Newtown High School's hockey team, coming off a 2-0 blanking of Shepaug-Litchfield on February 17, carried a four-game unbeaten streak into a battle with Branford at Danbury Ice Arena three days later.

The Nighthawks' winning ways were stung by the Hornets in a 6-2 defeat but, of the two past games, while the Hawks gained something from the win in terms of points, Coach Paul Esposito believes his lineup came away with something more in the contest that ended with a loss.

"Start to finish that's probably the best compete level we've had all season," Esposito said. "We had our chances - we just couldn't capitalize."

The final score certainly wasn't indicative of the way the game was played, besides the fact the Hornets' last tally came via an empty-netter with two minutes to go as the Hawks tried desperately to battle back.

One thing - really a two-three thing - to consider is that Branford is a Division II school and Newtown competes at the D-III level, and the Nighthawks skated with the Hornets.

"If we're going to lose a game you want to lose to a single-school team that plays hard," Esposito said. "They're a great team."

Newtown moved the puck well, and the top forward line of Domenic Cartelli, Scott McLean, and David Brestovansky was especially good at cycling the puck down low in the offensive zone to generate chances. Sean Ferris and Lucas O'Brien, in particular, also brought energy to the ice, Esposito said.

Down 3-1 late in the second period, the Hawks killed off a couple of overlapping penalties, including 44 seconds of 5-on-3-man advantage time for Branford. Newtown proceeded to turn up the pressure at the other end of the rink, but the puck just wouldn't find the net for the home team. The Hornets added a late-period goal to stretch the lead to 4-1 heading into the third.

Esposito noted that his team kept plugging away in the final stanza. During the opening shift and seconds of the third, McLean, who ended up with both NHS net-finders, redirected a shot from the point by Ferris and the puck clanked off the outside of the goalpost.

Domenic Cartelli, who assisted both goals, set up Devin Marsh for a chance, but was denied from in close. Cartelli later centered the puck for McLean, who one-timed a shot home during the power play, cutting the lead to 4-2 midway through the period. Jack Hanley had the secondary assist on the goal.

Seconds after Newtown killed off another penalty the Hornets struck for an insurance tally, with 3:20 to go.

Goaltender Kyle Murphy made 25 saves for the Hawks.

Esposito credited the players for discussing what they needed to do to be better, and playoff ready, following a somewhat flat performance in the win over a Shepaug-Litchfield it had beaten by a 10-2 score earlier this winter. Cartelli scored twice in the most recent win, McLean had two assists, and Scott Bauer also had an assist.

After the win, the NHS players determined they needed to not have any letdowns, and that showed in the 6-2 loss as the Hawks played until the final horn as if they were within a goal.

Esposito is pleased, all in all, with how the team is playing as the season winds down - the last regular-season tilt is set for Wednesday, February 24, with Housatonic-Northwestern visiting Danbury for a 6:40 pm faceoff.

"The kids are feeling it," Esposito said. "We're feeling pretty good right now."

Newtown, 11-8 overall (and 5-2 in South-West Conference play), appears locked in as the SWC D-III third seed, setting up a semifinal-round playoff clash with No. 2 New Fairfield-Immaculate (NFI) on Wednesday, March 2 (time to be determined; at Milford Ice Pavilion).

NFI blanked Newtown 5-0 in their regular-season meeting.

"We know it's going to be a tough game," said Esposito, adding that he gives his team a chance to do some damage in both the SWC and state tournaments. "The main prize is the state tournament."