The East Haven-Old Lyme-Old Saybrook-East Hampton (EH-OL-OS-EH) boys’ ice hockey team defeated Milford and Newtown on its home ice at DiLungo Rink last week to improve to 6-3-1 this season. Head Coach Lou Pane believes the first-year co-op is off to a wonderful start after the Yellowjackets lost several key competitors from last season’s squad.

“It’s really gratifying at this point of the season to sit here at 6-3-1. We lost so many kids through graduation and three underclassmen that were great players for us,” Pane said. “When you lose a lot of kids like that, they are difficult to replace, but we had a core of guys we felt could get us along. Some of the guys stepped up and did a great job. Every day, we’re building great chemistry.”

Having only 13 players from East Haven at the start of the year, the Yellowjackets joined forces with a few other schools in order to round out their roster, adding Charlie Carlo of Old Saybrook, as well as Old Lyme residents Matt Henderson, Alec Speirs, and Jean-Luc Bolduc. Coach Pane said that it’s been a pleasure coaching the new players and feels that “they’ve stepped right in and really been contributing very nicely.”

EH-OL-OS-EH started out the season with two losses and a tie, but has roared back by winning six of its last seven contests. The recent victories are a product of hard work from the team’s athletes, according to Coach Pane.

“To see them come along, it’s really rewarding, because our whole team combined has been working really hard to achieve what it has,” Pane said. “We’re still learning as a team, but I admire the hard work the guys put in every day at practice. The teams we’ve been playing are difficult, so we have some good, quality wins, and it’s all reflective of the work the guys are putting in.”

Last week, East Haven took the ice against Milford on Jan. 24 and came away with a 4-0 shutout win. Senior captain CJ Teto opened the scoring by netting an unassisted goal early in the first period, after which Speirs scored the second goal of the game on assists from Dave Amatruda and Teto. In the second period, Henderson scored unassisted, and then Joe Consiglio scored on an assist from senior captain Zach Paquin. The game marked Consiglio’s season debut after returning from an injury.

Coach Pane said the Yellowjackets turned in a exceptional defensive effort as senior captain goalie Matt Twarowski only needed to turn aside 16 shots to record the shutout.

“I thought it was a good team defense. Our defensemen played great, and we had a good fore-check and back-check. We had great zone coverage that night, so we didn’t allow many shots, and Matt didn’t allow any rebounds,” Pane said. “That’s what you have to do. I tell the boys we have to worry about our own end first in the defensive zone and then the offensive flow will come. We did a good job of that.”

East Haven faced Newtown on Jan. 27 and won by a 9-3 score. It was the best offensive performance of the year for the Yellowjackets, who saw Paquin and alternate captain Henderson both record five points with Paquin netting a hat trick.

“We’ve been working the last few days on a few cycle plays down low, bringing it to the point when needed, and working behind the net. Some of those things came to fruition during the game,” Coach Pane said. “It’s nice to see an offensive outbreak. We really connected. We were working on our power play and went 2-for-2, so it was a good outing all around. It’s nice to see the guys get rewarded and see it come through in a game.”

The game was tied 2-2 through the first period as Paquin opened the scoring on assists from Consiglio and Henderson, and then Consiglio found the back of the net on a pass from Henderson. East Haven broke it open in the second by scoring four unanswered goals. Chris Giglietti and Henderson assisted Paquin’s second goal of the game, and Teto assisted a goal by Speirs. Paquin finished the hat trick by scoring on an assist from Henderson, after which Jonathan Moscato scored on an assist from Mani Finoia. The Yellowjackets added three more goals in the third. Paquin assisted goals by Mike Astorino and Henderson, and Speirs netted his second goal of the game on assists from Teto and Giglietti. Twarowksi made 22 saves in goal to earn the victory.

“We’ve had a lot of players that came through the East Haven ice hockey program. Not too many had five points in a game,” said Pane of Paquin and Henderson’s performance in the victory.

Even with his team sitting in a nice spot, Coach Pane knows that the Yellowjackets can’t look past any opponent. He said his players are making sure that they’re prepared for each and every game.

“We still take it one game at a time. We don’t look too far ahead,” Pane said. “We’re not going to look beyond our next game. Our first goal to accomplish would be qualifying for the [State Tournament], and we’ll take it from there.”