Girls hockey: RHS edges Fairfield, 1-0

Written by Tim Murphy
Thursday, 07 January 2010 12:04

Throughout high school, Maddie Hutchings has made her mark as a shutdown defenseman. So when Ridgefield High girls hockey head coach Paul Fabbri watched Hutchings take off on a Bobby Orr-style end-to-end rush in Tuesday’s game against Fairfield, he was a bit surprised.

Not that he minded the result.

Starting in her own zone, Hutchings skated the length of the ice before beating Fairfield goalie Stephanie Gabriel for an unassisted first-period goal.

That turned out to be the game’s only score as the Tigers came away with a harder-than-expected 1-0 victory.

“We kind of went through the motions,” said Fabbri, whose team improved to 4-3 with the win. “It was a lackluster performance for us.”

The Tigers outshot Fairfield, 26-12, but couldn’t put another shot past Gabriel, a freshman who has played well this season.

“She [Gabriel] made some good saves, but we also didn’t test her that much with our shots,” said Fabbri.

Ridgefield goalie Jen James stopped all 12 Fairfield shots for the shutout. The only scary moment came when a long Fairfield shot rolled up James’s stick and landed on top of the Ridgefield net.

Fabbri said his team is having trouble scoring consistently with sophomore Cara Lockwood still sidelined due to an ankle injury. Lockwood led the Tigers in goals with 16 last season.

“We miss her,” said Fabbri about Lockwood. “I’m hoping she can come back soon. She will give a boost to the first line.”

Fabbri said his team played better in a 4-3 overtime loss to highly regarded Simsbury last Wednesday in Simsbury.

Simsbury got the game-winnner on a power play.

“They had a 5 on 3 after we got called for too many players on the ice and then another penalty,” said Fabbri. “We killed off the first penalty but then they popped one in before we could kill off the second penalty.”

Trailing 3-2 after two periods, the Tigers rallied to tie the game on Allie Schiffer’s goal midway through the third period.

Rachel Morrison and Dana Cerone had the other goals for Ridgefield.

“I thought we played well,” said Fabbri. “Simsbury took New Canaan, the state’s best team, to overtime, so you know they are pretty good.”

TIGERS GRILL GUILFORD!
4-0
shutout by James.....

YOU GIRLS ARE DA BOMB!!!!

newstimes 12/22/09
Playing shorthanded and against the defending FCIAC and state champions, the Ridgefield girls ice hockey team had a coming of age game Monday at Darien Ice Rink.

In a game where the Tigers were out-shot 38-10 and were whistled for six penalties, Ridgefield fended off Darien 3-2.

"This is a real growing up point for us -- a real Christmas present," Ridgefield head coach Paul Fabbri said.

Ridgefield (2-2) capitalized on nearly every opportunity and rode the hot hand of goalie Jennifer James, who put together her best effort of the season. James, a junior playing in just her fourth game of her career, made 36 stops.

"That's a junior that hasn't played before (this year). That's a huge step up for her and helps us as a team," Fabbri said.

James was at her best down the stretch of a one-goal game, helping kill off two Darien power plays in the final six minutes -- the second of which became a 6-on-4 advantage when Darien pulled its goalie in the final minute.

"She was phenomenal. For her to play like that in a game like this, when we really needed it, was huge," Fabbri said of his goaltender.

James' effort was all the more impressive because of the relentless pressure the Blue Wave put on Ridgefield's defense, outshooting the Tigers 31-6 in the final two periods. Darien played the majority of the game in Ridgefield's zone, but was unable to slip shots past James.

"You have games like this and there's nothing you can do about it," Darien coach Al Gurney said.

The Blue Wave had a chance to tie the game with 1:15 remaining, but freshman Lexie Perkins' backhanded flip sailed over the open net.

"We had some fantastic opportunities and their goalie came up with big saves or we just didn't finish," Gurney said.

With a 2-0 lead and time winding down in the first period, James made an improbable save. After sliding to the right of the crease to make a save on a wrap-around attempt, James dove back to her left to make a one-handed save on a stuff-back attempt.

"You just don't show up and people let you win," said Gurney, who was pleased with his team's effort regardless of the results. "I don't think we played lethargic. We just didn't cash in on our opportunities."

With Darien having missed two scoring opportunities in the first seven minutes, the Tigers were able to break through on their first shot attempt. Nichole Gibson battled to clear the puck off the boards deep in Ridgefield's zone and gave it to Kristin Jumper. Jumper stepped in and slipped a wrister past Darien goalie Katharine Macomber (7 saves) at 8:30. Jumper's goal was the first time the Tigers had struck first all season.

"In our other games we've been down," Fabbri said. "That was a huge. That woke us up and was a shock to our system."

Ridgefield got another lift with a power play goal that gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead late in the first period. Dana Cerone put back a rebound that floated at the foot of the crease off a shot from Rachael Morrison at 13:54.

The game winning goal came off a great effort from Morrison, who battled two Darien defenders behind the Blue Wave net before cashing in a shorthanded goal. Morrison gathered the puck, retrieved her own rebound and flipped the puck over Macomber's shoulder at 22:48 for a 3-0 lead.

RIDGEFIELD 2 1 0--3

DARIEN 0 1 1--2

Records: Ridgefield 2-2; Darien 3-1.

Goals: R--Kristin Jumper, Dana Cerone, Morrison. D--Sara Shaker, Aimee Rich. Assists: R--Nicole Gibson, Dana Tobin, Rachel Morrison. D--Lexi Perticone, Ellie Bullitt. Goalies: R--Jen James (26 saves). D--Katharine Macomber (5 saves). Shots: R--8; D--28