Newtown High Hockey Team Slips Into SWC Playoffs

By Kim J. Harmon

After nearly a month of workouts and practices, after nearly three months of competition, it comes down to this – the playoffs.

The 2003-04 regular season is coming to a swift conclusion (in fact there are two sports, boys’ basketball and swimming, still in regular season mode) and that means it’s time for the thrills of the South-West Conference and CIAC state playoffs.

The Newtown High School hockey team slipped into the SWC playoffs with the fourth seed and will play on Monday; the girls’ basketball team will host an SWC quarterfinal matchup on Saturday; and the wrestling team has already competed in the SWC tournament (finishing fifth) and is heading on to the CIAC Class LL tournament.

It’s crunch time.

Hockey –

They may have gotten crosschecked pretty hard in 2003-04, but they continue to get up off the ice.

Yes – although the Newtown High School hockey team has stumbled to a 5-12-1 record overall, the Nighthawks have earned a trip into the South-West Conference playoffs by virtue of a 4-7-1 conference mark.

That’s great news for a team in a rebuilding season.

“It’s been a very tough season, but we expected it to be,” said head coach Paul Esposito. “We have had to make many adjustments, experiment with players playing new positions, and shuffled the deck with our forward lines to see who works well with each other and who can hold a position.”

A lot of newcomers have stepped into the regular rotation with freshmen Travis Speer, Pat Daly, Zach D’Agostino and Seth Hull (a great hockey name coach Esposito is quick to point out); sophomores Joe Brewer, Justin Pacheco, Steven Vichiola and Stephen Borchetta; and juniors David Haladjian and Nick Magoulas (out of the goal mouth and on the forward line) making contributions.

“They are all making nice contributions and are should be promising players for the future of the pro-gram,” said coach Esposito. “It’s all part of our rebuilding phase. We have taken some good lumps on the chin, but we keep getting back up.”

With a 6-1 loss to New Fairfield last Saturday, the ‘Hawks were on the verge of missing the SWC playoffs, but Masuk defeated New Milford, 5-3, to drop the Green Wave to 4-8-0 overall. So it appears that Newtown’s 2-2 tie with Joel Barlow last Wednesday was critical.

With the #4 seed, the ‘Hawks will face either Masuk or Bethel/Brookfield on Monday, February 23, at 8:10 pm at the Danbury Ice Arena.

“We have a full week of practice and a very tough game on Friday versus Wilton in Ridgefield,” said coach Esposito. “It should be a good game to prepare us for an a tough game on Monday.  The team is excited about being in the tournament and will be giving it their best when the puck drops Monday night.”

In the tie with Barlow last week, Buzz LaPorta scored a short-handed goal (his 21st goal of the year) and in the loss to New Fairfield on Saturday Corey Regensburger scored off a nice assist from Blaise LaPorta. Sophomore goaltender Pete Oggeri faced an onslaught of 60 shots and turned away 54 of them.

Swimming –

Weston used to be one of those teams (right at the top with Pomperaug) that dominated the Western Connecticut and South-West Conferences. But Weston had slipped over the past few years and the Newtown High School swim team took advantage last week with a convincing 97-76 win.

The Nighthawks improved to 5-4 overall, 5-3 in the SWC and have just one regular season dual meet left on the schedule (on Tuesday, February 24, against Foran) before the SWC championships the first week of March.

Against Weston, Chris Jacob and Andy Heller were double winners, with Jacob taking the 200 freestyle (2:00.61) and 100 freestyle (53.96) and Heller taking the 200 individual medley (2:14.96) and 100 butterfly (59.23).

CJ Maurer (diving – 203.85 points) and Scott Whalley (500 freestyle – 6:00.67) were the only other individual winners. The 200 medley relay team of Zack Moliver, Jake Maher, Heller and Dave LaMarche took first at 1:54.23 and the 200 freestyle relay team of Maher, Jacob, Maurer and Steve Truitt took first at 1:41.75.

Solid finishes all around.

200 freestyle – Whalley was second at 2:13.31 while Dave Modzelewski was fifth at 2:17.95; 200 individual medley – Moliver was third at 2:20.07 and Mike Parker was fourth at 2:46.00; 50 freestyle – Maher was second at 25.77, LaMarche was third at 26.21, and Nick Maurer was fourth at 28.66; 100 butterfly – LaMarche was fourth at 1:06.00 and Jim Morlath was fifth at 1:10.33; Diving – Truitt was second with 181.45 points and Bryan Lacouture was third with 177.40 points; 100 freestyle – Sean Reilly was second at 1:01.70 and Nick Maurer was fourth at 1:05.09; 500 freestyle – PJ O’Dell was second at 6:02.00 and Modzelewski was fourth at 6:24.21.

Girls’ Basketball –

One of its most stupefying losses (one of only three losses, as it were) came back on December 29 and the Newtown High School girls’ basketball team had a chance to right some wrongs on Wednesday night when it took on arch-rival Masuk in Monroe (after press time).

Back on December 29, in the finale of the annual Masuk Holiday Tournament, the Lady Nighthawks were seemingly in control of the game with a comfortable 13-point, fourth-quarter lead … only to see that lead disappear as the Lady Panthers rallied for a 53-50 win.

The ‘Hawks lost two of their next three games, but reeled off 10-straight wins heading into Wednesday night’s contest. And even with a tight five-point win over Pomperaug, the ‘Hawks have won by an average of 23.2 points per game during that streak.

The latest victories came at the expense of Joel Barlow (49-32) and Weston (61-27). Those wins propped the ‘Hawks up to 16-3 overall and 13-2 in the South-West Conference. The SWC tournament will start this weekend, with the ‘Hawks likely hosting a quarterfinal game on Saturday night.

The semi-finals will be Tuesday, February 24, at Bunnell High School in Stratford. The finals will follow on Friday, February 27, also at Bunnell.

In the win over Barlow, Kelley Haines tossed in 19 points (with 6-of-7 shooting from the foul line and a trio of three-pointers) while Ashley Larocque and Jacky Curran added six points apiece. In the win over Weston, Haines tossed in another 19 points as Larocque added 16 more. Siobhan Cooper chipped in with nine points and Stephanie Logan added eight.

The game against Weston marked Senior Night for the ‘Hawks and they paid tribute to their four seniors – Julie Iwanicki, Tori Filler, Logan and Haines. As could be expected, the ‘Hawks came out a little sluggish against Weston and were clinging to a 23-18 lead midway through the second quarter, but the ‘Hawks – holding the Lady Trojans scoreless for more than 11 minutes, went on a 31-0 run to put the game away.

Newtown                    49

Joel Barlow                32

NEWTOWN (49): Julie Iwanicki 1 2-2 4, Jacky Curran 3 0-2 6, Stephanie Logan 0 2-6 2, Ashley Larocque 3 0-0 6, Siobhan Cooper 1 2-2 4, Tori Filler 0 0-0 0, Kelley Haines 5 6-7 19, Katie O’Connor 2 2-2 6, Jessica Palermo 0 0-0 0, Sarah King 0 0-0 0, Tara Gaston 0 0-0 0, Carly Curran 1 0-0 2, Ciara Simek 0 0-0 0, Kacy Foehrenbach 0 0-0 0 (TOTALS: 15 14-21 49). JOEL BARLOW (32): Emily Gould 0 3-4 3, Darcy Taylor 0 0-0 0, Cary Palmer 2 0-4 4, Becky Sheehan 5 1-2 11, Sara Cram 0 0-0 0, Karra Damas-cus 5 0-0 10, Emily Ahlberg 0 0-0 0, Sarah Urban 0 0-0 0, Kristen Contessa 0 0-0 0, Ashley Scavo 2 0-0 4, Lauren Comen 0 0-0 0 (TOTALS: 12 4-10 32).

Three-pointers: Haines (N) 3.

Weston                         27

Newtown                    61

WESTON (27): Katie Meyer 1 0-0 2, Julia Levi 6 0-0 15, Danea Harrison 2 0-6 4, Anna Feingold 3 0-0 6, Mallory Rosenblatt 0 0-0 0, Amanda England 0 0-0 0, Jessica Hill 0 0-0 0 (TOTALS: 12 0-6 27). NEWTOWN (61): Julie Iwanicki 3 0-0 6, Jacky Curran 2 0-2 4, Stephanie Logan 4 0-0 8, Ashley Larocque 8 0-0 16 Siobhan Cooper 4 1-2 9, Tori Filler 1 0-1 2, Kelley Haines 8 2-2 19, Katie O’Connor 0 1-2 1, Jessica Palermo 0 0-0 0, Sarah King 0 0-0 0, Tara Gaston 0 0-0 0, Carly Curran 1 0-0 2, Ciara Simek 0 0-0 0, Kacy Foehrenbach 0 0-0 0, Christy Iwanicki 0 0-0 0 (TOTALS: 31 4-11 61).

Three-pointers: Levi (W) 3, Haines (N).

