Greenwich, Darien create memories with R.I. rivals
Bishop Hendricken in Warwick, RI, is approximately 130 miles from Fairfield County. That’s a bus ride of between two and three hours on a good day.
For Hawks’ coach Mike Soscia, the connection with Greenwich is much closer to the heart.
Sosica was a teammate of former Greenwich boys hockey coach Chris Rurak on the SUNY-Cortland men’s team in the 1990s. The two were team captains together and stayed friends beyond their college days.
Rurak, who coached the Cardinals from the 2016-17 to 2019-20 seasons, died in 2020.
Soscia credited Rurak with putting together a weekend series of high school hockey, which includes Darien and LaSalle Academy of Providence.
“I have to thank Chris Rurak,” Soscia said. “Chris and I went to college together and we kind of drummed it up, so I have to thank him and the relationship he’s created with coach Mac (Budd of Darien). This means a lot.”
Darien and LaSalle were obvious choices for the series, as they had already played each other for two years.
“We were (both) playing Rhode Island teams, so Chris brought it up one year and said would we be up for it if he tried to organize a weekend,” Budd said. “He reached out to Mike, we had the LaSalle connection, and thus was the start of what has been a very nice tradition.”
This year’s games went Rhode Island’s way as LaSalle defeated Greenwich 4-2 and Darien 2-1, and Bishop Hendricken defeated Darien 3-2. The Hawks’ Sunday game with Greenwich was canceled due to weather-related issues.
The games began in 2019-20, when the Cardinals and Blue Wave went to Rhode Island. The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the series last year, but the teams picked it up again this winter. Next year, Darien and Greenwich will make the road trip.
Greenwich coach Jack Duffy, who played for Yale, said Rurak understood that it’s a difficult road to get to that level and wanted to give high school kids that kind of experience.
“It’s not exactly like college, but every other year, we get to take a road trip up to Rhode Island and the kids get to experience an overnight weekend and play a couple of games in a row on the road,” Duffy said. “Chris saw that as something that would build memories for the kids looking back on their high school days.”
The competition also helps teams build.
On Saturday, both Darien and Greenwich faced 3-0 deficits before rallying to within a goal before falling. Duffy and Budd were happy with the fight their teams showed when challenged.
“It’s a great experience for the kids to be able to play against a couple of great teams from Rhode Island,” Duffy said. “Rhode Island’s got such a storied high school history and to compete against the best teams around gives the kids a sense of accomplishment, especially when you can hang with a team like that.”
The experience may have been displayed immediately, as in their next games, Darien won 2-1 in overtime against New Canaan, and Greenwich defeated St. Joseph 4-2.
In addition to the Rhode Island weekend, Rurak was the driving force behind the annual Winter Classic at the Greenwich Skating Club.
Budd called the outdoor game “Chris Rurak’s baby.”
“Chris generated a tremendous amount of enthusiasm, specifically around the Greenwich hockey program, but he was very inclusive,” Budd said. “We’re very grateful to have them host us every year for the Winter Classic. It was really his idea and it required an awful lot of hard work and behind-the-scenes planning.”
“Chris just loved the sport of hockey, he was a tremendous advocate and he thought the Winter Classic was a wonderful way of promoting the sport,” said former Greenwich athletic director Gus Lindine. “(And) anytime you can play someone out of state that has a traditionally strong program, certainly that only enhances the experience for the kids.”
The feeling is mutual for both sides.
“We look forward to these trips, we look forward to playing against each other, playing against good teams, and to get back into a real atmosphere like this again is awesome,” Soscia said. “And next year they’ll come to us.”