After coming off a regular season that saw the North Haven boys’ ice hockey team dominate the field, the Nighthawks had bigger goals in mind: to win that championship medal. With a veteran-laden roster deep with talent, the boys were able to do just that, as they defeated Watertown-Pomperaug by a score of 6-1 to secure the program’s third straight SCC Division II crown on March 3.

Head Coach Chris Avena and the Nighthawks were prepared for a very physical game vs. the Watertown-Pomperaug co-op squad and tried to prepare for whatever would come their way on the ice.

“They play really hard and grind out really well. Their goaltender is decent as well. They took us to overtime in the regular season,” said Avena. “It is certainly going to be a very tough test. They are going to be gunning for it, all excited and amped up; hopefully, we can match their intensity.”

Matching the intensity is exactly what North Haven did, as a variety of different players contributed to the collective efforts that were put forth in the contest.

Tommy Guidone (senior, forward) recorded five assists, Will Sullivan (senior, forward) scored two goals to go along with one assist, and Alex Petersen (senior, forward) had two goals and two assists.

Nolan Cole (junior, forward) had one goal; Owen Quick (senior, defenseman) had one goal and one assist, and Bryce Mastriano (freshman, forward) and Ben Gilbert (junior, forward) each had one assist. Senior goaltender Bryce Petersen made 24 saves in net.

The SCC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player was awarded to Alex Petersen, while Quick was named to the All-Conference Division II First Team. Guidone and Bryce Petersen were named to the All-Conference Division II Second Team.

“I felt extremely proud of this group, especially the seniors. To play in the championship game all four years and winning it three times is an amazing accomplishment. The atmosphere was great,” said Avena. “We always have such fantastic support from the town and student body. It was special to celebrate with the student body and take the team picture with them in the background.”

Prior to collecting the hardware in the championship round of the tournament, the Nighthawks faced the Guilford Grizzlies on March 1, coming away with a 5-4 win.

Beating Guilford not only meant punching their ticket to the finals, but it also meant the seniors having the opportunity to play in their fourth straight game of this caliber.

“We won, so it went well. The senior class got to play in their fourth consecutive conference final,” said Avena. “They have played in it every year they have been on the team. I think it is a huge accomplishment for them and for the program.”

In the Guilford game, Sullivan recorded a hat trick with three goals and one assist in the contest, while Guidone added three assists. Petersen scored two goals and assisted on another, and Quick picked up three assists.

“At this time of the year, you want your players to be the best, and right now, those guys are our best players,” said Avena. “They are producing game in and game out here down the stretch.”

North Haven finished its regular season with a commanding overall record of 18-2, with the only losses coming in back-to-back fashion against the Branford Hornets (3-2) and the Pilgrim Patriots co-op team (6-0).

Avena believes that the two losses were what fueled the fire for the team to assert their dominance in the more prominent contests down the stretch and collect another conference championship.

“We lost back-to-back games; in one, we got beat pretty good 6-0. We certainly faced adversity as far as that goes,” said Avena. “We took those losses and said that the losses are only losses if we don’t learn from them. If we learn from them, then they are lessons. I think we had some valuable lessons learned in those losses.”

Both losses took place during the first week of February, with Branford being on Feb. 1 and the Patriots co-op on Feb. 4.

“Coming down the stretch, we played two of the top teams in the division, Stamford-Westhill and Wethersfield,” said Avena. “We were able to win both of those games. I think that was a challenge for us, the competition that we faced down the stretch. We were able to get a couple of wins.”

As is natural with any dominating force in a given sport, there are always things to work on and improve. Avena hopes to emphasize the areas of improvement with his team as they set their sights on the Division II State Tournament, in which they are the #1 seed.

“Just taking too many penalties and giving a very good offensive team light is something that we will discuss and work on in practice,” said Avena.

Now that one championship box can be checked, the Nighthawks are ready to lock in and move towards an even more prestigious honor: a state championship crown.

“I am looking forward to watching the senior class; the senior class has been so special. I have never had a senior class that has been this dominant in all of my years of coaching,” said Avena. “Just watching them compete, watching them go out there and strive for something that is really the only thing left on their resume to add. It is going to be hopefully very special and very enjoyable watching them compete.”

The Nighthawks roster includes Ethan Buck (senior, forward), Guidone, Connor Keaney (senior, forward), Andre Ohanyan (senior, forward), Bryce Petersen, Alex Petersen, Quick, Sullivan, Taft, Nolan, Jake Donovan (junior, defenseman), Lleyton Geremia (junior, defenseman), Gilbert, Jack Keaney (junior, goaltender), Jaxson O’Brien (junior, defenseman), William Keaney (sophomore, defenseman), Bryce Montabana (sophomore, forward), Logan Ohanyan (sophomore, forward), Christopher Consorte (freshman, forward), Mark Guidone (freshman, forward), Gavin Knauft (freshman, forward), Mastriano (freshman, forward), Paul Mastriano (freshman, defenseman), and Andrew Porto (freshman, defenseman).