Two games played. One win, one loss. And away we go.
This will be a fun season to watch for a Garnet squad that’s loaded with talent, but must learn to play team hockey. A 4-2 loss Wednesday against Division 1 power Rivertown Legends should serve as an early-season stepping stone that helps them get there.
“It’s tough to win games when we don’t play as a team,” said Rye coach Peter Thomas. “Tonight was one of those nights. Their goalie played well but we knew he would give us some rebound chances off his first save. We just were a bit out of position tonight to capitalize on those opportunities.”
The game got off to a clean start against the Legends, the eighth-ranked Division 1 team in the state last season. Rye had two power-play opportunities in the period but failed to score on either man-up advantage.
Senior defenseman Will Molin got the scoring started with just over four minutes to play in the first period. Molin went top shelf unassisted, but with a tip of the helmet to senior Trevor Dolan and sophomore Max Niejadlik, who were digging hard in and around the goal. 1-0 Rye at the end of one.
The second and third periods belonged mostly to Rivertown as Rye lost a bit of its composure, racking up a total of six penalties. With so many man-up advantages, the Legends stormed Rye’s net and led 4-1 with 10 minutes to go in the game.
Sophomore Colin Nigro scored a late third-period goal for Rye with the game all but decided. Thomas knows there’s work to be done.
“We tried to rely a little too much on individual skills tonight and we haven’t quite bought in fully yet to the type of team hockey we believe we’re capable of playing,” he said. “We know we have some new faces out there, but we need to do the right things to capitalize on opportunities and play sound, composed Rye hockey.”
Rye won’t have to wait long to take the ice again at Playland. The Garnets host Clarkstown at 7:55 p.m. Friday.
