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FAIRFIELD - Willie Ericson has been picking up steam as the season has rolled along for the New Canaan boys ice hockey team.
But none of his earlier goals could compare to the one the junior scored on Wednesday night.
A driving Ericson met a pass from Cody Jones and chipped the puck home 4:27 into OT to give top-ranked New Canaan its third straight FCIAC championship with a grueling 1-0 victory over No. 2 Darien at Sacred Heart University's Martire Family Arena.
The goal was Ericson's eighth in the last six games and he was quick to give credit for this one to the freshman Jones.
"I couldn't thank my linemate Cody Jones enough," Ericson said. "It was his goal, his pass. I just happened to be in the right moment at the right time and he found me. It was great to celebrate with my teammates, but that's the expectation, right? We've got to go into states and we know that we're capable of winning."
It was the Rams' league-best 23rd FCIAC championship and their fifth in the last seven years. Greenwich is a distant second with 11 FCIAC titles, and Darien and Ridgefield each have nine. The Blue Wave last won the FCIAC in 2023.
New Canaan has also beaten Darien three times this season after falling to the Wave in last year's CIAC Division I final.
The rivals have been the top two teams in the GametimeCT Poll for much of the season, with New Canaan currently No. 1.
The winning series started with a pass from Owen Robie to Cody Jones, who skated through a gap and into the zone then slipped a pass to a driving Ericson for the score after nearly 50 minutes of scoreless hockey.
"Cody had space, so when you recognize a weak gap, you just attack it," said New Canaan coach Clark Jones, Cody's father. "He's pretty quick so he was able to get around him, Willie drove the net and he managed to get it across to him and we finally managed to put one in."
The game was disjointed at times, with Darien having the advantage in the second period and the Rams countering in the third. Ultimately, it was one play in OT which ended the final.
"They had the jump early on relative to us and then we pushed in the third," Jones said. "Once it got to overtime, we said to our guys you just can't make a mistake, so stay within the structure and don't worry about scoring the goal, it's going to happen."
For Darien, it was a third straight loss to New Canaan this season, but the Wave defense, led by Alex Levey, Michael Kniffin and goalie Schafer Repsher (22 saves), held the Rams to just one goal after allowing 11 in the first two meetings.
"Our defensive structure was a lot better," Darien coach Mac Budd said. "We tracked back into our D zone much better that we did in the other games, and we created some decent scoring opportunities as well.
"Once you get into OT, it's anyone's game and they created a high quality scoring chance and converted on it."
New Canaan's defense featured a 22-save performance from sophomore goalie Blake Pozatek, who pitched his seventh shutout of the season. Senior Cam Lyden and junior Jackson Crowell also had big games.
As always, talk of New Canaan championships turns to the CIAC tournament, where the Rams have not won a title since 1972. They've appeared in 10 state finals since then, but have finished runner-up every time, including the past two seasons. Last year they were undefeated before losing to Darien 4-1 in the Division I final at Quinnipiac.
"Any big game you play in as a high school athlete is exciting. And this was a big game," Clark Jones said. "Ultimately, these guys are looking for something bigger. They've taken a couple of losses this year and proven over and over again in big games, they're stepping up to the plate."
Player of the game
Willie Ericson, New Canaan:
Quotable
"We know that we're doing well right now and this is our game. We're expecting to win states and we expected to win the FCIAC. We're just going to keep on playing our game." - New Canaan junior Willie Ericson
New Canaan 1, Darien 0 (OT)
NEW CANAAN 0 0 0 1-1
DARIEN 0 0 0 0-0
NC-Willie Ericson (Cody Jones, Owen Robie), 10:33
Saves: NC-Blake Pozatek 22, D-Schafer Repsher 22
Team records: New Canaan 20-2; Darien 17-5
This article originally published at New Canaan defeats Darien for third straight FCIAC hockey championship on Ericson's OT goal.