Boys’ Ice Hockey

The North Haven boys’ ice hockey team faced off against a couple of local foes at Northford Ice Pavilion last week. The Nighthawks posted convincing wins over Branford and North Branford to move to improve to 6-2 for the winter campaign.

On Jan. 12, North Haven hosted Branford and defeated the Hornets by the score of 10-4. Branford struck first at 2:48 of the first period, but then sophomore Ben Gilbert scored an unassisted goal at the 10:05 mark to even the game at 1. Junior Will Sullivan put the Nighthawks up for good at 12:32 with an assist going to senior Justin Pniewski. Senior Mike Anquillare made it 3-1 with fellow senior Ayden Mindlin getting the assist at the 13:12 mark.

In the second period, junior Alex Petersen scored unassisted at 1:41 and then again at 2:48 on assists from senior Jake Hines and junior Tommy Guidone to give North Haven a 5-1 lead. Senior Nick Tondalo made it 6-1 with an assist going to junior Owen Quick at 3:29. Kevin Lawlor extended the lead to 7-1 with junior Joey Taft on the assist at 4:26. Petersen completed his hat trick by scoring his third goal of the game with an assist going to Hines at the 9:11 mark. Mindlin closed out the second period with a goal on an assist by Taft as the Nighthawks led 9-1 after two periods.

Branford scored three goals in the third period to make it 9-4, but Guidone finished off the scoring at the 11:52 mark as North Haven cruised to a 10-4 victory. Senior Jared Anderson and sophomore Jack Keaney shared the goaltending duties to help preserve the win.

Then on Jan. 15, the Nighthawks were back at Northford Ice Pavilion to take on North Branford and notched a 6-1 victory. Gilbert got the Nighthawks started at 2:15 of the first period with assists going to Mindlin and Anquillare. Alex Petersen made it 2-0 by scoring from Hines and Pniewski at 4:33 of the second period. North Branford closed the gap to 2-1 at the 7:59 mark, but Quick gave North Haven a 3-1 lead after burying a wrist shot on a Hines helper.

Hines made it 4-1 on assists from Petersen and Pniewski at 3:39 of the third period, after which Quick scored from Hines and Petersen for a 5-1 lead at the 5:56 mark. Hines finished out the scoring at 9:25 with senior Brain Jooss on the assist as North Haven took home a 6-1 victory. Junior Bryce Petersen picked up the win in net for the Nighthawks.

Girls’ Ice Hockey

The Amity-North Haven-Cheshire (A-NH-C) girls’ ice hockey team moved to 2-7 on the season after losing three recent games.

A-NH-C took a 7-2 road loss to West Haven-Sacred Heart Academy at Bennett Rink on Jan. 10. Three days later, the Blades hosted New Canaan and took an 8-0 loss at Lou Astorino Ice Arena. Then on Jan. 16, A-NH-C played a road game against the Masuk Co-op and dropped a 5-1 decision at the Sports Center of Connecticut.

Girls’ Basketball

The North Haven girls’ basketball team took three defeats last week to move to 3-5 on the season. The Nighthawks took losses against East Haven, Guilford, and Foran in recent action.

On Jan. 10, North Haven dropped a 36-34 decision to East Haven in a road game. Two days later, North Haven hosted Guilford and lost the contest by the score of 48-38. The Nighthawks were only down 36-32 heading into the fourth quarter, but Guilford outscored North Haven 12-6 in the final frame and went on to get the victory.

Junior Livi Johnson scored 22 points for North Haven in the game. Sophomore Damaria Williams-Davis scored 6 points, and fellow sophomore Ava Papa had 5 points for the Nighthawks.

Then on Jan. 14, North Haven played a home game versus Foran and took a 52-46 defeat to the Lions. The Nighthawks trailed 27-17 at halftime, but then outscored Foran 12-9 in the third quarter to make it 36-29 heading into the fourth. The Lions were able to hold off North Haven’s comeback effort in the final period and win the game.

