It’s been 10 seasons since a team other than Darien or New Canaan won the state championship in Connecticut high school girls’ hockey.
The CHSGHA only has one division made up of 22 teams, and the Blue Wave and Rams have dominated it since 2015. Those two powerhouses met in last season’s title game, and Darien emerged victorious, 4-2. Unsurprisingly, they’re where our teams to watch start.
The big question in Connecticut is whether another team can unseat them. A few teams have taken down one in the semifinals of years past, only to fall to the other in the final.
Is this the year a new team rises to the top in Connecticut?
Let’s dive into our 10 teams to watch:
1. Darien
Conference: FCIAC
2024-25 regular season: 16-0-0
2024-25 postseason: State champions
Coach: Gray Weicker
Weicker, the long-time assistant coach, takes over the Blue Wave after the program won its fifth state title in former coach Jamie Tropsa’s final season. Darien is losing a ton — six starters, to be exact, including forward Sarah Kellogg, who scored a hat trick in the state final, and former captains Parker Krotee and Sophia Haas. Still, Darien is Darien. The Wave return senior forward Adriana Gromelski (26 goals, 13 assists last season) and senior captain defender Lila Fiorita (7 goals, 11 assists), both of whom were first-team All-State last season, plus a bevy of contributors behind them. Junior Cam Seely is strong in goal, too; the only hole on Darien’s roster is her backup, whom Weicker is still trying to find, but if Seely stays healthy, the Wave are the team to beat again.
2. New Canaan
Conference: FCIAC
2024-25 regular season: 18-2-0
2024-25 postseason: State finalists
Coach: Rich Bulan
Between Maddie Tully, the reigning state player of the year, Serena O’Connor and Fiona Curry, Bulan’s group lost 77 goals and 134 points from last season. New Canaan only has nine returning starters this season; luckily, the Rams’ incoming freshman class has Bulan excited. It includes goalie Reeve Burley, who will split the net with star junior Macyn Callahan, defender J.D. Natale and forwards Lyla Ives and Berkeley Holland, the latter of whom could center the Rams’ second line. And there’s still plenty of talent returning — senior captain and first-team All-State selection Ashton Pinkernell and junior Jenna Vigano will lead the defensive core, and on NC’s top line, senior Izzy Janiga will join forces with juniors Maddie Rayher and Izzy Hanna, both of whom have college hockey potential.
3. Hall/Conard
Conference: CCC
2024-25 regular season: 14-6-0
2024-25 postseason: State quarterfinalists
Coach: Jared Cohane
Hall/Conard won the program’s first CCC title with a 4-2 victory over the Suffield Co-op, only to fall in overtime to Suffield a couple of weeks later in the state quarterfinal. Cohane’s team this season looks poised for similar, if not bigger, things — senior captain center Teagan Cohane (15 goals, 19 assists last season) is a reigning first-team All-State player, senior captain defender Fiona Campbell eats up time on ice while never taking penalties, and junior forwards Paige Sweeney (12 goals, 8 assists) and Mia Longman (a beast on the forecheck) are both key contributors. Cohane also might have the best goalie tandem in the state — senior Lauren Busi was first-team All-State last season, while her backup, sophomore Avery Freiday, posted a .953 save percentage in eight games as a freshman. With that kind of backstop, Hall/Conard is capable of taking down Darien or New Canaan.
4. Amity Co-op
Conference: SCC
2024-25 regular season: FIND OUT
2024–25 postseason: State quarterfinalists
Coach: John Peschell
This feels like the year for Peschell’s group to go get it. The Amity Co-op returns nearly everyone from last year’s group, which fell to West Haven/SHA in the SCC title game and Darien in the state quarterfinals. That includes senior forwards Maybelle Caron (18 goals, 15 assists last season), a two-time first-team All-State selection, and Emelia Brandi (12 goals, 14 assists), who will form one of the state’s best lines alongside either sophomores Caroline Barto or Eva Hall. Sophomore Kendall Montabana is an exciting offensive talent in the defensive core, and junior goalie Ivy Massicotte (2.13 goals against average, .920 save percentage last year) returns for her third season as the starter. Peschell has a roster that can make some real noise.
5. Suffield Co-op
Conference: CCC
2024-25 regular season: 12-5-0
2024-25 postseason: State semifinalists
Coach: Mike Downs
The Suffield Co-op graduated 11 seniors from last season’s state semifinal group, but Downs fully expects his team to be in the thick of things in the CCC and the state tournament again. That’s because of an exciting junior class ready to assume the reins. The headliner is Grace Pacholski (10 goals, 11 assists last season), a defender by trade who can also play forward. Center Lila Prayzner (6 goals, 8 assists), who scored the overtime winner in last year’s state quarterfinals, and winger Madeline Croyle will lead Suffield’s forward group, and junior goalie Cecilia Estrada (2.4 goals against average, .860 save percentage) will take over in goal after splitting the net last season.
