Combined varshockey team finishes strong in the playoffs
By JIM MACLEAN
The combined Horace Greeley/John Jay boys varsity ice hockey team picked a good time to play two of its best games of the season.
The HGJJ team had hit a rough patch, going 1-7 down the stretch entering the playoffs placing them as the No. 12-seed with a 6-9-2 record. That set the stage for a quarterfinal playoff game on the road at the Ice Hutch against No. 5-seed New Rochelle on Feb. 21, and the combined HGJJ team was determined to finish strong.
And it was a strong finish from junior forward Brendan Asta of John Jay that made the difference as Asta picked a perfect time to register a hat trick and record his 100th career point to lift HGJJ to a 5-4 comeback victory.
With the win, HGJJ then moved on to the semifinals Feb. 25, against No. 4-seed Mamaroneck at the Hommocks ice arena, and once again HGJJ was up to the challenge almost pulling off the upset as the host Tigers scored with just 40 seconds left to prevail with a 3-2 victory
“We came so close, we gave it all we had and played a strong game, we all worked so hard,” Asta said of the Mamaroneck game. “We came out with a lot of energy and I honestly felt we were controlling the game at the start. The whole team working together, they scored and we tied it up, they scored again and we tied it up, then they scored in the final minute. We all bought in and came together for the playoffs. The first game against New Rochelle the coaches felt that was the best game we played. We played two really good games to finish strong.”
In the semifinals against Mamaroneck, it went back and forth as Johnny Hartley and Ryan Marcus were able to score goals for HGJJ to head into the final minutes with the score locked in a 2-2 tie until Derek Tumsuden was able to score the game-winning goal for the host Tigers with just 40 seconds left to play.
To get to the semifinals, HGJJ turned it on for a strong game against New Rochelle, with Asta leading the way and providing the game-winning heroics. New Rochelle jumped out to a 1-0 lead, but HGJJ was able to answer with a goal from Brandon Foulks to tie it up.
Asta then took over scoring his first goal of the game off an assist from Brody Stogsdill, and then Asta scored again off an assist from senior Dylan Geary to give HGJJ a 3-1 lead at the end of the first period.
New Rochelle answered back in the second period with three-straight goals to take a 4-3 lead heading into the third period.
Foulks was able to score a goal off an assist from Thomas Pollard to even it up at 4-4. That set the stage for Asta as he got the hat trick and his 100th career point when he scored off an assist from Jack Hartney with nine minutes left in regulation. It proved to be the game-winning goal as HGJJ held on for the win with goalie Johnny Marlatt recording 26 saves.
“Before the game we were all super motivated and driven to work hard and it showed in the first period,” explained Asta. “After the second period, we told ourselves don’t get down and give it all we had and it worked out. Brendan Foulks tied it up and that goal motivated us to play better, and I was happy I was able to get a goal to help the team win.”
The final result was two exciting playoff games to finish off the first season as a combined team for Horace Greeley and John Jay. For the 10 John Jay players on the roster, it was a season that almost didn’t happen, as the Wolves were about to cancel the season without enough players before the merger came together with Greeley. Asta played a big part, along with senior James DeNoia as a starter on defense and a captain for the team. Senior Dylan Geary and sophomores Jack Hartney and Sebastian Marinucci also recorded a lot of ice time.
“For two different schools coming together at the last minute, we did it well and we all got along well and made it happen,” Asta said of the merger. “We were disappointed that we weren’t going to have a season, and then Greeley came through and that motivated us and I was just happy to have a team and be able to play. We made mistakes playing too much as individuals and had to come together as a team. At the time when it was most important for the playoffs, against New Rochelle and Mamaroneck, we put it all together.”