Johnson scored 18 points for the Nighthawks. Sophomore Erika Fronte had 11 points, freshman Brooke LaPierre scored 6 points, and Williams-Davis had 5 points.

Boys’ Indoor Track

The North Haven boys’ indoor track team saw two athletes take first place when the Nighthawks competed in the SCC Novice Meet at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Jan. 11. Sophomore Nico Boyle won the 3,200 for North Haven, while fellow sophomore Jake McCreven claimed first place in the 55 hurdles.

Boyle ran a time of 10:58.10 on his way to taking first place in the 3,200 at the SCC Novice Meet. In the 55 hurdles, McCreven crossed the finish line with a time of 9.02 to earn top honors for North Haven. Junior Matt Crispi finished third in the 55 hurdles at 9.66.

North Haven’s 4x800 relay of sophomore Anthem Signor, sophomore Jack Green, freshman Matthew DeNardis, and Boyle finished in second place (10:30.93) at the meet. The 4x200 relay of freshman Russell Collins, freshman Jack Notaro, sophomore Liam Millman, and sophomore Daniel Malone finished in fourth place (1:50.53); and the 4x400 relay featuring Collins, Notaro, Millman, and Malone also came in fourth place (4:17.54).

Senior Elijah Alicea finished in eighth place (33-0) for the shot put, and fellow senior Rolanyander Pizzaro took ninth place (31-8.5) in the shot put. Notaro took 10th place in the long jump (16-9) for the Nighthawks.

Girls’ Indoor Track

The North Haven girls’ indoor track team sent several athletes to participate in the SCC Novice Meet at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Jan. 11.

North Haven’s 1,600 sprint medley relay team of junior Aisling Pretty, sophomore Paloma Garcia, freshman Amalia Morizio, and freshman Grace DeNardis finished in third place (5:37.26) at the meet. The 4x400 relay featuring Pretty, sophomore Anna Mortali, DeNardis, and Morizio also came in third place (5:10.37) for the Nighthawks.

North Haven’s 4x200 relay of sophomore Jade Lewis, Pretty, Mortali, and junior Carina Esposito finished in seventh place (2:10.20). Senior Erin Knapp took 10th place in shot put (23-10) for North Haven.

Boys’ Swimming and Diving

The Greater New Haven (GNH) boys’ swimming and diving team continued its strong start to the season by notching two more victories last week. The Warriors claimed home wins over West Haven and Lyman Hall-Coginchaug to improve their record to 4-0 on the campaign.

On Jan. 11, GNH hosted West Haven and claimed a 93-72 victory at Walter Gawrych Community Pool. North Haven junior Christian Butler earned top honors in the 1-meter diving (278.30) for the Warriors in the victory. East Haven freshman Aeden Conners finished first in the 200 freestyle (2:06.21) and the 500 freestyle (5:29.26). East Haven senior Hethon Foster took first place in the 100 butterfly (53.90), while East Haven junior Brendan Conners finished first in the 100 freestyle (50.64).

Guilford senior Finn Henry won the 200 individual medley (2:05.24), and Guilford sophomore William Cong placed first in the 50 freestyle (24.37). GNH’s 200 medley relay of Henry, Cong, Guilford sophomore Alex Hansen, and Guilford junior Joey Gould also finished in first place (1:52.71).

Then on Jan. 13, GNH went up against Lyman Hall-Coginchaug for another home meet and triumphed by the score of 98-80. Butler earned another first-place finish in the diving (245.45) for the Warriors. The 200 freestyle relay of Brendan Conners, East Haven senior Pavlo Melnyk, North Haven freshman Kyle Januszewski, and Guilford junior Lucas Espinosa took first place (1:39.87) for GNH.

Henry finished first in the 200 freestyle (1:50.38) and the 500 freestyle (4:55.61). Brendan Conners won the 200 IM (2:01.72), Foster finished first in the 50 freestyle (23.06), and Hansen placed first in the 100 butterfly (57.14).