This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
03/15/2021 12:00 AMBoys’ Ice Hockey
The Guilford boys’ hockey team picked up its first two wins of the year last week. The Grizzlies also took a few defeats on the week and have an overall record of 2-5 this season.
Guilford took a 9-1 loss to Sheehan at Northford Ice Pavilion on March 7. Three days later, Guilford faced Cheshire for a road game and took an 8-4 defeat at Lou Astorino Ice Arena. Seniors Steven Tortora and Thomas Ring, junior Michael Torre, and sophomore Will Petrick scored the goals for the Grizzlies in the game. Junior goalie Gavyn Litvyn made 22 saves.
On March 12, Guilford claimed an 11-3 win over Branford in a home game at Bennett Rink. Sophomore Leo Hergan scored three goals in the victory. Senior Kent Mackowiak had two goals with an assist, and Tortora also scored a pair of goals. Torre, Ring, and sophomore Gabe Mongelli each had one goal with one assist. Senior Zach Sperry added a goal, while Petrick, junior Tom Ziemba, and sophomores Sam Mackowiak, Logan Bertrand, and Shane Considine contributed one assist apiece. Litvyn made 15 saves to get the win in net.
Then on March 13, Guilford faced North Branford at Northford Ice Pavilion and won the contest by an 8-3 score. Ring had two goals and three assists, Torre scored a goal to go with three assists, Tortora dished out two assists, and Sperry had a goal and an assist. Hergan, Petrick, Ziemba, and sophomore Mitchell Ward each had an assist for the Grizzlies, who saw Litvyn stop 18 shots in goal.
The following day, the Grizzlies took a 4-0 loss against Lyman Hall at Northford Ice Pavilion. Litvyn made 23 saves in the game.
Girls’ Ice Hockey
The Guilford girls’ ice hockey squad saw all three games on its schedule get canceled last week, because the teams that the Grizzlies were scheduled to face had to go into quarantine due to potential exposure to COVID-19.
Guilford’s scheduled March 9 game against West Haven- Sacred Heart Academy was canceled, as were its two contests against Amity-North Haven-Cheshire that were slated to be played on March 13 and 14.
The Grizzlies will play their last two games of the regular season this week, after which they are scheduled to compete in the SCC Tournament that begins on Saturday, March 20. Guilford has a record of 5-1 on the year.
Gymnastics
Ella Esposito competed on behalf of Guilford gymnastics when the Hand gymnastics team faced Law for a meet on March 12. Representing the Grizzlies as a team-of-one, Esposito, a sophomore, finished in third place for the bars event by posting a score of 8.4 at ABC Gymnastics in Niantic. Hand took a 135.7-131.85 loss to Law in the meet to move to 2-1 on the year.
Girls’ Basketball
The Guilford girls’ basketball team took a pair of defeats last week to move to 0-11 on the season. The Grizzlies lost to Wilbur Cross and then took a close defeat against Hamden in recent action. Guilford played Hand in its regular-season finale on March 15 (after press time) and will then compete in the SCC Tournament that began on March 17 (after press time).
In its first game of the week, Guilford took a 66-30 road loss against Wilbur Cross on March 9. Senior Moira Kellaher scored 14 points for the Grizzlies in the game. Sophomore Ava Lepro had seven points, and junior Faith O’Donnell scored five points.
Then on March 12, Guilford played a road game versus Hamden and lost the contest by a 40-35 score. Guilford was up 14-11 after the first quarter and held a 23-17 lead at halftime. However, Hamden came back by outscoring the Grizzlies in both the third (9-2) and fourth quarters (14-10) to get the five-point victory.
Junior Miabella Diaz scored 14 points to lead the Grizzles. Lepro scored nine points, Kellaher had seven points, and sophomore Hailey Hutchison had six points for Guilford.
Boys’ Swimming and Diving
The Greater New Haven (GNH) Warriors boys’ swimming and diving team split a pair of virtual meets last week. The Warriors moved to 7-2 on the year after posting a win over Amity and taking a loss versus Xavier.
GNH began its week by earning an 89-86 win over Amity on March 9. Three days later, the Warriors were back at Walter Gawrych Community Pool to turn in their performances for their virtual meet against Xavier. GNH lost a 92-78 decision to the Falcons in the meet.
The Warriors saw several athletes deliver lifetime-best performances between their two meets last week. Guilford freshman Alex Hansen swam lifetime-best times in both the 500 freestyle (5:31.99) and the 100 breaststroke (1:19.13). Guilford freshman Carter Bryan did a lifetime best of 1:03.99 in the 100 freestyle, while North Haven freshman Victor Zito finished with a lifetime best of 2:05.24 for the 200 freestyle.
North Haven sophomore Christian Butler broke his own school record for the diving competition by scoring a lifetime-best total of 281.55 points for GNH. Butler had previously set the school record with a score of 264.22 during the previous week. North Haven senior Tanner Powell recorded a lifetime-best total of 149.40 points in the diving competition for the Warriors last week.
Several swimmers also recorded season-best times for the Warriors last week. Among the athletes who swam season-best times were Guilford senior Dan Kamen in the 200 freestyle (1:55.37) and the 500 freestyle (5:13.68), Guilford senior Alan Penna in the 50 free (28.29) and the 100 free (1:02.17), Guilford junior Finn Henry in the 100 free (48.46), Guilford senior David Zhang in the 100 backstroke (59.06), Guilford sophomore Aiden Cohen in the 50 free (23.17) and 200 free (1:58.00), Guilford freshman Will Cong in the 100 freestyle (54.69) and the 100 breaststroke (1:15.38), and Guilford freshman Sam Mayo in the 100 breaststroke (1:20.76).
North Haven senior Cam Cargan swam season-bests in the 50 free (23.24) and the 100 free (51.23) for GNH. East Haven junior Hethon Foster posted season-best times in the 50 free (22.57), the 100 butterfly (53.73), and the 100 breaststroke (1:07.87). Also swimming season-best times were North Branford senior Connor Coyne in the 200 individual medley (2:05.81), North Branford sophomore Spencer Carroll in the 100 butterfly (1:01.57) and the 100 breaststroke (1:08.96), and North Branford sophomore Patrick Cucchiarelli in the 100 butterfly (1:04.59) and the 100 backstroke (1:03.88).
GNH competed against Cheshire for its regular-season finale on March 16 (after press time). After that, the Warriors’ swimmers will participate in the SCC Virtual Championship by competing in their events at Walter Gawrych Community Pool at 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 18. GNH’s divers will then compete in the SCC Diving Championship at Sheehan High School on Saturday, March 20 at 10 a.m.