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The Darien girls ice hockey team celebrates after defeating Southington/Avon 5-3 for the CHSGHA championship at Quinnipiac's M&T Bank Arena in Hamden on Wednesday, March 8, 2023.
Dave Stewart
HAMDEN — For the first time since 2018, Darien girls ice hockey rules Connecticut.
The Blue Wave scored the final two goals and overcame the Southington/Avon co-op 5-3 to capture the CHSGHA championship Wednesday night at Quinnipiac’s M&T Bank Arena.
Top-seeded Darien (22-1-2), which has appeared in the last six finals, now has five state titles, and completed a double with FCIAC and state crowns this season.
Darien coach Jamie Tropsa said it was great to see the seven seniors on the team go out on top, after not having state finals due to the pandemic during their first two high school seasons.
“For these kids to finally get it was really nice,” Tropsa said. “ The seniors had the COVID years, which ruined their high school careers a little bit, so it's nice to go out the way they did. They’re such a great group of kids, they really are, every one of them.”
“I’m so excited,” said senior co-captain Kelsey Brown, who was named the MVP. “We haven’t won anything like this since (FCIACs) our freshman year and it’s just a great way to end the season and move on to our future.”
The second-seeded Nighthawks (21-4) were making their first appearance in the state final, after reaching the semifinals last season. They were also the only team to beat the Blue Wave this season, winning a 7-6 game late in the regular season after an earlier 7-1 loss to Darien.
“It’s tough after the run we had,” Southington/Avon coach Mike Carrera said. “We had a nice run and I was pleased with all of them and their work ethic. We had that first seven minutes when we controlled things and then we couldn’t get going after that. They were on us. It just seemed like they were a step quicker than we were tonight.”
Darien had the initial advantage when Brown scored on a rebound of a shot by Natalie Beach 9:21 into the game.
The Nighthawks equalized with 1:04 to go in the first period as Bella Bonfiglio set up Emily Schneider for a one-timer in front.
Nicole Partridge then gave Southington/Avon its only lead when she scored unassisted 3:01 into the second period. Beach tied it for the Wave just 1:13 later and Darien took a 3-2 lead on a goal by Gretchen Edwards less than three minutes after that.
After Emily Moskal tied it again at 3-3, Darien went back in front with a short-handed goal by Maggie Bellissimo with 3:52 to go in the second.
That go-ahead goal came after a Nighthawks miscue in the defensive zone. Chelsea Donovan’s shot was blocked by Southington/Avon goalie Sophia Ojala, but Bellissimo scored on the rebound.
After the five-goal second frame, Darien scored the only goal of the third when Beach scored her second, again on a rebound, during a power play with 3:49 remaining.
“We concentrated on just trying to get the puck to the net and get rebounds,” Tropsa said. “We talked about that all week and we got two goals that way. So that’s our MO, we try to get as many pucks on net as we can and then use our speed because we skate pretty good.”
Player of the game
Kelsey Brown, Darien: The Blue Wave senior scored the opening goal of the night and Tropsa credited her back-checking as a big part of the team’s defensive effort.
Quotable
“We’re excited and a little relieved too. We’ve been working so hard for this all year, all four of our years. It’s just such a great feeling to end our season on such a high note.” – Darien senior Chelsea Donovan
David.Stewart@hearstmediact.com; @dstewartsports