Braves defeat Morris Catholic, 7-1

Junior Maksym Pastukh totaled three goals and three assists and senior David Pineda scored twice to power the Newton/Lenape Valley ice hockey team to a 7-1 victory over Morris Catholic in the season-opener for both schools Thursday, Dec. 7 at Mennen Arena in Morristown.

Tanner Gaboda (one goal), Lucas Garofano (one goal), Justin Zappe (three assists), Kellan Faessinger (one assist), Joey Gallucci (one assist) and Kendra Smith (one assist) also contributed to the decision.

The team then suffered its first loss of the season, a 5-1 setback to North Hunterdon on Saturday evening, Dec. 8 at Skylands Ice World in Stockholm.

Newton/Lenape Valley (1-1) was 8-15-1 last year.

It is scheduled to meet J.P. Stevens at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15 at the Club in Woodbridge.

Bowling

Newton High School opened its season with a 5-2 victory over High Point on Nov. 29 at Sparta Lanes.

The Braves were led by senior Rachel Porzilli, who rolled a high series of 451, and Brad Williams, who had a high game of 167. Other contributors included Salvatore Serillo (449 series), Devlin Schmid (389) and Cera Steinwand (383).

Williams, a sophomore, also had a high game of 223 in Newton’s 7-0 loss to Sussex Tech on Dec. 7.

The Braves (1-2) are scheduled to meet Vernon at 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14 at Sparta Lanes.

Other winter sports begin this week. Here is a look:

Boys basketball

The Braves will get the 2023-24 season under way at 7 p.m. Dec. 14 when they play at Jefferson.

Newton then will play its home opener at noon Saturday, Dec. 16 against North Warren.

A year ago, the Braves went 6-17. Junior guard Maxwell Maslowski, who averaged 8.3 points last winter, returns to the team.

Girls basketball

Caitlyn Pokrywa had a very successful freshman campaign last year, averaging a team-high 9.5 points and seven rebounds. She will be a focal point of the Newton offense when the season begins at 4 p.m. Dec. 14 at home against Hopatcong.

The Braves then will play at North Warren at noon Dec. 16.

Senior Catherine Vena (7.5 points per game) and junior Sophia May (6.1 ppg) also are back this season for head coach Whitney Dugan.

Wrestling

The Newton boys, 11-11 a year ago, will get their season started Dec. 16 at the 10th annual Laker Holiday Tournament at Mountain Lakes beginning at 9:30 a.m.

The Newton/Kittatinny co-op girls team will host a tri-meet in Newton against Parsippany Hills and St. Thomas Aquinas beginning at 5:45 p.m. Dec. 15 before taking part in the Bloomfield Tournament on Sunday, Dec. 17.

Last year, Liliana Zaku-Ramos went 25-4 and reached the 126-pound state final before bowing to Kira Pipkins of Bloomfield, who won her fourth state title.

Zaku-Ramos, Kailin Lee (fifth at 165 pounds) and Gianna Simeone (eighth at 107) are back this year for their senior seasons.

Swimming

The Newton boys and girls swim teams are set to take part in an Invitational Tournament beginning at 10 a.m. Dec. 16 at Kittatinny Regional High School.

CORRECTION: The name of the ice hockey team was incorrect in an earlier version of this article.