MILFORD — The Newtown-New Fairfield hockey team fell 4-1 to Milford at Danbury Ice Arena on January 3, 6-1 to STORMAC (Staples, Norwalk, and Brien McMahon) at Milford Ice Pavilion the next night, and 6-2 to the Shepaug Spartans in Danbury on January 7. The losses dropped the Nighthawks’ record to 1-6.

Coach Michael Campbell said all is not lost, however, as many of the younger players are finding their way and beginning to step up. Progress is the name of the game, and the final scores aren’t always reflective of that. The coaching staff feels that the team needs to be stronger on their sticks and board battles for loose pucks. One of the Achilles heels thus far has been the constant reminder to battle each shift. The team has struggled to find consistency from shift to shift. The in-zone defensive play must tighten up and help out the goaltender by not leaving open players in and around the net. In the neutral zone and offensive end of the ice the passing needs to be crisp and on target. “It’s the little things and attention to detail that continue to set us back,” Campbell said.

“We need to tighten up — be a bit stronger,” Campbell said. “Good things will come down the road.”

With two-thirds of the season left, the team needs to rebound quickly or will find itself out of contention for conference and state tournaments as it looks to be competitive now while building for future seasons.

Against Milford it was New Fairfield senior Vince Schuchat with the lone goal on a nice feed from Newtown senior and alternate captain Quinn Harris.

Against STORMAC Newtown sophomore Ryan Schmidt lit the lamp on a drive to the net off a shot from New Fairfield junior Colby Cheneski.

Carter Bisson got the call in between the pipes in both contests and turned aside several difficult shots while making a total of 52 saves in the two contests. Newtown-New Fairfield mustered 48 shots at the opposition cage during the course of the two contests.

In the Shepaug game Jordan Balla scored unassisted and Noah Kirshner was assisted by Jackson Molison and Andrew Sanchez.

Cheneski (eight points) and Newtown senior captain Luca Moura (seven) continue to lead the team in points.

The JV group traveled to Shelton to take on the St Joes JV team on the morning of December 31 and skated away with a 4-4 tie after falling behind by two. The first unofficial JV contest of the year proved to be a nice matchup between the two schools with some spirited and solid play throughout. After peppering the St Joes netminder from the onset and getting the first goal and taking a 1-0 lead to the second period, the Newtown-New Fairfield team saw St Joe’s get the next two before battling back to tie things. However, St Joe’s then went up by two heading to the final period. Newtown-New Fairfield fought back and got the equalizer with about three minutes left in the contest.

Mike Risoli, Evan Kliczewski, and Jordan Balla each had a goal and assist. Cam Longhi scored the other goal. Assists were awarded to Ryan Schmidt, Antonio DiBiase, and Noah Kirschner. Newtown senior goalie Kaylee Awrachow got the call in goal and turned back 22 of 26 shots, many from in tight to preserve the tie. The JV schedule is still being assembled as a few players recoup from early-season injuries so more games will follow.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.