State Championship Girls Hockey Final Leads to Screams of Gender Inequity

After battling all season long to reach the state championship game, the girls fought through regulation and two overtime periods but remained deadlocked with their rivals at 2-2.

They were set to head back onto the ice to continue their crusade to claim the crown, but much to their dismay, they were told the game was over.

They were told they would be declared co-champions.

Instead of feeling the thrill of victory, the girls had to settle for a tie and were denied another opportunity to claim the title outright.

Such was the scene that played out Saturday afternoon in the girls’ hockey state championship game between Simsbury and the East Catholic/Glastonbury/South Windsor co-op team at the Terry Conners Rink in Stamford.

To make matters worse, the boys’ FCIAC championship game between Darien and Greenwich was scheduled to begin, giving the impression that the girls’ game was pushed aside in favor of the boys’ game.

“I think most people believe, and I can’t dispute this, is that there was some pressure on the rink or the FCIAC, the tournament director, I don’t know, to move it along and get the boys game started,” East Catholic/Glastonbury/South Windsor coach Frank Usseglio told the Hartford Courant. “I don’t know that, but I think that’s what most people think. If you looked at kind of the circumstantial evidence, that’s what you would think.”

The decision to stop the game has received national attention, including ESPN-W and Yahoo Sports among others, with critics blasting it as a gender inequity issue.

However, SCC Commissioner Al Carbone said the whole situation was an unfortunate miscommunication among the organizers of the tournament and the girls should have been allowed to continue playing until a winner was determined.

High school girls’ hockey in the state is governed by a partnership between the FCIAC and the SCC because there isn’t enough participation (20 teams – and going to 21 next year as Northwest Catholic/Mercy will form a co-op team), for the sport to be sanctioned by the CIAC (the ruling body of Connecticut high school sports), according to Carbone.

Carbone said that under the partnership between the SCC and the FCIAC, the leagues rotate ownership of the state tournament, but they work together prior to determine the qualifying teams and select an All-State team, etc.

This was the FCIAC’s year to host and Rich Bulan, the FCIAC’s girls’ hockey tournament chairperson, told the Courant that a committee of three FCIAC officials on site determined before the game that it would not go beyond a second overtime.

Bulan further explained on Twitter that the decision to end the state title game “after two OTs was based on CIAC rules for girls sports such as field hockey, soccer. CIAC rules in those sports have co-champs declared after two OTs.”

Bulan added that the decision was made with the “best intentions following a great performance by both finalists.

“Girls ice hockey is not a CIAC-sanctioned sport, but CIAC rules were used as a guide in this case. The overtime rule will be discussed at the next meeting between the FCIAC and SCC committees.”

However, Carbone (who was not at the game) said that the girls’ league follows the CIAC hockey overtime rules in which teams play 8-minute overtime periods until there’s a winner.

“There was miscommunication among the organizers of the tournament, and that includes us at SCC,” Carbone said in an email to Patch.com. “Can’t get around it.”

The two teams involved are members of the SCC girls’ hockey league that stretches into Hartford County (West Hartford (Hall/Conard), Simsbury and East Catholic/Glastonbury/South Windsor Co-Op reside) because there wasn’t another league to host them.

Carbone said that if there was confusion on the FCIAC’s part he wished that they had reached out to SCC officials.

“The decision was made,” Carbone said. “It was unfortunate for the kids and two teams – both of which played four great games against each other during the season. It was miscommunication, and it’s getting a lot of attention and we’d better make sure everyone knows the rules going forward.”

Carbone has taken offense to the criticism the leagues have received and the accusations that the girls’ game was stopped to make way for the boys’ FCIAC championship game that was set to begin.

“We (SCC and FCIAC) have done great things for girls hockey,” Carbone said. “We are saving this sport because the CIAC wants no part of it, because they hide behind the fact there aren’t enough teams. In fact, I feel it is time for the CCC to embrace the sport since six of their schools are involved.

“Last year’s girls ice hockey final, hosted by the SCC, was played at Yale’s Ingalls Rink. The same as the boys. So, where is the inequity with that?”

Carbone is hoping that something positive will come out of this negative situation.

“Unfortunately, what’s happening now is everybody (in the national media) is swooping in, now we have to retreat and blame each other because everybody’s watching now,” Carbone said. “But, I do hope people take a more vested interest in the sport. Let’s move on and continue to promote the sport rather than focus on this mistake. Maybe we can generate more interest from schools and leagues, and hopefully the CIAC will get involved.”

Pictured: The co-champion Simsbury and East Catholic/Glastonbury/South Windsor girls’ hockey teams. (Image via Dave Mix @davem196 on Twitter)