New Canaan Girls Fall To West Hartford In State Hockey Final, 3-2

The New Canaan girls hockey team's bid for a third consecutive state championship was derailed Saturday by a defensive-minded West Hartford squad that succeeded in shutting down Olivia Hompe and the Rams' high-powered offense.

Emily Corrales scored on a breakaway 9:38 into overtime following a turnover as the War Chiefs defeated the Rams 3-2 at the Ingalls Rink.

Corrales beat New Canaan goaltender Britt Gardella with a backhander to the stick side to give West Hartford (19-3) its first state championship despite getting outshot by a 32-17 margin.

"I tried to get my elbow there," said Gardella, who finished with 14 saves. "It was well-placed. It went over my shoulder."

"Sometimes you just fall short, but you had a great player making a great play to win the game," added New Canaan coach  Rich Bulan, whose team dropped to 5-2 in the state finals. "It was a play where hopefully we were going to get it deep. We didn't. We gave it up in the neutral zone and off they go."

It was the War Chiefs' second straight overtime win as they defeated Simsbury 2-1 in double overtime on Thursday. Simsbury was the only othr team to beat New Canaan, which finished the season with a 23-2 record.

West Hartford's dramatic win came after the Rams erased a 2-0 deficit in the third period.

After West Hartford defenseman Caitlin O'Meara opened the scoring 3:33 into the first period, the War Chiefs added an insurance marker on Caroline Kuzoian's power-play goal with 1:08 remaining in the second period.

While sophomore Juliana Bailey-Simao tightly shadowed Hompe, the War Chiefs also did an excellent job of blocking shots and taking away passing lanes.

And sophomore goaltender Lauren Sorgieo frustrated the Rams with 30 saves, three times stopping Hompe on breakaways,  including a game-saving denial in the final minute of regulation.

"We knew two things (about West Hartford) -- they don't score a lot but, man, they don't give up a lot of goals," Bulan said. "I think the biggest thing we also did in the third period was get enough traffic in front of the net to make it tough for (Sorgieo)."

In an unfamiliar of position trailing by two goals after the second period,  the Rams finally got an opening when West Hartford's Emmy Jednorowicz picked up a penalty 51 seconds into to the third period.

New Canaan cashed in just six seconds into the power play as Abbey Buckenheimer's wrister from the left faceoff circle beat Sorgieo.

The Rams pulled even on Holly Burwick's goal at 4:56, then dominated the remainder of the period, outshooting the War Chiefs 12-3 in the third.

"I thought their goalie was excellent," Gardella said. "I believe that we outplayed them, but it was just one of those days."

After West Hartford killed off a bench minor for too many on the ice in the final three minutes, Hompe made a bid to win it, but she was stopped on her third breakaway attempt with 21 seconds left.

"You look at that and you say that's usually money in the bank, but the goalie's a great player and sometimes it just goes the other way," Bulan said. "She made several great saves on (Hompe)."

Gardella then turned aside Corrales' shot from the slot as regulation time expired, perhaps an eerie harbinger of things to come.

New Canaan had scored 22 goals in its previous three games, including a 6-1 semifinal victory over Ridgefield. Hompe was held scoreless in the championship game after scoring 78 goals in her junior season.

The overtime was cautiously played with West Hartford generating three shots and New Canaan just two.

If there was any consolation for the Rams, it's that they went down fighting.

"It might be one of the best third periods we have played all year," Bulan said. "We're in a tie game, shooting the puck all over the place. You can't ask for anything more."