Darien's Keira Austen (4) sends a pass towards the Avon net during the CHSGHA girls ice hockey semifinals in Shelton on Saturday, March 5, 2022.
Dave Stewart/Hearst Connecticut MediaDarien's winter athletic teams are skating and shooting their way into the 2022-23 season and in this week's Wave by the numbers, we'll take looks back and ahead at the ice hockey and basketball fortunes.
3-0
Record of the Darien girls ice hockey team in the first week of the season. The Blue Wave sandwiched a 4-0 shutout of Greenwich between matching 7-1 victories against CCC teams Conard/Hall and Simsbury.
7
Goals for Natalie Beach this season. Beach, a sophomore, had a hat trick in a win over Simsbury on Saturday, after scoring two goals in each of the games against Conard/Hall and Greenwich. Chelsea Donovan, a senior, has four goals, including a hat trick versus Conard/Hall.
16-5-1
Darien’s record in girls ice hockey last season. The Wave was knocked out of the FCIAC tournament in the semifinals, but responded with wins of 6-2 over Conard/Hall and 5-1 over the Avon co-op to reach the state final. The championship game was a thriller, with Darien falling to New Canaan 4-3 in triple overtime at the Darien Ice House.
15-9-1
Record of the Darien boys ice hockey team during the 2021-22 season. The Blue Wave was 11-7-1 and finished as the CIAC Div. I runner-up.
3-1
Darien’s record in the Div. I tournament. Seeded sixth, the Wave shut out No. 11 Greenwich 3-0, before knocking off two higher seeds with wins of 2-1 over No. 3 Northwest Catholic in the quarterfinals, and 3-1 over No. 2 Xavier in the semis. No. 1 Notre Dame-West Haven beat Darien in the final 4-2.
2
Darien’s ranking in the preseason GameTimeCT boys ice hockey poll. Notre Dame-West Haven is No. 1, with No. 3 Fairfield Prep, No. 4 New Canaan and No. 5 Xavier in the top five.
12/17
Date of the home opener for the Darien boys ice hockey team. The Wave will host Northwest Catholic at 5:30 p.m. at the Darien Ice House.
9-12
Record of the Darien boys basketball team last winter. The Blue Wave started the season 7-4, but struggled down the stretch. They qualified for the CIAC Div. III tournament as the No. 23 seed and lost a tough battle at No. 10 WCA 68-66 in the first round.
12/19
Date of Darien’s home opener against Newtown. The Wave, who plays at Bassick on Thursday, Dec. 15, will tip off against Newtown at 7 p.m. next Monday.
5-15
Record of the Darien girls basketball team last season. The Wave split its final four games of the season, including winning 29-27 over rival New Canaan. Darien hosts Newtown at 7, Thursday.
41-16
Score of the Wave’s season-opening girls basketball win against Bassick on Monday.
David.Stewart@hearstmediact.com; @dstewartsports