“People ask me what I do in the winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” – Rogers Hornsby

 

By Kim J. Harmon

Can there be a more dramatic way to open a season than scoring a game-winning goal with eight seconds left to play?

Perhaps not, as the Newtown High School hockey team did just that last week in a 3-2 victory over Sheehan at Choate-Rosemary Hall in Wallingford. Of course, the Nighthawks were not done thrilling their fans as, three days later, they rallied from a three-goal deficit with just seven minutes left in the fourth quarter and defeated Masuk, 5-3, to open the season at 2-0-0.

Newtown needed that, though, as the girls’ basketball team – coming off a 20-5 season which saw them go all the way to the South-West Conference championship game – stumbled in its first two games and suffered losses to Lauralton Hall and Notre Dame.

But the season has only just begun and this week the rest of the NHS teams will spring (or have already sprung) into action – with swimming and wrestling opening on Wednesday and boys’ basketball opening next Monday.

Read on –

HOCKEY

Newtown 3, Sheehan 2

Newtown 5, Masuk 3

 

If there is a way to begin rebounding off a 5-15-1 season, starting the next season at 2-0-0 may be the way to do it.

With a brilliant effort by junior goaltender Peter Oggeri, the Newtown High School hockey team nipped Sheehan, 3-2, last Wednesday at Choate-Rosemary Hall in Wallingford and followed up with a 5-3 win over Masuk in Shelton.

And perhaps the Nighthawks survived both contests because of tough defensive work and the effort of their goaltender.

“Both of our wins would not have been possible without Pete Oggeri,” said first-year head coach Dustin Zima. “He faced close to 40 shots in each game and really kept us in both of them.”

Oggeri survived an onslaught of 39 shots in the season-opener against Sheehan last week (15 of those coming in the third quarter) but he held fast and allowed the ‘Hawks the opportunity to win on a goal by Blaise LaPorta (who notched the hat trick on the night) with just eight seconds left to play.

And in the win over Masuk on Saturday, the ‘Hawks were stuck in a 3-1 hole with seven minutes left to play but Oggeri shut the net down after that an allowed the ‘Hawks the opportunity to score four unanswered goals to win the game.

The locals, though, took their 2-0-0 record on the road Wednesday and it up against the 1-0-1 record of Division I Hand High School. The ‘Hawks will square off Saturday against East Lyme in Norwich before returning home on Wednesday to host New Milford.

LaPorta launched the opening salvo last Wednesday with 9:48 left in the first period, taking a nice pass from Joe Brewer to put the locals on top of Sheehan, 1-0. Corey Regensburger also notched an assist on the play.

Just a few minutes later, LaPorta stole a pass in the neutral zone and beat the Titan defense down the ice for a low shot right through the five hole and a 2-0 Newtown lead.

But Sheehan wouldn’t let up on the offense pressure and notched a pair of goals in the second period – the first with 12:51 left to play and the second with 1:27 left to play – to tie the score at 2-2. At that point, the Titans were out-shooting the ‘Hawks, 24-15, and trying to out-muscle them at the same time.

A couple of controversial calls by the officials led to Sean ‘Buzz’ LaPorta sitting out a 10-minute game misconduct penalty. But the ‘Hawks persevered and with eight seconds left to play Blaise LaPorta took the feed from Brewer and Francis Oggeri and avoided overtime with his third goal of the game.

The ‘Hawks had a lot of impetus from that game and battled Masuk to a 1-1 tie into the third period (on Blaise LaPorta’s fourth goal of the year off an assist from PJ Horoszko). And even though the Panthers scored a couple of goals to take a 3-1 lead on the ‘Hawks, the lead wasn’t big enough.

The comeback started when Buzz LaPorta notched his first goal of the season and continued when Blaise LaPorta scored his fifth goal off an assist from Blake Bell to tie the score at 3-3 with just four minutes left to play.

Regensburger scored the game-winner, unassisted, on a blistering slapshot from the blue line and Buzz added the insurance goal.

“It was a good come-from-behind victory,” said coach Zima. “The kids showed a lot of heart.”

PLAYER                       G       A      P

Blaise LaPorta             5       0      5

Joe Brewer                  0       2      1

Francis Oggeri             0       1      1

Corey Regensburger    1       1      1

Sean LaPorta               2       0      2

Blake Bell                    0       1      1

TOTALS                       8       5    13

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Lauralton Hall 51, Newtown 42

Notre Dame 64, Newtown 56

Newtown 67, Wilton 55

With a game against the No. 1 team in the state just two days away, the Newtown High School girls’ basketball team – suffering through its first 0-2 start in several years – was under the gun.

“There was a lot of pressure on us to win a game,” said first-year head coach Shawn O’Brien. “We knew it would be tough with a brutal early schedule.”

The Lady Nighthawks opened the 2004-05 season with a 51-42 loss to Lauralton Hall and then endured a 64-56 loss to Notre Dame predicated on a second-half collapse. Yes, with a visit to Kolbe Cathedral slated for Thursday, the pressure was on.

And the ‘Hawks delivered.

Ashley LaRocque scored 22 points and Meghan Kelley added 21 more to lead the ‘Hawks to a 67-55 win over Wilton on Monday night. The locals found themselves down as much as six points in the first quarter until they began to rally and with a bucket by Siobhan Cooper midway through the second (off a brilliant feed from LaRocque) the ‘Hawks took a lead they would not relinquish.

“There is a lot of inexperience on the varsity floor,” said coach O’Brien. “We’re replacing a lot of people, a lot of key components, but these kids are working hard. We could have played better tonight, but we’re improving.”

