Co-Op Hockey Team Hot Streak Reaches 10 of 11

The Branford girls’ co-op hockey team is made up of players from Branford, East Haven, and North Branford high schools. The team, whose nickname is the ​“Wings,” plays in the SCC South Division and is off and running with a 12 – 3 record including a streak of 10 out of the last 11 games played.

Last Saturday they defeated the co-op team from Avon-Southington-East Granby-RHAM 6 – 2 and followed that with an upset 2 – 1 win over perennial power Hamden on Wednesday.

The Eagle covered the first game played on Saturday at the East Haven Ice Rink. ​“This win over the Avon co-op team was a good win for us,” said Coach Jack Norton after the game. ​“They are a much better team than their record (3 – 10) indicates. They play a tough aggressive style.”

The Wings were led by senior co-captain Emmy Norton (North Branford) who had three assists and freshman Julianna Constantinople (East Haven) who scored three goals to pick up her second consecutive hat trick to go along with one the week before. She also had an assist.

Team members listened as coaches Jack Norton and Don Odice talked to them at the start of the game.

The Wings picked up four goals before Avon scored their first. In addition to Constantinople’s goals, other goals were scored by Emilie Wilkinson (North Branford), Sophia Catarano (Branford), and Melanie Norton (North Branford), sister of Emmy, who scored her first varsity goal.

Sophomore Izabella Segui performed well in goal, stopping a number of shots by the Avon team who was trying to catch up most of the game.

Here Julianna Constantinople, a freshman, skates up ice to score one of her three goals.

And here Goalie Izabella Segui stops a shot by Melanie Rice as Hailey Manware closes in to help.

Sophia Catarano (21) scored a goal for the Wings. 

Subbing for senior Julia SanGiovanni, who was away, Coach Norton added, ​“Izzy did very well today. We’re lucky we have two good goalies.”

And to make it a special week, this past Wednesday the Wings stunned the Hamden Green Dragons, the no. 2 team in the state in the latest Register Poll, with a 2 – 1 upset win.

The victory resulted in the Wings reaching the no. 8 ranking in the top 10 poll for the first time since 2015.

The co-op’s next game is this Saturday (today) at the East Haven Ice Rink at 3:15 p.m. against the Notre Dame of Fairfield-Law-Foran-Weston co-op team. As they have in past games, the Wings will assemble for the National Anthem before the game begins. 

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