Molly Keshin, Sports Editor
@mollykCourant
Behind goals by four different players, the New Canaan girls’ hockey team trounced the Ridgefield Tigers to earn their spot in the FCIAC Championship this Saturday. Finishing off the regular season with a clean 18-2 overall record
(12-2 in the FCIAC), the Rams clinched the second seed, settling behind archrival Darien (19-1 overall, 14-0 in the FCIAC), who had handed New Canaan it’s only two losses earlier in the season. The third-seeded Tigers rounded out their season, finishing off with a 10-9-1 overall record and 9-5 in league play. In both of the matchups between New Canaan and Ridgefield throughout the regular season, the Rams dominated on offense, as they won 6-1 on January 6 and crushed Ridgefield 7-0 on February 4.
In the semifinal, the trend of offensive power and control would continue, as the Rams outshot the Tigers by a total of 43-12, as well as winning 30 out of the 44 total faceoffs. The aggression of the Rams’ main shifts, the first one comprised of senior co-captain Catherine Granito and sophomores Brooke Deane and Gianna Bruno, would lead them to score four of the five goals during the game.
Brooke Deane would be the first to make a mark as she came around behind the goal and pushed the puck past Ridgefield goalie Michaela Gleeson just over six minutes into the game to give the Rams a 1-0 lead. Catherine Granito would follow up just two minutes later, sending in the slap shot off an assist from Gianna Bruno, extending the New Canaan lead to 2-0. The Rams would maintain this lead going into the second period, as the Tigers could not capitalize on a penalty by Catherine with three minutes left in the period.
Much like the first, Brooke fired up the scoring frenzy once again, as she would get another unassisted goal 2:55 into the second period to bring the Rams up by three. Besides an interference penalty on Catherine five minutes into the period, there was a lull in the action until senior co-captain and defenseman Mia Carroll set up to take a slapshot off of a pass from junior Bella Marciano, giving the Rams a 4-0 lead with a minute left. However, the Rams weren’t done yet, as Gianna Bruno finished off a Rams attack with several shots on goal as she scored with assists by Brooke Deane and freshman Christina Marciano with just 26 seconds left in the second period. Heading into intermission, New Canaan held a 5-0 lead on over the Tigers.
During the intermission, members of the Wilton girls’ hockey team lead a ‘Chuck-a-Puck’ event in order to continue the FCIAC girls’ hockey fight to raise awareness for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS. Those who participated would throw a puck with their number on it onto the rink from the stands, and whoever came the closest to center ice would get the prize. The Granito family won the contest, but donated the money back to the ALS Foundation immediately afterwards.
With the ice freshly resurfaced and the charity event complete, both Ridgefield and New Canaan geared up for the
final period of the FCIAC Semifinal. Despite three Ridgefield penalties and one Rams penalty by Christina Marciano, neither team could capitalize on the power play and no goals were scored in the period. The Rams took a 5-0 victory, extending their winning season to 19-2 overall.
The Rams will face the Darien Blue Wave for the third time this season as they hope to claim the FCIAC title tomorrow, Saturday February 27 at 12:30 pm at Terry Conners Rink in Stamford.