Besides LaRocque and Kelly shooting so well from the perimeter, Cooper (10 points on the night) was a consistent and controlled force down in the post; Ciara Simek ran a solid point; and Katie O’Connor did not win herself any new friends – or Christmas cards, for that matter – with her tough defensive play off the glass.

It was a fine effort, all around.

But with the memory of the two season-opening losses still fresh, it may have been distressing to see the ‘Hawks fall into an early, first-quarter hole. Late in the period, the locals were down 14-8 before finally starting to rally and crawled to within one point on a three-pointer and long two-point by Kelley.

Sophomore guard Christie Iwanicki added some spark with a strong rebound and a nice scramble after a loose ball.

In the second quarter, the ‘Hawks tied the score, 18-18, on Kelley’s second three-pointer of the game and then, with 5:22 left, a drive by LaRocque put the ‘Hawks up for the first time, 20-18. The Warriors took the lead back on a three-pointer by Caitlin Young (20 points on the night), but Cooper’s basket in the post gave the lead back to the ‘Hawks for good.

Cooper canned two more baskets and LaRocque added another as the ‘Hawks built up a 32-23 lead by the close of the half.

The Warriors went on a 6-0 run at the start of the third period to close the gap to just three points, but the ‘Hawks shook them off and went up as much as 12 points as LaRocque scored nine of the locals’ 13 points in the period. In the fourth, the Warriors could only get as close as five points before the ‘Hawks began to put the game away.

With less than a minute left, the locals had a 60-53 lead although the Warriors had an inbounds play under their own basket and were threatening to chip away at the lead. But junior guard Kacy Foehrenbach stole the inbounds pass and turned it into a fast break layup – essentially, the nail in the coffin.

The win was a relief for a team that threw away its chance for a win in its first two games.

In the loss to Lauralton Hall, the ‘Hawks could not hold on to their fourth-quarter lead. Kelly scored 15 points and LaRocque added 10 while Cooper and Carly Curran chipped in with four points apiece.

In the loss to Notre Dame, the ‘Hawks failed to hold on to a 12-point lead and fell as the Lancers scored 26 points in the fourth period. Kelley scored 27 points (only six of those in the second half) while LaRocque added 10 and O’Connor and Curran chipped in with six apiece.

After the visit to the Shehan Center in Bridgeport, the ‘Hawks are set to visit Notre Dame of Fairfield next Wednesday. Over the Christmas break, the locals will once again participate in the Masuk Holiday Tournament and open up on Tuesday, December 28, with a game against Brien McMahon.

Lauralton Hall 51, Newtown 42

NEWTOWN (42): Meg Kelly 7 1-1 15, Darcy Fiscella 1 0-1 2, Katie O’Connor 0 2-2 2, Ashley LaRocque 5 0-0 10, Carly Curran 2 0-0 4, Ciara Simek 0 1-2 1, Siobhan Cooper 2 0-0 4, Kristi Nowak 1 0-2 2, Christie Iwanicki 1 0-0 2, Kacy Foehrenbach 0 0-0 0, Jill Logan 0 0-0 0, Amy Kelly 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 19 4-8 42.

LAURALTON HALL (51): Chelsea Dunne 3 2-2 8, Bridget O’Donnell 0 0-0 0, Alisha DeBenedetto 0 0-0 0, Margaret Galiani 4 8-8 16, Morgan Dunne 2 1-2 5, Kat Flaherty 5 2-3 12, Katie O’Connell 0 0-0 0, Ali Keltos 1 4-6 6, Liz Damm 1 0-0 2, Maura McCarthy 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 17 17-21 51.

Notre Dame 64, Newtown 56

NOTRE DAME (64): Taylor Simmons 6 4-8 16, Mirna Lemy 0 0-0 0, Nicole Tranquillo 1 1-2 3, Courtney Bernard 2 2-3 6, Carmen Smith 7 2-2 16, Jane Philipp 1 0-0 2, Dominque Courtney 3 3-4 11, Candace Williams 5 0-0 10. TOTALS: 25 12-19 64.

NEWTOWN (58): Meg Kelley 9 8-10 27, Katie O’Connor 2 2-2 6, Ashley LaRocque 3 4-4 10, Carly Curran 1 4-4 6, Ciara Simek 0 0-0 0, Siobhan Cooper 2 0-1 4, Kacy Foehrenbach 0 0-0 0, Darcy Fiscella 0 0-0 0, Kristie Nowak 1 1-2 3, Christie Iwanicki 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 18 19-23 56.

Three-pointers: Courtney (ND) 2, Kelley (N).

Newtown 67, Wilton 55

WILTON (55): Tory Geronimo 1 4-4 6, Grace Lindner 0 0-0 0, Caitlan Young 5 4-7 20, Jordan Horner 0 2-2 2, Kristen Rider 6 1-3 13, Kate Fowler 3 0-0 6, Brittany English 2 0-0 4, Tyler Swatek 2 0-0 4. TOTALS: 19 11-16 55.

NEWTOWN (67): Meg Kelley 4 7-8 21, Darcey Fiscella 0 0-0 0, Katie O’Connor 2 2-2 6, Ashley LaRocque 9 4-6 22, Carly Curran 1 0-0 2, Ciara Simek 1 0-0 2, Siobhan Cooper 5 0-0 10, Kristie Nowak 1 0-0 2, Christie Iwanicki 0 0-0 0; Kacy Foehrenbach 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 24 13-16 67.

Three-pointers: Young (W) 2, Kelly (N) 2.