Wave Puck Ties New Canaan 1-1

by Conor Davey

On Saturday, January 11, 2014, the Mens Hockey team took on the New Canaan Rams and after the previous matchup, a 6-1 Darien win, the Rams were looking to seek revenge. With a “we so rowdy” student section, the Darien Blue Wave had its school spirit on full display.

To clarify, New Canaan does not have an ice rink in their town so they rent out the Darien Ice Rink as well for their hockey team. On paper this was a home game for New Canaan, but the Darien crowd let it be known that this was their turf.

The game started off with the usual intensity that characterizes a Darien-New Canaan rivalry game, with a couple big hits but nothing quite coming together. Towards the end of the period though, the Darien team took advantage from a defending error from a New Canaan error and junior Tiger Sullivan capitalized on the mistake. Sullivan received the puck right in front of the net off of a rebound and a precise shot allowed the Blue Wave to lead 1-0 to end the first period.

The second period opened up with a string of shots from the Blue Wave that saw none of them find the back of the net. With several scoring occasions and being in control of the puck for most of the game, it was clear that Darien had the momentum going into the third period. Yet the solid play of the New Canaan goalkeeper held them at bay. In the waning minutes of the second period, though, New Canaan got an opening. After an amazing save by senior Michael Colon, a Rams player pounced on the puck and put it in to level the score.

The third period came into play with neither team able to put another goal in, which led to overtime. Again during the third period and overtime, the Blue Wave were in the zone and were hungry for a goal. At only one moment did New Canaan have a scoring threat, but junior Aidan Loh was there to quell it. Huge hits by seniors Owen Koorbusch and Nick Allam fueled the charge for another goal, yet sadly the game ended in a tie of 1-1.

Junior superfan Tim Grozier shared his thoughts about the tie: “It was a very exciting game to watch and I think everyone there knew that Darien deserved to win the game because of how well they were playing.”

Come watch the Blue Wave Mens Hockey team at the Darien Ice Rink as they take on Fairfield on Wednesday, January 15, at 6:00 pm.

The Blue Wave superfans cheer on the boys as they exit the ice (Credit: Mark Conrad)