The Newtown-New Fairfield hockey season came to a close with a 7-3 loss to Masuk of Monroe at the Sports Center of Connecticut in Shelton on February 26. This concludes a disappointing 2-18 campaign but one that was expected to be a difficult rebuilding year after losing close to 11 senior players last season, on a team that fell short of the state’s final four by one single goal. Adding to this was a new head coach in Michael Campbell and that the team was never at full strength to field all 23 players for any one game this entire season. The final JV contest vs St Joseph of Trumbull was canceled due to a conflict with the St Joes schedule. It was difficult to find JV games to aid in the development of the younger players as many teams are lacking numbers.

Although perhaps not reflected in the overall record there were many accomplishments and decent progress shown throughout the season. Several players registered their first high school point or goal, and every player (aside from the goalies) registered at least one point this season. The scoring was very spread out. Younger players were thrown in from the start of the season and contributed in equal fashion to the senior group. In goal junior Carter Bisson assumed the starting role for the first time and newcomer, senior Kaylee Awrachow proved to be a valuable second behind him.

Senior Luca Moura led the way in total team points with 15, junior Jack Meade added 11, and senior Quinn Harris finished with ten. On the blueline, junior Colby Cheneski and sophomore Ryan Schmidt provided consistency throughout; Schmidt changed positions from forward to defense midway through the season. Additional returnees for next year, juniors Jackson Molison, Evan Kliczewski, and Cam Longhi, gained valuable experience logging significant minutes this season. The young nucleus of freshmen and sophomores Michael Risoli, Greyson Pimentel, and Noah Kirshner along with Sandy Maselli, Aidan Lund, Gavin Hull, Jordan Balla and Jacob Molison found their footing and stand to get bigger, faster, and savvier as they move to the next season.

The team will say goodbye to eight seniors who added to the family atmosphere that the team enjoyed this season. The aforementioned, Moura, Harris, and Awrachow, along with fellow seniors Andrew Sanchez, Patrick Moody, Antonio DiBiase, Vince Schuchat, and Atilla Balla have left an indelible mark on the program like those before them, NNF coaches said. Their effort, passion for the game and words of wisdom will be missed in the locker room. Struggling through a down year only makes the character of the player stronger and many lessons were born of this season, coaches note.

In the last contest, the Masuk Panthers came out flying trying to better their standing in the state rankings. Bisson stood tall keeping Masuk at bay until the Panthers finally capitalized on a bad clear by the Hawks and took the lead and then adding to it. The Hawks didn’t roll over, however, as Meade slammed home a rebound after collecting the puck off a shot from Schuchat; Moura also assisted on the play. Masuk closed out the first period with another goal after a broken play on the side boards.

The second period was all Masuk as the Panthers extended the lead by scoring three times, two versus Bisson who had little support on the first and tried to fight off a screen on the second, as well as one on a rebound after a long shift that snuck past Awrachow who came on in planned relief of Bisson. The third period saw Awrachow lead the way as she left her mark on the Hawk program in the final 15 minutes of the season. Awrachow stood tall as the goal was to win the period which the Hawks did thanks to her outstanding efforts. Masuk continued to pepper the NNF end and took advantage of an odd man rush with a goal when a defenseman got caught deep after an offensive rush. That was it for Masuk, however, as NNF found the net on a shorthanded opportunity. Cheneski waited patiently for traffic to develop in front then snapped one from his point position that ended up sneaking through the Masuk goaltender. Longhi and Pimentel both assisted after some good corner and board work getting the puck back to Cheneski. The final goal of the season was a nice deflection in front from Jacob Molison who put himself in good position and tipped home a shot of the stick of DiBiase. Bisson played 27 minutes making 16 saves on 21 shots and Awrachow turned back 12 of 14 in 18 minutes.