The hope for the CHSGHA entering this season was that a group of teams would emerge that could compete with Darien and New Canaan.
As we enter the final month of the regular season, the Rams and Wave are still at the top of Connecticut girls’ hockey. But the field below them is legitimately crowded, with the Central Connecticut Conference in the midst of a four-team race for the league title and a few outfits from the Southern Connecticut Conference owning impressive wins.
And in the Fairfield County Interscholastic Conference, where NC and Darien still reign, one up-and-coming team is exceeding expectations.
Let’s dive into our midseason report. All CHSGHA rankings are as of Friday morning (Jan. 30).
Three takeaways
1. Darien and New Canaan are the teams to beat. Stop us if you’ve heard that before. The reigning state champion and state runner-up are at it again, though it’s actually Darien (9-1-0) atop the CHSGHA’s rankings, even though New Canaan (11-0-1, second in the rankings) is undefeated and beat the Wave earlier this season. But Gray Weicker’s team has had no issues rebounding from that loss — in the seven games since, the Wave have outscored opponents by a combined 48-5. Rich Bulan’s Rams, despite owning that huge rivalry win, just haven’t been nearly as dominant, but they still clearly join the Wave as prohibitive state title favorites.
READ MORE: The latest girls prep rankings
2. A few new stars have emerged. At top of mind here is the East Catholic Co-op’s Ally Dudzinski. The freshman (10 goals, 6 assists) has been a revelation on the top line with established seniors Deirdre McKiernan and Charlie Laramee. Dudzinski is actually a defender for her club team, the Hartford Junior Wolfpack, but East coach Frank Usegglio saw her shot and offensive instincts right away, and they haven’t disappointed. At Darien, Ella Harrison is the Wave’s third-leading scorer (7-7-14) and has popped as a sophomore like Weicker thought she could. New Canaan’s freshman class — specifically goalie Reeve Burley (0.6 goals against average in six games), forwards Berkeley Holland (5-8-13) and Lina Kivikko and defender J.D. Natale — has lived up to the billing, too.
3. Greenwich’s young core is putting it together. We wrote about first-year coach Mike Lisjak’s team during the preseason. Our takeaway? Greenwich was likely still a year away, but a deep group of sophomores and juniors could still make some noise this winter. Well, check this out: since a 5-0 loss to Darien dropped them to 4-5-1, the Cardinals have won five in a row, and in dominant fashion. They’ve got two shutouts over that stretch, including in a 9-0 win over Ridgefield, the same team that beat the Cardinals 8-6 in December. Led by sophomore forwards Miren Woolven (15 points) and Lexi Lisjak (14), Greenwich is getting contributions from everywhere. Lisjak’s goal was to finish above .500. At 9-5-1 (though only 12th in the CHSGHA’s rankings), the Cards are well on their way.
Three questions
1. Who wins the CCC? What was a four-team race appears to be becoming a two-team race as the East Catholic Co-op (11-3-0) and Hall/Conard (10-2) pull away from the Avon (7-4-1) and Suffield (9-5) Co-ops. To that end, East and Hall are essentially deadlocked right now. H/C and East both have two CIAC losses — to each other (both games ended 4-3) and to Darien. Both also own victories over Avon and Suffield, though it was worth noting that H/C coach Jared Cohane felt Suffield outplayed his group, and East was given real tests by both Avon (4-1 win that was closer than it looks) and Suffield (2-1 win). East and H/C are clearly on top, but the CCC is probably still a four-team race.
2. How good is the Amity Co-op? Pretty good, certainly. John Peschell’s team is fifth in the CHSGHA’s rankings and has run as our No. 3 team all season. But the Blades (9-2-2) are struggling of late — they lost 4-1 at the Masuk Co-op, a main SCC challenger, last Wednesday, then were defeated 3-1 by East Catholic at home on Saturday in their biggest test of the season thus far. They rebounded with a 5-2 victory over the Mercy Co-op, and senior captain forwards Maybelle Caron and Emelia Brandi (21 points each) are as dangerous a duo as they come, but the Blades could use a statement win. They get Masuk again on Feb. 3 and New Canaan on Feb. 14.
READ MORE: Girls prep hockey midseason report
3. Who else can make noise? The most obvious answer is the Masuk Co-op (7-2-1), which sits at sixth in the rankings and just beat Amity. Carly Bokina’s team competed against Hall in a 3-1 loss the game before that, too, though the Panthers came back down to earth on Wednesday in a 3-2 loss to the Wilton Co-op. Speaking of Wilton, Michelle Gintoli’s group is only 5-4-1, but its benefiting hugely in the rankings (currently seventh) from an early-season tie with New Canaan. Fellow FCIAC outfit Trumbull (6-5-2, 11th in rankings) gave NC a run early in the season, too, and the Eagles have proven to be competitive. They’re worth watching, so long as they qualify for the 12-team state tournament.
