This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.

North Haven Skates into State Semis on 20-Game Win Streak

One week after claiming its second-straight conference title, the North Haven boys’ ice hockey squad opened up the Division II State Tournament by winning its first two games in the bracket last week. The Nighthawks notched a 6-1 win over the Eastern CT Eagles and then a posted a 2-1 victory versus Hand to advance to face Sheehan in the Division II semifinals this week. North Haven is now riding a 20-game win streak and owns an overall record of 22-2 for the year.

On March 7, top-seeded North Haven started off states by posting a 6-1 victory against the 16th-seeded Eastern CT Eagles in a first-round game at Northford Ice Pavilion. Junior Will Sullivan got the Nighthawks by scoring a goal at the 6:27 mark of the first period on assists by junior Alex Petersen and senior captain Jake Hines for North Haven a 1-0 lead. Sullivan netted his second goal of the period on an assist from junior Tommy Guidone at the 11:33 mark to make it 2-0 after the first.

Just 37 seconds into the second period, Petersen scored from Hines and sophomore Ben Gilbert to give North Haven a 3-0 lead. Then, 49 seconds later, senior assistant captain Brian Jooss made it 4-0 when he scored a goal from seniors Ayden Mindlin and Mike Anquillare. The Eagles scored their lone goal of the game at the 10:57 mark of the second period, sending the Nighthawks into the third with a 4-1 advantage.

Gilbert scored on an assist from junior Owen Quick just 55 seconds into the final period to extend North Haven’s lead to 5-1. Quick finished off the victory by scoring a goal at the 8:13 mark of the third to put the Nighthawks up 6-1. Senior goalie Jared Anderson picked up the win in net to help North Haven move on to the quarterfinals.

Then on March 11, North Haven went up against No. 8 seed Hand in the quarterfinals of the Division II State Tournament at Bennett Rink in West Haven, the same place where the Nighthawks had defeated Lyman Hall 4-3 in the SCC/SWC Division II final one week prior. Hand was coming off a dramatic 4-3 win versus Westhill-Stamford in the first round of the state draw. The Tigers gave North Haven a great game in the quarterfinal matchup, but ultimately, the Nighthawks won the contest by a 2-1 score to move on to the semifinal round.

North Haven netted the first goal of the night when Guidone scored from Sullivan and senior Nick Tondalo to put the Nighthawks up 1-0 at the 11:36 mark of the opening period. Hand evened the score with a goal at the 3:36 mark of the second period, sending the two teams to the final frame in a 1-1 deadlock.

The game stayed tied well into the third period. Then, with 5:22 remaining in the contest, senior captain Jake Hines scored the game-winning goal on an assist by Petersen, giving North Haven a 2-1 advantage. Led by Anderson in net, the Nighthawks’ defense kept Hand off the board the rest of the way to secure the one-goal victory and send North Haven into the state semifinals.

North Haven played No. 4 seed Sheehan in the Division II semis at Bennett Rink in West Haven on March 15 (after press time). If the Nighthawks won that game, they will take on the winner of No. 2 Lyman Hall and No. 3 Wethersfield in the Division II championship game at People’s United Center at Quinnipiac University on Monday, March 21 at 6:30 p.m. The last time that North Haven played in a state final was in 2004, when the team won the Division II State Tournament with a 3-1 victory versus Hand.