IceCats Defeat Greeley in Overtime Playoff Thriller
By Cutler Klein – In what was the most exciting matchup of the first round of the Division 2 hockey sectionals, the Mount Pleasant IceCats defeated the Horace Greeley Quakers in triple overtime last Monday afternoon.
Ryan Smedley scored the game-winner in the third overtime period. He cut through the Quaker defense and tucked the puck right under goaltender Nick Bright’s pad. Smedley said he had to change his approach to get through a strong Greeley defensive unit that held the IceCats to 17 shots in regulation, and seven in the overtime periods.
“For most of the game, I tried beating them wide,” he said. “But, when I realized that they were a pretty strong skating team and kept me in front of them pretty well, I realized that I might have to just go through them, and it ended up working.”
The key to the IceCats’ victory was the play of goaltender Lucas Van Bramer, who stopped 38 shots, including a barrage in the third period and overtimes. He robbed Greeley’s top scorers such as Scott Jakubowicz numerous times to keep the game tied. IceCats head coach Josh Isenberg said that Van Bramer has bailed out his team throughout the season.
“He’s been super consistent all season,” he said. “You can never blame a game on the goalie, but I can’t remember any one game where he didn’t show up.”
Van Bramer said that he settled down after giving up three goals in the second period.
“At first, it was a little tough,” he said. “I started clicking in the third period. Honestly, I don’t know what kept me in it. There were a lot of tough shots.”
On facing Greeley’s top scorers, Jakubowicz and Sam Mishkind, Van Bramer said, “I have faced Jakubowicz in tryouts before, and I know how he plays. I was very glad that he missed the net on his first breakaway. I’m definitely aware of who is on the ice at all times, and I try to make sure I am as ready as possible.”
After a scoreless and slow-paced first 15 minutes, the second period produced a burst of scoring. Greg Kramer opened it up for the IceCats with a top-shelf snipe over the blocker. Greeley’s Sam Whitehouse knotted the game at 1-1 shortly after with a wrister from the slot. Mount Pleasant found the back of the net twice on the power play from Matt Bramson and Ritchie Cantwell to go up 3-1, before Sam Mishkind tallied twice to tie the game late in the period. The third period ended scoreless to send the game into the extra sessions.
In the overtimes, the Quakers tended to dominate possession, getting most of the good scoring chances. However, they couldn’t solve Van Bramer. Greeley head coach Zach Dargaty said that this phenomenon was typical of his season.
“That’s the way our season went,” he said. “We generate a lot of good opportunities, but we couldn’t seem to finish. Their goalie did a good job and, sometimes, it’s just a game of inches.”
Dargaty didn’t think the penalties in this game played a big role. His team took five penalties, leading to two power-play goals.
“It’s playoff hockey,” he said. “It’s been a little bit of a problem for us this year, but I don’t think that was a big factor for us in this game.”
As overtime continued, Dargaty thought his squad started to feel the effects of fatigue.
“As the game wore on, they were tired,” he said. “It’s going to take a play like [Smedley] made to win the game, and he made a great play.”
It was a rowdy and wild crowd, with Greeley’s “Ice Dawgz” coming out in full force, as well as a hefty amount of fans from Pleasantville, Briarcliff and Westlake.
“I think that was one of the biggest crowds I’ve ever played in front of,” Van Bramer said. “It was definitely the most opponent-bent crowd I’ve seen.”
For Greeley, this was a disappointing end to an up-and-down season. For the IceCats, it meant a showdown with second-seeded Mamaroneck two days later. In that game at Hommock’s Arena in Larchmont, the IceCats fell to the mighty Tigers 4-2. Kyle Dearborn got an early goal for Mount Pleasant to go up 1-0, but Jason Bienstock tied it back up for Mamaroneck a few minutes later. The Tigers would pile on three more goals in the second period to seal the deal, ending the IceCats’ season after a thrilling playoff run.
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