New Canaan girls ice Ridgefield with late rally

RIDGEFIELD -- The Ridgefield High girls hockey team led New Canaan for only two minutes in Wednesday's game, but it was enough to erase almost any memory of the Tigers' blowout loss to the Rams earlier this season.

The Tigers took a one-goal lead on the Rams early in the second period but then allowed four unanswered goals, losing 5-2 and snapping a season-best five-game winning streak.

Ridgefield is now 12-7 with one game left in its regular season.

In the Tigers' first game of the season they lost to New Canaan 7-0, but were without sophomore forward Cara Lockwood. On Wednesday Lockwood scored both of Ridgefield's goals.

"(The first game against New Canaan) was 19 games ago, it was an entire season ago," said Ridgefield coach Paul Fabbri. "This is frustrating, and it's not the time of the season for moral victories, but we're a different team now, for sure."

Added New Canaan coach Rich Bulan, whose team finished the season with an 18-1 record (13-1 in the FCIAC). "They've obviously gotten better. And I expected this. I knew it would be a dog fight, and they played very well."

New Canaan freshman Bianca Schultz scored the game's first goal 4:36 into the first period, with 29 seconds left on the power play, but Ridgefield scored the next two goals.

With 4:25 left in the first period Ridgefield junior Rachael Morrison skated toward the New Canaan goal with a couple steps on the Rams' last defenseman. Her initial shot was deflected away by the left pad of goalie Charlotte Spitzfaden, but Lockwood got there in time to backhand the rebound just inside the post.

Then a little over a half a minute into the second period, Lockwood got a wrist shot past Spitzfaden's left to put the Tigers up 2-1.

New Canaan's Bea Eppler scored 2:11 later to tie the game, the first of New Canaan's game-clinching four straight goals.

The game was tied at 2 for about 10 minutes, with Ridgefield blocking the front of its net and deflecting several of New Canaan's initial shots.

"I thought they were collapsing their forwards and defensemen in front of the net, and they have the skill players who could jump in the open areas and capitalize," said Bulan. "I thought they played well defensively."

But with 2:13 left in the second period and Ridgefield on the power play in the Rams' zone, Schultz zipped the puck all the way to the other end of the ice, and New Canaan's Olivia Hompe raced down all alone to retrieve it. Hompe wrapped around the net as two Ridgefield players closed in on her, then snuck it just past the right heel of goalie Jennifer James.

"The lapse on that third goal was disappointing, to give it up on a softie like that," said Fabbri. "That was a momentum swing."

Jana Persky then scored a pair of goals (one with 6:39 left and one with 4:23 left) to put New Canaan up 5-2.

"Our team has a lot of heart but we didn't put it all out there," said Lockwood. "But in the playoffs we'll start coming together."

RIDGEFIELD 1 1 0 -- 2

NEW CANAAN 1 2 2 -- 5

GOALS: NC--Jana Persky 2, Bianca Schultz,Bea Eppler, Olivia Hompe; R--Cara Lockwood 2. ASSISTS: NC-- Eppler 2, Schultz, Hompe. GOALIES: NC--Charlotte Spitzfaden (16 saves); R--Jennifer James (28 saves). RECORDS: New Canaan 18-1; Ridgefield 12-7.