Third Time Not the Charm: New Canaan Falls to Notre Dame–West Haven

 

There’s an old cliché in sports about how tough it is to beat a team three times in one season. That said, cliché became reality for the New Canaan Rams boys hockey team. The 7th-seeded Rams could not pull off the season hat trick over Notre Dame–West Haven as they dropped a 2-0 decision to the #2 Green Knights Saturday afternoon at Webster Bank Arena. The loss eliminated New Canaan from the state tourney, ending their season. “Today the better team won, very simple thing,” New Canaan head coach Bo Hickey said after the game.

Wave Goodbye: New Canaan Stuns Darien To Win FCIAC Hockey Title

 

The last time the New Canaan and Darien boys hockey teams met in the FCIAC Championship game it was 2008. Back then, Mac Wright was a 6th grade youth hockey player, awestruck by the spectacle of a filled-to-the-rafters hockey rink watching two bitter rivals going at each other with everything they had, as though their lives depended on it. And although he saw the Rams lose to Darien 2-1, it made an immediate, lasting impression on the young goalie. “I was thinking to myself, ‘I want to play in that game,’ ” Wright recalled. “This is something I need to do in my life.’”

Six years later, Wright not only played in “that game”—he’s its MVP.

New Canaan Tames Tigers, Advance to FCIAC Title Game

 

Harry Stanton’s overtime goal capped off one of the most exciting hockey games of the season, propelling the New Canaan Rams to the FCIAC championship game with an exhilarating 3-2 semifinal win over the defending conference champion Ridgefield Tigers at Terry Conners Rink. “I was exhausted,” Stanton said. “Everyone was exhausted. It was just a great feeling.”

The Rams will face Darien in Saturday’s conference final. The top-seeded Blue Wave defeated Trinity 3-1 in the other semifinal.