Avon/Southington co-op blanks West Haven/SHA

WEST HAVEN — The Avon girls ice hockey co-op hadn’t played a game for two and a half weeks heading into this weekend.

The return to action featured two contests against playoff contenders in a span of 20 hours.

No problem.

After defeating rival East Catholic on Friday night, the Nighthawks rode early goals from Bella Bonfiglio and Maya Fanelli and a shutout from goalie Sophia Ojala to a 4-0 win over West Haven/SHA Saturday at Bennett Rink.

The back-to-back victories kept Avon (6-0) unbeaten and in first place in the CHSGHA standings. Second-place Darien (6-0) is the state’s only other undefeated team. Avon and Darien will square off twice later this season.

“I was a little worried for these two games, especially today being tired from last night because when we play East (Catholic), that’s our rival and it’s a pretty intense game,” Avon coach Mike Carrera said. “We had some troubles last night, but today, we moved the puck around really well and looked good.”

That was true from the get-go.

Bonfiglio scored the opening goal with an assist from Nicole Partridge just 4:30 after the opening drop and Fanelli made it 2-0 just 10 seconds later. Kalyn Reynolds assisted on that goal.

“Our starts haven’t been as good as we want,” Bonfiglio said. “But today, we were able to start off and score, so that was good. It’s tough not playing for two weeks, but last night was a big win for us heading into this game and the rest of our season.”

The Westie Sharks (6-2), who maintained a strong pace throughout, had their winning streak snapped at five. They are unbeaten in the SCC at 5-0.

“Today didn’t go our way but we’ve been gritty,” said West Haven/SHA coach Erin Blake, who earlier this season earned her 100th win. “We’ve been keeping ourselves in games. Avon, the way they pass, it’s like they could do it with their eyes closed. But we played strong till the end.”

Madison DeSouza doubled the Nighthawks’ advantage with two goals in the second period, the first coming on a power play as she fired a shot off the far post and in.

The Westie Sharks had some opportunities, especially from the first line of Julianna Picard, Anne Plunkett and Geena Montano, but each time, the Nighthawks’ defense and Ojala (19 saves) locked down.

Blake said she was happy with the way her goalie, Belle Desrosiers (22 saves) responded after Avon’s opening strikes.

“Belle played a great game and she kept us in this,” Blake said. “For my girls, we haven’t been losing, so that’s something they’ve got to learn to come back from. I’m proud of the way Belle played to keep her head in there. Goalies sometimes get down, but she kept herself level-headed and bounced back.”

For the Nighthawks, the beat goes on. The defending CCC champions were also state finalists last year, and have one of the more veteran squads in the state, starting with the first line of Partridge, Bonfiglio and Emily Moskal.

“The first line has been intact since they were freshmen, so they move the puck really, really well together,” Carrera said. “They’ve been together from day one.”

Carrera’s message to his team?

“Stay focused, don’t look too far ahead and don’t waste this opportunity,” the coach said. “You may never see it again.”

PLAYER OF THE GAME Sophia Ojala, Avon co-op:

The goalie shut down a strong West Haven/ SHA offense, stopping all 19 shots for the Nighthawks’ second shutout of the season.

QUOTABLE

“We’ve been playing well, we have a lot of team chemistry and a lot of our forwards are back from last year so that’s where it starts. We know what we can do and we’ve just got to do it.” — Avon’s Bella Bonfiglio