Mahopac Saves its Season, Ties, Beats BYSNS; Greeley Stuns Jay

By Ray Gallagher
Examiner Sports Editor @Directrays
& Rob DiAntonio @RJD_Photos

HORACE GREELEY (2-2-1) earned a monumental victory over John Jay-Cross River with a 5-4 win on Sunday evening at Brewster Ice Arena.

“It’s definitely a big confidence boost,” Greeley coach Dan Perito said. “We haven’t beaten them in seven years. That coupled with the fact that they’ve knocked us out of the playoffs each of the last four years, it was a big win for the program.”

With the game tied at 3-3 after three periods, Ben Cohen (2 goals, 1 assist) gave the Quakers a 4-3 lead with 12:54 to go. Freshman Jared Rothman extended the lead to two, scoring what proved to be the game winner with 9:44 left. John Jay was able to come within a goal but couldn’t find the equalizer.

“It was a total team effort,” Perito said. “They stayed committed to the game plan and didn’t let one bad play or mistake affect the next shift.”

Ilan Laurence had a goal and an assist for Greeley. Senior captain Dylan Mutkoski and Gabe Adams had two assists apiece. Arye Wolberg made 38 big saves.

On Friday night, Greeley and John Jay battled to a 3-3 tie. Adams led the Quakers with two goals while Rothman had one goal and one assist. Ben Madden stopped 41 shots in net.

WHITE PLAINS senior captain John Myers broke the program’s points record of 193 in a 4-4 tie with New Rochelle on Tuesday, Feb. 23.

“It definitely means a lot to me and is something I’ve been working hard for once I saw it was possible,” said Myers, who has also surpassed 100 career goals and set the Tigers’ assist record. “I never would have thought coming into varsity hockey that I’d reach these milestones and without the help of my teammates both past and present, it wouldn’t have been possible. It feels good to be a part of White Plains high school history along with my teammates and friends and it’ll be fun to look back upon some day.”

Daniel Cardozo had a hat trick and an assist for the Tigers. Myers netted one goal while Teddy Hauser dished out two assists.

Behind five goals and three assists from Cardozo, White Plains (1-2-1) earned its first win of the season with a 10-7 victory over New Rochelle on Thursday. Cardozo, an assistant captain, has tallied 15 goals and five assists through four games including his 100th career point.

Hauser had a goal and four assists. Myers and Alex Farben-Griggs notched a goal and an assist each. White Plains started out the week with a tough 6-5 defeat at the hands of STEPINAC on Feb. 22. Cardozo led the Tigers with four goals while Christopher Stackhouse sparked Stepinac with four goals of his own.

Stepinac currently sits at 3-3 after a 5-3 win over St. Mary’s on Friday and a 6-4 loss to Iona Prep on Sunday. Stackhouse, A.J. Falciglia, Andrew Girolamo and John Heaney scored a goal each against St. Mary’s. Falciglia scored twice in the loss to Iona.

CARMEL had recovered nicely from its 9-3 season-opening loss to John Jay CR. The six-goal loss could have been a major setback, but the Rams, who trailed 4-3 after two periods, know that game was anything but a blowout. Carmel responded in kind with two-straight wins, including an 11-7 win over rival MAHOPAC last Wednesday at the Brewster Ice Arena.

“The team is playing well,” Carmel Coach Michael Chiacchia said. “It was a short preseason, with no scrimmages and less practices coupled with a lot of young players, and it definitely showed in that third period collapse against John Jay where the score went from 4-3 to 9-3. Time on the ice and experience will definitely help us as the season progresses.”

Carmel senior F Brendan Murphy scored five goals for the winners and junior F Luke Golisano scored once (to tie the game at 1) and set up six Ram goals. Ryan Caraher scored five times for the Indians.

The Rams, however, lost all that momentum in Sunday’s 11-1 loss to Rye.

Down three goals with less than five minutes to play, Mahopac rose from the dead to salvage a critical 4-4 tie with BYSNS Herd Friday at the Brewster Ice Arena.

BYSNS’s Ryan Cindrich scored with 8:11 to go to give the Herd a 4-1 lead, and teammate Thomas Eberhardt had a hat trick, but Mahopac countered with three season-saving goals by Jordan Donatone (to make it 4-2 with 4:25 to play). While still on the same power play for a major BYSNS penalty, Mahopac Ryan Caraher scored with 3:29 to play, his second of the game. Mahopac junior Matt Luczkowski scored the equalizer with a little over a minute left in regulation. The OT session proved fruitless for both, but the Indians were stoked to come away with a tie.

“It definitely felt good,” Luczkowski said. “We were behind the whole game and couldn’t get much going offensively the, but we got one in the third and everything started to click. After that it seemed like we were in control of the game and kept scoring and eventually tied it. We played a great third period and overtime and started a man down in OT for the first two minutes, so it was great to come away with a tie.”

Senior G Matt Gergley had 42 saves for the BYSNS while Mahopac G Mike Horan stopped 39 shots.

Mahopac continued it about-face from also-ran to contender in Sunday’s 5-3 in over BYSNS. Again, Caraher was the catalyst, lighting the lamp on four occasions to support G Horan (35 saves).

“Ryan has been killing it and he’s a great team leader,” Mahopac Coach Tim Donaghy said of his captain, Caraher, who has 16 goals in the first four games.

BYRAM HILLS (2-1) and FOX LANE (1-3) faced off three times over a four-day span. Fox Lane won the first game, 6-4, on Thursday, but the Bobcats bounced back by winning the second showdown, 2-1, on Saturday. Daniel Fontana tallied the game winner with Owen Fleischer netting the Bobcats’ other goal.

Byram had five different senior scorers in a 5-3 win over the Foxes Sunday night. Fontana, Lucca Trotta, Lucca Conigliaro, Joe Cipriano and Austin Carlin each scored a goal. Fleischer dished out two assists.

MOUNT PLEASANT (0-2) endured a pair of losses to ETBE (11-1, 12-3) to open their season last weekend.