Hartford Courant

Top 20 Poll

(as of February 12)

  1. Manchester               16-0

  2. Guilford                      16-1

  3. Hillhouse                   16-1

  4. East Catholic           15-0

  5. Windsor                     14-2

  6. Norwich Free            12-2

  7. Glastonbury              14-2

  8. Kolbe Cathedral      15-2

  9. Brien McMahon        12-2

10. Old Lyme                   17-0

11. Notre Dame              15-2

12. Masuk                        15-2

13. Newtown                   14-3

14. Holy Cross                15-1

15. Cromwell                   16-0

16. Trinity Catholic       14-2

17. Torrington                 14-2

18. Seymour                    15-2

19. Trumbull                   12-4

20. Fairfield                    13-4

Now it must say something about the future of the Newtown High School girls’ basketball program that its sub-varsity teams (meaning jayvee and freshmen) have a combined record of 31-0 in the 2003-04 season, doesn’t it?

Take a look at the 19-0 jayvees –

Kacy Foehrenbach scores 17 and Darcy Fiscella adds 10 in a 58-27 win over Kolbe Cathedral … Foehrenbach scores 15 and Ciara Simek adds nine in a 56-20 win over St. Joseph’s … Jill Logan scores 17 and Sarah King adds 12 in a 64-10 win over Stratford … Fiscella pops in 16 and King chips in with 11 in a 56-25 win over Brookfield … Foehrenbach scores 17 and Tara Gaston adds 10 in a 58-36 win over Naugatuck … Foehrenbach cans 15 in a win over Masuk … everyone scores in a 54-28 win over Immaculate and a 56-38 win over Notre Dame … Foehrenbach scores 12 and Christie Iwanicki adds 10 in a 55-32 win over Kolbe … Iwanicki cans 12 in a 52-26 win over New Milford … Foehrenbach pours in 24 points in a 57-49 win over Pomperaug … Fiscella pops in 14 and Logan adds 12 in a 79-27 win over New Fairfield … Foehrenbach nails 22 points and Carly Curran adds 12 in a 48-41 win over Bunnell … Curran cans 23 while Simek and Gaston combine for 21 more in a 65-46 win over Foran … Curran leads the way with 15 points while King contributes nine in a 56-32 win over Bethel … the ‘Hawks reel off 22 unanswered points and hold Lauralton Hall scoreless in the fourth quarter for a 50-35 win … and the streak reaches 19 games with a 57-45 win over Jonathan Law and a 51-44 win over Joel Barlow.

And how about the 12-0 freshmen –

Iwanicki scores 12 and Erica Vacaro adds eight in a 37-25 win over St. Joseph’s … Fiscella cans 10 and Sam Wong adds nine in a 45-31 win over Brookfield … Logan scores the go-ahead basket with a minute remaining in a 26-23 win over Trumbull … Fiscella pours in 20 points while Iwanicki has 11 and Logan tossed in 10 in a 56-40 win over Immaculate … Iwanicki cans 19 in a 47-14 win over Notre Dame … Laura Konkos, Jen Mariani, Kristene Salbu and Vacaro score four points apiece (13 different players score) in an easy win over New Milford … Fiscella and Iwanicki combine for 25 points in a 56-24 win over New Fairfield … Vacaro scores 14 as the ‘Hawks shoot 9-of-11 from the foul line in a 54-30 win over Bunnell … Fiscella cans 18 and Rachel Maley adds eight in a 44-33 win over Bethel … Katie McNulty, Jen Greenwood, Nickie Cunningham, Erin Ruddock, Allison McEmber and Olga Virgalla all have a chance to score in a 34-23 win over Lauralton Hall … Logan scores 13 and Christina Ercole adds four in a 52-43 win over Jonathan Law … Iwanicki scores seven and Monica Strzelecki adds two in a 35-19 win over Joel Barlow.

Boys’ Basketball –

It’s not that head coach John Quinn dreaded heading down to Weston last Friday night, but he knew what a tough place it was to place and expected the Newtown High School boys’ basketball team would receive test after winning eight of its previous nine games.

Yes – a severe test.

Without junior Marcus Tracy (knee injury), without junior Josh Rouse (ankle injury) and with Brian Smith and Devon Manfredonia succumbing to foul trouble, the ‘Hawks fell 72-54 to the Trojans to drop to 12-5 overall and 9-3 in the South-West Conference.

The ‘Hawks held a slim 17-16 lead at the end of the first period, but the game – marred by a lot of physical play – started to slip away after that. The Trojans held a 32-28 lead at the half and increased that lead to 48-37 by the close of the third period.

