place in the high jump at the State Open. He had previously finished third in the event at the SCC West Sectional Championship, 10th at the SCC Championship, and fifth in the Class M State Championship for Branford.