Hawk Skaters Blank Masuk

Newtown High School’s hockey team earned a 5-0 shutout over Masuk of Monroe at Danbury Ice Arena on February 1. The Nighthawks got 25 saves from goaltender Mike Allwein, whose goals against average dropped to 2.45. Evan Isaacs, Brett Klein, and Christian Blais all registered two points in the win as Newtown improved to 6-7 this season.

Dan Harrison opened the scoring 2:30 into the game on a goal set up by Blais. The Nighthawks broke the game open with a three-goal barrage in the second stanza. Isaacs scored his first of two goals with an unassisted net-finder just 48 seconds into the middle period. Klein followed with the first of his two tallies 3:50 into the period; Alex Kelly assisted the goal. Klein, set up by Blais, added a late second-period goal for a 4-0 lead. In the third, Isaacs, set up by Parker Rodbell, capped the scoring at the 13:20 mark.

Newtown Coach Paul Esposito handed out his three stars of the game to Isaacs, Jack Martin, and Harmon Coffey, saying that Martin played a strong defensive game and Coffey contributed a solid all-around performance.

The Nighthawks were scheduled to host New Milford, a team they lost to – 2-0 – in mid-January, on Wednesday night (after The Bee sports section went to press). This was the first of three games in as many days for the Hawks. On Thursday, Newtown was slated to face Briarcliff, N.Y. On Friday, February 10, Newtown will visit the Shepaug-Litchfield-Nonnewaug team at the Gunnery in Washington.

Newtown will return to Danbury next Saturday, February 18, to take on the Norwich Free Academy-St. Bernard-Bacon Academy team. The opening faceoff is set for 2:50 pm.