Colin Strong paced the Trojans with 23 points.

Ronnie Shimko led the ‘Hawks with 19 points (including a trio of three-pointers) while Dave Anderson added 18 and Andrew Fiscella contributed 14. Anthony Santella, Kevin Quinn and Joe DeVellis had to share backcourt duties to help the ‘Hawks through the game.

The ‘Hawks will host Masuk on Friday and will conclude the regular season on Monday and Wednesday, February 23 and 25, with games at Stratford and Brookfield.

Newtown                    54

Weston                         72

NEWTOWN (54): Anderson 6 5-6 18, Fiscella 4 6-8 14, Manfredonia 1 0-0 2, DeVellis 0 0-0 0, Oliver 0 0-0 0, Shimko 7 2-3 19, Quinn 0 1-2 1, Santella 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 0-0 0 (TOTALS: 18 14-19 54). WESTON (72): Strong 8 6-8 23, Sisca 6 4-9 17, Chase 5 2-2 12, Galvin 6 0-0 12, Jamieson 1 0-0 2, Amberson 0 0-0 0, Bear 1 3-4 6 (TOTALS: 27 15-23 72).

Three-pointers: Shimko (N) 3, Anderson (N), Strong (W), Sisca (W), Bear (W).

Indoor Track –

A week after the South-West Conference championship meet, the competition got a whole lot tougher at the CIAC Class L state indoor track and field championships at Hillhouse High School in New Haven.

“We were hampered a bit by several top runners off on vacation,” said head coach Dave Foss, “Losing the likes of both Webers, Sadie Ball, Becky Huot, Van Waalwijk, Gindraux, and Larsen. But the team persevered.”

Leah Herity had the best moment for Newtown High School girls, taking fourth overall in the pole vault at 7-0. Daniela Ponte of Torrington finished first at 10-0, followed by Jessica Warren of South Windsor (8-0) and Karla Schindler of South Winderson (7-6).

Individually for the girls, Carolyn Brennan was 17th overall in the 1,600 meters at 5:54.01 (first place – 5:17.47) while Quincey Blanchard finished 15th in the long jump at 14-5.5 (18-5.5).

In the relays, the 4x200 team of Kate Fielding, Julie Landin, Whitney Allison and Herity was 18th overall at 2:05.61 (1:46.02) while the 4x800 team of Moira Collier, Brennan, Michelle Brennan and Caitlin Thursland was 12th overall at 11:28.22 (9:48.67). And the sprint medley team of Landin, Herity, Allison and Thursland was 14th overall at 4:55.07 (4:18.35).

Individually for the boys, Tim Carlisle was 13th overall in the preliminaries of the 55-meter hurdles at 8.65, missing the cut for the finals.

In the relays, the 4x200 team of Liam Cawley, John Kostecki, Dan Tichon and Tim Carlisle was 14th overall at 1:46.33 (1:32.04) while the 4x800 team of Scott Nichols, Matthew Cole, Eric MacKnight, and Alister Ratcliff was eighth overall at 9:33.22 (8:16.34). And the sprint medley team of Carlisle, Kostecki, Cawley and Ratcliff was 12th overall at 4:14.69 (3:43.15)

As a team, the girls finished 22nd overall with 2.33 points (Wilbur Cross finished first with 74 points).

Cheerleading –

Fresh off a third-place finish at the South-West Conference championships, the Newtown High School co-ed cheerleading team sought to defend its title at the Nonnewaug High School ‘Chief Challenge’ competition last weekend in Woodbury.

Although the Nighthawks came in second to Stamford, it was an accomplishment nevertheless since the ‘Hawks were forced to re-work their routine the wake of an ankle injury suffered by co-captain Amber Butler.

The squad will have another crack at Stamford, though, this weekend at the CIAC state cheerleading championships.

Gymnastics –

Newtown High School does not – technically – have a gymnastics team, but one of their own was nev-ertheless on the mat last weekend at the South-West Conference gymnastics championships held at Jonathan Law in Milford.

Kristen Landolfi finished seventh all-around (34.00), a little over two points behind first-place finisher Christine McAulay of Pomperaug. The Lady Panthers also won the team title with 141.950 points, just ahead of Jonathan Law (131.850) and New Milford (124.90).

Landolfi finished in a 10th-place tie with Alexandra Varvoglis of Weston in the vault (8.5) and then finished in a fifth-place tie with Jenna Bradle of New Milford in the uneven bars (8.6). In the balance beam, Landolfi was 10th overall (8.350) and in the floor exercises she was eighth overall (8.550).

sports@thebee.com