Branca lifts Wave past Cardinals
GREENWICH — Hard hat on his head, Winter Classic trophy in his arms in the hallway at the Greenwich Skating Club, Billy Branca said a night like Wednesday takes him back.
“Growing up, Gorham’s Pond in Darien, I bet there’s a few in Greenwich as well,” Branca said after the senior forward and his Darien boys hockey teammates beat Greenwich 4-2 Wednesday evening.
“We’ve spent hours (on the pond) from morning till night when it freezes over. I’ve taken off school to go play on the ponds. It’s a great experience to play outside.”
The fourth-annual event under the lights amid the trees at the club drew a crowd that rimmed most of the rink, with several dozen more in the building or up on patios.
Last year’s edition, like so much, didn’t happen amid the COVID-19 pandemic. And though there were a lot more masks than surely most people would’ve hoped to see by now, at least they played it.
“This night’s special just for the atmosphere,” Branca said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a high school team to be able to play outside, a bunch of fans right here on the glass.”
Coincidentally, Branca said he was one of five Darien players who took part two years ago, when the Blue Wave won for the first time. Greenwich won the first two in 2017 and 2018.
“We feel blessed to have the opportunity to play in a game like this,” Darien coach Mac Budd said. “It’s awesome for the guys, for Greenwich to be kind enough.
Greenwich sophomore Jackson Price got to play in the game for the first time, if not for the first time on the rink. He scored the game’s first goal.
“With the fans and everything — I used to play for the Skating Club, so it’s very nostalgic for me,” Price said. “It’s very nice to come back out here to play in front of friends and past teammates and have fun.”
Simsbury plays a couple of games a season at an open-air rink at Simsbury Farms Golf Course. Guilford is playing a handful of games at New Haven’s Ralph Walker Ice Rink, also open-air; the first was Wednesday’s 3-2 Lyman Hall win over the Grizzlies.
The temperature Wednesday was in the low 40s even after the sun went down, so it wasn’t too cold. There was even a bit of a mist above the ice near the Zamboni door before the teams took the ice for warmup.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Branca called himself a grinder, and Budd agreed with the label.
“That’s what he does well,” the coach said. “We have a few seniors like that,
who I’d characterize in a positive way as grinders. But he can create as well.”
OH, YEAH, HOCKEY
Branca’s centering pass found Graham Kreppein in front to put preseason No. 3 Darien ahead 2-1. That was the second of four see-saw goals in 2:33 and the first of three goals in 61 seconds.
Greenwich, fifth in the preseason GameTimeCT Top 10 Poll, led 1-0 after one. Henry Gregory tied it on a rebound late in the second. Darien went ahead. Nate Duffy (whose big firstperiod hit had forced a turnover and set up Price’s goal) tied it again. And off the faceoff, a Greenwich defender fell, and freshman Jack Collins took advantage to score the winner.
Chris Evans, Collins’ fellow fourth-line forward, scored in the third.
“This is more of a depth year,” said Budd, whose team is 3-0-1. “We have four lines and six (defenseman) we roll, and we certainly got a good contribution from all of the lines.”
NEARLY SAVED
Greenwich goalie Cole Studwell made 45 saves.
“He played great. Shots were pretty lopsided,” Greenwich coach Jack Duffy said. “He played great game. It could’ve been a different score without him.”
The Cardinals fell to 1-3, the three losses in a row, but the coach thought his team’s compete level was raised from shutout losses to Fairfield Prep and Xavier.
QUOTABLE
This outdoor game was, Budd said, former Cardinals coach “Chris Rurak’s baby.” Rurak died in 2020.
“I’m very grateful to him for creating the experience, which is a great hockey day for all of our kids,” Budd said. “They circle the date every year.”