The Newtown-New Fairfield (NNF) hockey team concluded the month of December with a hard-fought battle with Tri-Town at Enfield Twin Rinks on December 27 and the Nighthawks lost the back-and-forth contest 4-2. This was a game of excellent effort and decent play by both squads.

It was a high-scoring opening period with both teams scoring twice. Tri-Town got the first of the evening on a rush and finish in front by ringing the puck bar down on goaltender Carter Bisson. NNF responded a few minutes later with a nifty move by Luca Moura who rushed in from the blue line, picking up the puck and depositing five-hole shot from the angle, unassisted. Tri-Town came back and again found the open man on the far side of the cage to go up 2-1 only to have NNF come back late in the period when Newtown senior Jackson Mollison banged one in from the top of the paint for his first varsity goal. Jack Meade assisted on the play.

The second period saw NNF dominate and outshoot Tri-Town 19-9 in the period but unable to out the puck past the netminder who was outstanding in turning back scoring chances time and time again. The third period was closely-checked by both squads for over half the period before suddenly opening up with players racing from one end to the other and scoring opportunities being created. Tri-Town took advantage of one of those opportunities, picking up a loose puck in the neutral zone while being checked but driving to the net for the go-ahead tally. NNF pressed but again was unable to tie the game. Tri-Town got an insurance tally on a tic-tac-toe play with a solid finish.

Bisson played well between the pipes throughout and recorded 26 saves. All in all, this game could prove to be a powerful and pivotal building block in the season as although the scoresheet registers a loss, there are many wins to take away from this game due to strong play. The Hawks get back to action Friday, January 3 when Milford visits Danbury Ice Arena at 4 pm.