Two of state’s top triple threats to face off on ice

Maddie Epke and Kaleigh Harden know each other from lacrosse camps and tournaments. They played against each other on the ice as kids. They have never faced each other in a high school sporting event.

That will change Sunday night. With the snow ploughed from I-95 and a clean sheet of ice at Darien Ice House, the Guilford girls hockey team will make the 50-mile bus ride to face undefeated power New Canaan.

The game puts the two best all-around female athletes in Connecticut high schools on the same field of play for the first time. There are others who are elite at one sport, and technically one could stretch something like distance running to cross country, indoor and outdoor track.

Yet when you look at three different team pursuits, few, if any, can compare to these two seniors.

Epke, 5-foot-8, 145 pounds, is a star in field hockey, ice hockey and lacrosse for Guilford.

Harden, 5-5, 135 pounds, is a star in soccer, ice hockey and lacrosse for New Canaan.

They both were named GameTimeCT first-team All-State in ice hockey and lacrosse as juniors. More recently, this past fall, Epke was named GameTimeCT Player of the Year in field hockey. She also was 2021 Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance Female Athlete of the Year.

“Both girls are amazing athletes,” New Canaan coach Rich Bulan said.

Epke will head to James Madison to play lacrosse.

Harden will join her sister McKenna on the North Carolina lacrosse team.

“Back 10, 11 years, we used to play pretty steady with Guilford,” Bulan said. “Different rivalries emerged, and it kind of went by the wayside. A couple years ago, we tried something with Guilford and just couldn’t find a date. This is something we’re looking forward to.”