Molly Keshin
Sports Editor
@mollykCourant
On Saturday January 16, the girls’ hockey team stepped onto the ice to play Darien for what they believed to be the most challenging matchup of the season. Coming into this FCIAC showdown, the Rams stood at first place
in the league with an 8-0 record while the Blue Wave was close behind following their consecutive 9-0 victories over Trumbull/St. Joseph’s and Greenwich. The two rivals also used this as an opportunity to support Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), as both sides came together to run a bake sale to raise money, in addition to both teams wearing blue laces to support the cause.
Since the Rams have not lost a game in league play yet, the girls were looking to keep their perfect season alive. Meanwhile, Darien worked to surpass their rival for their place at the top of the FCIAC. Despite a hard-fought comeback by New Canaan late in the third period, the Blue Wave prevailed and prolonged their winning streak as they defeated the Rams 3-2.
Darien took an early lead, with a goal by Blue Wave sophomore Elise Maro less than three minutes into the period. Later on in the first period, with four and half minutes left, Darien’s Cassidy Schiff extended the Wave lead to 2-0, sending the Rams into the second period with some work to do.
However, the second period allowed for little change, as no goals were scored despite three overall power play opportunities due to two New Canaan penalties and one from Darien, along with a strong performance by freshman goalie Amanda Hill. Going into intermission, the Rams had just four shots on goal, while Darien had a much more aggressive 26 shots.
However, the Rams did not let this stop them. Senior co-captain Kate McMahon would be the first to put New
Canaan on the board as she rebounded a shot from fellow senior co-captain Catherine Granito to cut the Wave lead down to 2-1 with 9:30 left in the game. With a Darien interference penalty, junior Bella Marciano utilized the Rams’ power play to tie up the game 2-2 with just 4:51 left to play, with assists from sophomore Liz McCarthy as well as Catherine Granito.
With both crowds on their feet, Darien answered back shortly with a goal by Georgia Cassidy to bring the Wave back up 3-2. Despite another power play for the Rams, the score would remain the same, as New Canaan was not able to capitalize on it.
While this was a difficult loss for the Rams to swallow, they get another shot at taking on Darien in a rivalry rematch on January 29 at 6:40 pm at Darien Ice Rink.
