The Guilford Grizzlies boys’ ice hockey team began their season on Dec. 1, with their first game on Dec. 17 against the West Haven co-op team. The Grizzlies won the game by a final score of 8-3.

Guilford is coached by Ralph Russo, who is in his 22nd season at the helm. He is assisted by Bill Graves, who was voted Connecticut High School Assistant Coach of the Year in 2018 by the Connecticut High School Coaches Association.

The Grizzlies ice hockey team consists of 21 players, with captains Shane Considine (senior, defenseman), assistant captain Leo Hergan (senior, forward), and assistant captain Will Petrick (senior, forward). The team competes in the Division II Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC)/Southern Western Conference (SWC).

Coach Russo is very confident in the three captains and shared the different leadership styles of each of them.

“Shane is a smart, tireless, and eager competitor,” said Coach Russo. “Leo is smart, agile, and a nice communicator. Will is smart, strong, and fiery.”

All three captains are also members of other sports teams at Guilford High School. Shane and Leo are members of the golf team, and Will is a member of the lacrosse team. According to Russo, Will is the youngest of three brothers. Steven (2011) and Jack (2016) also played on the Grizzlies ice hockey team.

The Grizzlies have been successful this season so far, with a record of 8-1. There are several athletes, including Sean McSweet (senior, goalie), Sean Melvin (senior, defenseman), Ryan McMahon (senior, defenseman/forward), Mitchell Ward (senior, defenseman), and Considine, who have all been major contributions to that record, on the defensive side of the ice.

“Defensively, Sean has been very steady in goal. Sean Melvin, Mitchell, Ryan, and Shane have been really good at the defensive position,” said Coach Russo.

On the offensive side, notable players include seven forwards: Logan Bertrand (senior, forward), Petrick, Leo Hergan (senior, forward), Gabe Mongelli (senior, forward), Brady Raffone (junior, forward), Jacob Corso (junior, forward), and Nate Ponzio (sophomore, forward).

“Our top seven forwards have also been very productive. Logan Bertrand has had a great start to the season. He is making plays and scoring with his teammates,” said Coach Russo. “He has two hat tricks in eight games and has scored at least a point each game. His linemates and the other forwards also have multiple points.”

The Grizzlies were able to stay undefeated until they took their first loss of the season against the Wethersfield Eagles on Jan. 9, with a final score of 10-3. Coach Russo discussed not only how his team started off with a successful start to their season but also the importance of staying focused.

“We have had a great start, going 7-0 before hitting a speed bump in Wethersfield last week. Like all teams, we have a lot to work on still. Hopefully, we can stay healthy and keep working hard,” said Coach Russo. “It’s a very athletic group, and it’s really fun to see them play when they are playing hard and also playing together. When this group is focused, they are really hard to beat.”

During the last two years, the Grizzlies had to play at the Walker Rink in New Haven. Their home rink, the Veterans Memorial DiLungo Rink in East Haven, was being renovated. Russo is looking forward to continuing to play on Guilford’s home rink this season.

“The last two seasons have been extremely out of the ordinary, as we have dealt with pandemic restrictions and having no home rink,” said Coach Russo. “Guilford has played all 40-plus years of its program’s history, except the last two, at the East Haven Rink. The town did a nice job with the renovation, and it has been great to have a rink to call home again.”

Several rival teams that the Grizzlies have defeated thus far in the season include North Branford, Lyman Hall, Hand, and Amity. Russo talked about the rivalries throughout the season, as well as competitive games in the SCC.

“SCC games are very competitive, and all the local teams look forward to competing,” said Coach Russo. “Ten of our 20 regular season games are league games against local opponents, such as East Haven, Branford, Hand, North Haven, Amity, Lyman Hall, Sheehan, Cheshire, and North Branford, to name a few.”

On Jan. 14, the Grizzlies played against the Amity Regional Spartans, winning by a score of 6-3.

Last season, the Grizzlies finished with a record of 8-10, as well as qualified for the state championship tournament. In states, they lost in the first round to Lyman Hall (10-4).

Although the Grizzlies are 8-1 so far this season, Russo recognized and acknowledged the challenges the team has had to face.

“The most challenging thing this year, and in most seasons, is to have your team find a sustainable and effective high level of play that is consistent,” said Coach Russo. “Our goal is always the same: Find things to get better at and work at them so that we can be playing our best possible hockey by season’s end.”

More notable players that are also returners from last year include Michael Torre (forward) and Gavyn Litvyn (goalie), both of whom made the All-SCC Second Team a season ago. Considine was selected to play in the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Juniors All-Star Game.

The Grizzlies team includes Considine, Mongelli, MacMahon, Betrand, Ward, Hergan, Sam Mackowiak (senior, forward), William Patrick (senior, forward), Sami AbuGhazaleh (senior, forward), Sean Melvin, Sean McSweet, Jacob Corso (junior, forward), Brady Raffone (junior, forward), Nathan Dean (junior, forward), Jack McDonald (sophomore, goalie), Orion Carney (sophomore, defenseman), Nathan Ponzio (forward, sophomore), Charlie Pirri (sophomore, defenseman), Raphael Kattis (sophomore, forward), Julian Accomando (sophomore, forward), Henry Dwyer (sophomore, defenseman), and Matthew Hwang (freshman, defenseman).