Hompe, New Canaan Too Much For Ridgefield In Girls Hockey State Final

Try as it might, the Ridgefield girls hockey team simply had no answers for New Canaan scoring machine Olivia Hompe during Saturday's state championship game.

Hompe recorded seven points - four goals and three assists -- to lead the Rams to a 7-2 victory over the Tigers at the Terry Conners Rink.

After watching her dominate, Ridgefield coach Paul Fabbri could do nothing but heap praise on Hompe, who finished the season with 65 goals and 47 assists for 112 points - and she's just a sophomore.

"I haven't seen a better hockey player in the state in 10 years than she is," Fabbri said. "We kind of minimized her affect on the game in the first period. I don't know good they are because I'm so colored by her performance out there."

The Tigers (14-8-1) needed to get off to a good start Saturday and they did just that, scoring the first goal and twice grabbing the lead. But each time New Canaan (24-1) quickly answered.

Ridgefield took a 1-0 lead when Rachel Morrison's shot from inside the blue line floated past New Canaan goaltender Britt Gardella at 5:58.

While the Tigers held Hompe scoreless in the opening period, she did pick up assists on Jane Persky's two goals, the first just 33 seconds after Morrison opened the scoring.

At 11:21, Dana Cerone put Ridgefield back ahead, converting a one-timer in front after taking a centering pass from Morrison from behind the net. But two minutes later, Persky lifted a rebound over Tigers goaltender Maggie Philbin to once again get the Rams even.

Hompe took over the second period, registering a natural hat trick. She scored twice in the first 3:11 of the period, which seemed to demoralize the Tigers.

Her second goal was vintage Hompe, as she broke in alone and got a shot on goal despite being doubled-teammed, then followed up her own rebound to  make it 4-2.

Although Ridgefield was outshot 13-9 in the first period, the Tigers played the Rams on pretty even terms and had a number of solid scoring chances. Those opportunities weren't there as much in the middle stanza.

"(Hompe) had her fingerprints all over that second period," Fabbri said. "That's where we fell apart."

Hompe completed her hat trick at 11:02, when she again broke in alone and lifted a backhander over the shoulder of Jen James, who replaced Philbin after New Canaan's fourth goal.

James was Ridgefield's starting goaltender during the regular season, but did not play in the Tigers' state tournament wins over Simsbury and Darien due to the flu. Philbin started those games instead.

Hompe capped the scoring at 8:23 of the third period with a highlight reel goal. She cut around several defenders  before firing the puck inside the far past.

Before going up 2-1, Ridgefield had a goal nullified due to a crease violation, so in theory the Tigers could have had a two-goal lead. However, Fabbri wasn't sure it would have made a difference.

"I don't know if we would have slowed them down anyway," he said.

Saturday marked Ridgefield's fourth loss in as many games against New Canaan this season, although the Tigers did play the Rams tough at times.

"We had four good periods against them during the year," Fabbri said. "Unfortunately, we played 12, so that's not enough."

Still, the coach said he will not dwell on Saturday's game, but the road the Tigers traveled to get to Saturday -- the 3-2 five-overtime win against Simsbury in the quarterfinals and the 5-0 semifinal victory over Darien in the semifinals.