Greeley Hockey Team Endures a Rough Weekend
trio of Masuk defenders.
By Cutler Klein – Coming off of exam week at Horace Greeley High School, the Quaker hockey team did not make the grade on the ice. The weekend started with a 9-6 loss to Masuk High School from Connecticut on Friday night and ended with a 6-4 defeat at the hands of rival John Jay-Cross River on Saturday.
Friday’s game at Brewster Ice Arena was ugly from the start for Greeley as Masuk scored early and often. The Rams scored the first five goals of the game, including two great wrist shots from captain Shane Dushay, before Scott Jakubowicz finally got the Quakers on the board with just under 11 minutes remaining in the second period. Greeley’s Sam Mishkind followed shortly with another goal, but the Quakers couldn’t find any more momentum as Masuk piled on two more goals before the second frame ended.
The Quakers looked quite sloppy throughout the game. Bad turnovers, defensive lapses and poor coverage plagued Greeley throughout the night. Head coach Zach Dargaty said his team wasn’t mentally ready for the game.
“It’s never an excuse, but with exams this week, and guys coming straight from exams to the rink, we’re a little unfocused,” he said. “It’s tough to make that transition.”
The final score was a bit misleading, as Greeley was never really in the game. Late in the third period, Masuk pulled its starting goaltender and the backup yielded four Greeley goals in the final five minutes of the game.
The lone bright spot for the Quakers was goaltender Nick Bright, who made 34 saves on 43 shots. He made some incredible saves throughout the game, occasionally stopping two or three shots in a matter of seconds and denying some key breakaways, to prevent the game from becoming even more lopsided. Dargaty did not pin the loss on Bright.
“They got nine goals,” he said. “It was a team effort to give up nine goals. It was the whole team.”
Late in the first period, Jakubowicz appeared to injure his arm delivering a check. He slowly skated to the bench, grasping his arm. However, he quickly returned to the ice, and following the game confirmed that he was okay. Jakubowicz also said that he was disappointed in the team’s performance.
“We just didn’t come to play,” he said. “Guys have off-nights, and it happens, but too many of us had off-nights. At points, it looked like we just quit out there.”
The following night, Greeley started stronger, but surrendered three goals in the final frame and fell to the John Jay Indians 6-4.
Calder Fontaine got the scoring started for the Quakers just over a minute into the game with a fantastic individual effort. But John Jay’s Ryan Cavanagh knotted the score just a few minutes later on a bit of a soft shot. Charlie Hastings then gave the Indians a 2-1 lead midway through the period.
Sam Whitehouse and Sam Mishkind tallied late in the period for the Quakers to give them a lead heading into intermission. In the second period, the Quakers put a shooting barrage of 18 shots on John Jay goaltender Jason Styles, but couldn’t find a way to beat him. John Jay would tie the game midway through the frame on a phenomenal move around the defense by Sean Blaney. Greeley assistant coach Bruce Perlowitz said that his team’s unrewarded efforts in the second period weighed the team down.
“When the second period ended, it was almost like we were in disbelief,” he said. “That second period was one of the best periods of hockey we’ve played all year long. We were doing everything right.”
The frustration from the second period led to a flat-footed third period. Just seconds into the period, Mishkind gave Greeley the one-goal lead, but a relentless John Jay attack proved too much. Blaney tied the game with 9:30 remaining, and Ellis Maloof got the eventual game-winner on a clean shot with just over two minutes remaining. The Indians would also tack on an empty netter in the wanng seconds of the game.
Playing its second game in as many days, Greeley sent sophomore goalie Scott Odland between the pipes for the second start of his career. Perlowitz said that senior Matt Solnick was the scheduled starter, but due to an equipment malfunction Odland got the start in net and wound up making 25 saves. On the other end of the ice, Styles played a phenomenal game, despite a shaky first period. He stymied and frustrated the Quakers in a stellar second period. Perlowitz said that Styles’ exceptional play gave John Jay the win.
“He [Odland] settled down after the first period and played okay,” he said. “I certainly wouldn’t blame our goalie. I don’t fault him, and I give credit to the John Jay goalie [Styles].”
Greeley was riding a winning streak coming into the weekend, and came out with a two-game losing streak. Perlowitz said he and Dargaty can’t really explain the reason for the roller-coaster ride the team has been on.
“It’s really reflective of our season,” he said. “We, as coaches, are at a bit of a loss as to our up-and-down performances. If we knew the answer, we’d immediately correct it.”
Heading into the final few weeks of the season, Perlowitz said that the Quakers will get back to basics and prepare for their rematch with rival Fox Lane, and the playoffs.
“We had a coaches’ meeting to discuss it,” he said. “We need to work on our defensive zone coverage and practice fundamentals, in terms of defensive positioning, as we gear up for the postseason.”
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