Doug Reilly
Reporter
Yesterday, the Rams hockey team defeated long time FCIAC arch-rival Darien with a score of 4-0 in front of a full crowd at Darien Ice Rink. The Rams took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a goal from senior and captain forward Sam Stanton and never looked back, scoring twice in the 2nd period and again in the 3rd to seal the victory. On December 26th, the boys hockey team defeated the Blue Wave in one of the most exciting New Canaan vs. Darien hockey games in history, score 2-1.
The Blue Wave, looking for revenge from their earlier loss to the Rams, came out strong and put the pressure on the Rams, but the Rams defense and freshman goalie Tim Nowacki, who accounted for 19 saves and another shutout, stood strong and kept the Wave of the scoreboard. Darien went on the power play about halfway through the first period, but could not take advantage. Seconds after killing the penalty, the Rams took it deep into the Blue Wave defensive zone and Sam Stanton snuck one past Darien’s outstanding senior goalie and captain Willy Love with 3:13 left in the period, assisted by senior captain Kris Nugent and junior Jimmy Jo Granito.
The first period ended with a score of 1-0 in favor of New Canaan. However, Darien had 50 seconds remaining on a power play going into the second period. The Rams once again killed off the penalty, something that seemed to happen a lot on this night. Back-to-back Darien penalties led to a power play goal with 9:46 left in the second period. Nugent shot low on net and Stanton was there for an easy tip in through the legs of Darien’s Love, making it 2-0.
15 seconds later, senior forward Tim Robustelli made the score 3-0 when he knocked the puck into the back of the net off of a pretty feed from in close from senior captain Andrew Leslie, his first of two assists on the night. After two periods, the score remained 3-0, a deficit seemingly too large for the Blue Wave to climb out of.
The third period featured less scoring, but more defense from both the Rams and Blue Wave. Later in the period, tempers began to flare and things started getting a little heated after a collision along the board between Darien freshman Domenick Luongo and several Rams, including junior forward David Crandall and sophomore forward Dylan Hart. As a result of the fight, Luongo was ejected from the game, and Hart took a two-minute minor for the Rams, with just over two minutes to play in the game.
To put the icing on the cake, Jimmy Jo Granito scored off a pass from Andrew Leslie with 22.8 seconds remaining in the game, giving the Rams a 4-0 lead and an eventual 4-0 win over a struggling, yet tough Blue Wave team. Despite the four goals allowed, Willy Love was outstanding in the net, recording 41 saves.
The state tournament is not yet out of reach for Darien, who fell to 3-3 in the FCIAC and 5-9 overall. Winning three out of their last six games, including four home games, would likely give them a spot in states. On the other hand, The Rams are on a roll, winning nine of their last ten, improving to 5-1 in the FCIAC and 11-3 overall. In the FCIAC East Division, the Rams are now tied for first with St. Joseph and Wilton.
Up next for the Rams is at St. Joe’s on Saturday night, February 6th at 8pm at the Shelton Rinks.
