The West Haven High School Boys Hockey team began their second CO-OP season this week, after dropping to Division II for the first time since becoming a hockey team in 1969.
After a devastating 2022-2023 season, in which the team went 3-18, they look to regain their competitive integrity and fight for a chance at a State Championship. The last time the team took the crown was 1994.
Last year the Devils faced adversity when beginning their season as a CO-OP, joining forces with high schools from Oxford, Seymour and Shelton, and were never able to regain their feet. They were a young team, with only one senior. But now the tides have turned: the Blue Devils now have 11 seniors.
With a more experienced and a well-rounded team, they look to regain traction and be competitive throughout the season.
“We’re looking really solid as a team in all aspects, I’m excited to see what we can do this year,” Varsity Captain Jayden Spreyer said.
The Devils started their season on Dec. 12 with a tough loss against North Branford, 5-3. On Saturday they’ll face North Haven in the team’s first home match of the season. After that the team makes a journey to Maine, where they will play three out-of-state teams over the holiday break.
The Blue Devils seek to bounce back from last season when they won only won six games. It was taxing on the players, but gave them motivation for this year.
“We’re focused on this year only, forget last year, we’ll continue to show up every day working our hardest,” Alternative Captain Marcus Burrows said.
Although falling short to Xaviar and Amity in the preseason scrimmages, the team looked solid and had competitive integrity through it all.
Collapsing 5-1 to Xaviar after a first good half of the game was disappointing, but taking the positives away was most important.
On top of that, losing to Amity 2-1, after being up 1-0 was a hard pill to swallow, but a quick regroup from the team led to a 3-0 victory in the Jamboree just a few days later.
The Blue Devils also scrimmaged the cross-town rivals, Notre Dame’s West Haven Golden Knights, slipping to a 1-0 loss with just minutes remaining on the clock. Another optimistic performance from the team is a great way to roll into the season.
The Devils know the stakes are high and every team will be out to get them, but they are prepared for it. Now at a level playing field, everyone is invested into the season.
It is unrealistic to expect a perfect season, but the team knows to keep positive and keep fighting with every chance they get.
“Through the ups and downs of this season I’m happy to be experiencing this with the team we have,” Yousaf Ullah, West Haven Blue Devils Captain said.
This team looks like a brotherhood on and off the ice. Players and coaches have set the expectations high for themselves and only envision reaching these goals.
Excitement should flourish through the town because the West Haven Blue Devils Hockey team looks more than ready to regain its legendary reputation.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the WHHS boy’s hockey season record from last year. It was 3-18, not 6-14. Also, the last time the team won the state championship was 1994, not 1990.
