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02/20/2022 11:00 PMThe North Haven boys’ ice hockey team increased its win streak to 14-straight games after claiming victory in all three matchups on last week’s schedule. With his squad sporting an overall record of 16-2 heading into the home stretch of the regular season, Head Coach Chris Avena said the key for the Nighthawks has been their depth, intensity, and everyone’s willingness to play for one another as a collective unit.
“The kids are working hard. We have a very tight-knit locker room. The kids are genuinely playing for each other and not just with each other. That has carried us through some tough games,” Coach Avena said. “When we’re on offensively, we have been really on. We’re pretty stingy defensively. That combination has helped us rattle off these wins in a row, something none of us saw coming.”
The Nighthawks notched wins against Immaculate, Hand and East Haven last week, playing all three games at Northford Ice Pavilion. North Haven posted a 6-1 win over Immaculate on Feb. 14, claimed a 4-1 victory against Hand three days later, and then defeated the East Haven co-op squad by a 5-2 final on Feb. 19.
In the game versus Immaculate, junior Will Sullivan got the Nighthawks started by scoring a goal at the 12:34 mark of the first period with assists going to fellow juniors Tommy Guidone and Joey Taft for a 1-0 lead. In the second period, senior captain Jake Hines extended North Haven’s lead to 2-0 at the 4:11 mark with junior Owen Quick picking up the assist. Junior Alex Petersen made it 3-0 with assists going to Hines and sophomore Ben Gilbert.
In the third period, North Haven busted the game open when senior Ayden Mindlin scored from Hines to make it 4-0 at the 2:59 mark. Gilbert made it 5-0 by scoring from Hines and Petersen just 32 seconds later. Hines then recorded his fifth point of the night by scoring on a Petersen helper for a 6-0 advantage at the 4:40 mark.
Immaculate scored its lone goal of the game later in the third period as North Haven went on to get the 6-1 victory. Senior Jared Anderson notched the win in net for the Nighthawks.
North Haven and Hand were scoreless after the first period of their Feb. 17 contest. Quick got the Nighthawks on the board by scoring a goal with 14:32 left in the second period, but the Tigers tied game with a goal early in the third. However, North Haven came back to net the last three goals of the contest, including scores from Hines and Mindlin, to walk off the ice with the 4-1 victory.
In its last game of the week, North Haven put up the first four goals to take control against the East Haven co-op. Hines scored the first goal from Quick at the 2:41 mark of the first period. Later in the frame, Petersen lit the lamp on assists by Hines and Taft.
Hines found the back of the net again to begin the second period, scoring on assists from Guidone and Sullivan. Petersen scored his second goal of the game on an assist by Hines at the 8:26 mark of the second to make it 4-0.
East Haven scored the next two goals, but Hines netted his third score of the night for a hat trick on assists from Guidone and junior goalie Bryce Petersen at the 5:02 mark of the final frame to help the Nighthawks get the 5-2 triumph.
Coach Avena described Hines as the Nighthawks’ motor on offense. The senior captain has recorded 11 points in the past five games, posted five points in back-to-back games, and has three shorthanded goals in North Haven’s last three contests. Avena said that Hines has turned on another gear and is helping to carry the squad’s offense on his back.
While the offense continues to roll, Coach Avena believes that North Haven’s defensive philosophy is what will lead the team in the postseason. Along with the solid efforts of Anderson and Bryce Petersen in net, Avena said that the defenders in front of them are doing an excellent job of eliminating second chances.
“We lock it down in our zone to the best of our ability. We try to keep kids to the outside,” said Avena. “There have been no second-chance opportunities, because the guys in front of goal have been playing well. Our goalies have played great. We’re just really stingy on what we give up. That’s going to be our formula for success.”
Coach Avena said that North Haven’s depth has made it difficult for opposing teams to match up with the Nighthawks all season. Avena feels that North Haven has two No. 1 forward lines and a strong No. 2 line that’s produced five goals over the past three games. Coupled with strong defense and goalkeeping, the Nighthawks are capable of getting big games from multiple players on any given night.
However, even with all of the talent on the ice, much of North Haven’s success stems from the team’s mentality. Coach Avena said that the Nighthawks’ senior class, which includes captain Hines and Mike Anquillare, assistant captain Brian Jooss, along with Anderson, Mindlin, Nick Tondalo and Justin Pniewski, have completely turned the program around and put the Nighthawks in a position to succeed.
“Their work ethic, their mentality, what they bring to the table—they’re all playing great,” Avena said. “It’s all coming together nicely.”
North Haven has two more games left in the regular season before the team competes in its conference and state tournaments. Avena said the Nighthawks will be looking to raise the bar by challenging both themselves and their opponents as they aim to take their long winning streak into the playoffs.
“We’re trying to find little things we can keep doing better. We’re trying to keep the intensity up in practice. We’re not resting on what we’ve done. We’re focusing on what we can do,” said Avena. “We’re pulling out as many stops as we can. We’re doing different drills in practice to keep up. And then we’re going to change some things to keep us fresh and have those who have watched us all season guessing on how to stop us.”