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6. East Catholic Co-op
Conference: CCC
2024-25 regular season: 16-9-0
2024-25 postseason: State quarterfinalists
Coach: Frank Usegglio
The East Catholic Co-op will need to replace 50 goals from last year, between Liliana Ficaro, the program’s all-time leading scorer now at SUNY Oswego, and Leah Martino, who left for Prep (Pomfret). Whereas defense was a struggle for a high-scoring team last year, Usegglio anticipates it’ll be the opposite this season — with senior assistant captain Kasey Pierz leading the defensive core and senior Molly Hazlett, who returns from an injury, in goal. But there’s certainly hope for the forward group; captain Deirdre McKiernan (12 goals, 14 assists last season) and fellow senior Charlotte Laramee (4 goals, 12 assists) were both All-CCC a year ago, even though the latter broke her wrist midway through the season. If Usegglio can get more goals from those two, his team will be a contender in the CCC, in which they reached the semifinals in 2024-25, and the state, in which they fell in the quarters.
7. West Haven/Sacred Heart Academy
Conference: SCC
2024-25 regular season: FIND OUT
2024-25 postseason: State quarterfinalists
Coach: Erin Blake
Powered by a loaded freshman class, West Haven/SHA was excellent last season, winning the SCC and nearly knocking off New Canaan in the state quarterfinal. However, all but one of those freshmen are back as sophomores — that’s Ella Williams, a smooth, smart and technical defender who will lead Blake’s blue line. Reigning second-team All-State forward Hailey Azzarone returns, too, after recording 14 goals and 14 assists last year, as does senior forward Olivia Twarowski, the team’s second-leading scorer last season behind star freshman Allesandra Picard, who left for Prep (Deerfield). Blake has an encouraging goalie tandem in freshman Rylee DeSanto and junior Megan Losito as well. There’s talent still here, but West Haven/SHA will need other players to step up after losing so much over the offseason.
8. Stamford/Westhill/Staples
Conference: FCIAC
2024-25 regular season: 8-8-3
2024-25 postseason: State quarterfinalists
Coach: Steve Falcone & John Fay
SWS has an impressive core of seniors, many of whom have been contributing since their freshman seasons — meaning they were part of the team that reached the state final two years ago. Among them, captains Anne Leydon (5 goals, 5 assists last season) and Gracie Kapitan (5 goals, 6 assists) and assistant captains Ella Pearle (7 goals, 7 assists) lead the forward group, while another assistant captain and reigning All-FCIAC first-teamer Avery Askew (5 goals, 8 assists) leads the defensive core. In goal, senior Marley Converse will need to replace All-FCIAC second-teamer McCaffrey Tuttle, who left for Prep (Pomfret).
9. Avon Co-op
Conference: CCC
2024-25 regular season: 14-5-1
2024-25 postseason: State semifinalists
Coach: Steve Wall
As the No. 3 seed last season, the Avon Co-op reached the state semifinals, where it fell to New Canaan, 3-0. Wall’s group rode arguably the best top line in Connecticut, featuring Kalyn Reynolds (Albertus Magnus), Emily Schneider (Salem State) and Maya Fanelli, all either first- or second-team All-State selections. But Fanelli (14 goals, 17 assists last season), who is committed to SUNY Canton, is the only one who returns. Wall will need to replace that line’s production — senior Katelyn Oliver (4 goals, 6 assists) and junior Madison Holl (2 goals, 6 assists) are among the players he’ll look to. Wall’s also dealing with uncertainty in goal, but if the Avon Co-op can put a solid team around Fanelli, it’ll be dangerous.
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10. Greenwich
Conference: FCIAC
2024-25 regular season: 8-11-0
2024-25 postseason: Didn’t qualify
Coach: Mike Lisjak
In Lisjak’s first season, the Cardinals may still be a year away from true contention. But Greenwich has an exciting core of sophomores and juniors that’s worth watching this season — Eleanor Woolven started in goal as a freshman last year, while twin sister Miren is a powerful forward with a big shot. Charlotte Dengl-Kelly was a top-line center as a freshman a season ago, and she’s played on a club line with two more sophomores, Lexi Lisjak and Lilly Bittman, the last couple of years. Meanwhile, junior captains Carlyn Duffy, a defenseman, and Madeline Jones, who can play anywhere, will be big contributors as well. Lisjak has the depth to run three lines, and while it’s a young group that didn’t make the FCIAC or state tournament last season, there’s a lot of talent here.
