It was quite a great year for the Darien High School girls’ ice hockey team.
Another one.
It’s been a great season the last several years. Darien won its fourth consecutive FCIAC championship and then the Blue Wave won a second straight state championship for its third state title in the last four years to highlight the 2025-26 girls ice hockey season for the FCIAC.
And there were plenty more conference players and teams who had successful seasons, as well, as there were many players from the FCIAC who received postseason all-conference and all-state honors.
Darien scored a combined 10 goals and allowed two goals in both of its postseason championship victories.
Darien defeated New Canaan, 4-1, in the championship game of the 2026 FCIAC Girls Hockey Tournament on Feb. 28 at the Darien Ice House, which happens to be the home rink for both perennially strong programs.
Eleven days later the top-seeded Blue Wave scored three goals in the game’s first 10 minutes and cruised on to a 6-1 victory over sixth-seeded Hall/Conard in the Connecticut High School Girls Hockey Association state championship game at Quinnipiac’s M&T Bank Arena.
Six teams participated in the FCIAC tournament as Darien and New Canaan each drew byes in the first round and advanced to the championship game with semifinal victories in close games.
In the first round of the FCIAC tourney: Greenwich nipped the Wilton/Norwalk/McMahon cooperative program, 3-2, and the Stamford/Westhill/Staples co-op team advanced to the semifinals with a 9-3 victory over Fairfield co-op.
Those two first-round winners both put forth competitive challenges in the semifinals. Darien defeated Stamford/Westhill/Staples, 4-2, and New Canaan prevailed in a 3-2 overtime thriller over Greenwich.
Darien had quite a potent offensive attack from several excellent snipers and passers such as senior defenseman Lia Fiorita, junior forward Adriana Gromelski and senior forward Izzy Haire. They were three of the best players in the state and were stellar throughout the regular season and postseason.
Fiorita scored two goals and had an assist, Gromelski had a goal and an assist, while Haire also netted a goal to lead Darien to a 4-1 victory over New Canaan in the championship game of the FCIAC tournament.
The Blue Wave played extremely well, well enough to score several more goals had it not been for some great goaltending by New Canaan senior Macyn Callahan, who’s been one of the state’s best goalies for the last few years. Callahan made 35 saves to keep the Rams close for most of the game as Darien had a 39-18 advantage in shots on goal.
Sophie Beach, Teagan Josef and Josephine Andren each had an assist for the champions and goalie Cam Seely made 17 saves while limiting New Canaan to that one goal.
Lina Kivikko scored New Canaan’s goal on an assist from Berkeley Holland to cut the deficit to 2-1 with 6:54 remaining in the third period before Haire netted her goal to give Darien a 3-1 lead with 3:10 remaining in regulation. Fiorita completed the scoring on an empty-net goal with 36 seconds remaining.
Fiorita had the same numbers in the CHSGHA state championship game as she had in the FCIAC final, two goals and one assist, while Gromelski scored a goal and had two assists to help lead first-year coach Gray Weicker’s Blue Wave to that 6-1 victory over Hall/Conard.
Fiorita, Josef, and Mia Avalos each netted goals in the first 10 minutes of the game to give Darien that swift 3-0 lead before Gromelski, Fiorita and Andren each had a goal in the third period. Haire assisted on the first two goals.
Fiorita was named the MVP of the CHSGHA state tournament as she scored five goals and had two assists three victories.
Haire and Avalos both had seven total points with a team-high five assists and a pair of goals in the three state tourney games.
Darien finished the season with a 23-1 record and a 19-game winning streak after winning its first four games and then was dealt it’s only loss by New Canaan, 4-1, on Dec. 22, 2025.
The Blue Wave has a combined 45-1 record in the last two years.
The 2024-25 Darien players gave their longtime successful coach Jamie Tropsa an unbeaten 22-0 record in the final season of his career. Tropsa’s former assistant coach, Weicker, was elevated to head coach and he became a conference and state champion coach in his first year.
Coach Rich Bulan’s New Canaan Rams advanced to the CHSGHA state tourney semifinals with a 3-1 victory over the Trumbull/St. Joseph/Notre Dame-West Haven cooperative team in a game that featured plenty of great saves from two of the state’s best goalies.
New Canaan’s Callahan had 25 saves and her teammates put forth steady offensive pressure which led to Lucy Kimberly racking up 38 saves in between the pipes for Trumbull/St. Joseph/NDWH. They both made all-conference and all-state teams.
Fiorita and Gromelski were both selected as the Player of the Year on separate all-state teams.
Fiorita was a repeat recipient in being named the Player of the Year headlining the GametimeCT All-State Girls Ice Hockey First Team for the second straight year, and the Player of the Year title was bestowed on Gromelski as she led a group of seven FCIAC players among the 15 total statewide selected to the 2025-26 CHSGHA All-State Girls Ice Hockey First Team.
Fiorita, Gromelski and New Canaan’s superb senior defenseman Ashton Pinkernell were all repeat selections in being chosen as members of the highest levels of All-FCIAC and all-state teams in both last two seasons.
The terrific trio all made the All-FCIAC First Team, CHSGHA All-State First Team and GametimeCT All-State First Team in 2025 and 2026. Fiorita previously made the All-FCIAC First Team two years ago as a sophomore.
Callahan, New Canaan’s junior goalie, and Wilton/Norwalk/McMahon junior forward Riley Malay joined Fiorita, Gromelski and Pinkernell as the five conference players selected to the All-FCIAC First Team, CHSGHA All-State First Team and GametimeCT All-State First Team this year.
Haire joined her teammate Fiorita as the only conference players selected to the All-FCIAC First Team for the third consecutive year. This year Haire also made the GametimeCT All-State First Team.
Stamford/Westhill/Staples senior defenseman Avery Askew and New Canaan senior forward Izzy Janiga both made the All-FCIAC First Team, CHSGHA All-State First Team and GametimeCT All-State Second Team this year.
Kimberly, the senior goalie, and junior defenseman Ellie Simon of Trumbull/St. Joseph; and senior forwards Anne Leydon and Ella Pearle of Stamford/Westhill/Staples were selected to the All-FCIAC First Team and CHSGHA All-State Second Team.
Emma Weiss of Trumbull/St. Joseph was also among the 13 players selected to the All-FCIAC First Team.
Michele Gintoli of the Wilton/Norwalk/McMahon co-op team was named Coach of the Year in the FCIAC.
There were seven forwards, four defenders, and Callahan and Kimberly were the two goalies on the All-FCIAC First Team.
There were 14 players on the All-FCIAC Second Team, 11 more players earned All-FCIAC Honorable Mention kudos, and the list of all-conference selections including positions they were selected under is on the link below: