Rye High goalie Anabelle Thomas gets ready for the puck to drop.

By Mitch Silver

The Section 1 Ice Hockey coaches announced their choices for All-Section honors this week, and four Rye players made the list: two on the All-Section team, and two received All-Section Honorable Mention. Head Coach Peter Thomas gave us some background on the players recognized.

“First, our All-Section players, both seniors. Reece Dorfman was a key piece of our first line and our leading scorer this season. In a number of games, our offense went as Reece went. He was a huge contributor for us this season, scoring 21 goals and 15 assists. In addition to his contributions on the scoresheet, Reece is an important member of our power play and our penalty kill units.

“Anabelle Thomas is one of the best goalies in Section 1. She has been our starter since her freshman year and, in that time, she has earned every honor in Section 1 Hockey. She is a three-year All-Section and All-League Winner, a League MVP, All-State, Con Ed winner, Lions Club Athlete of the Month, and a Section champion. We always knew that having her in goal for us gave us a chance to win, no matter who we were playing.

“Next, our All-Section Honorable Mentions, both juniors. Lukas Elovaara was one of our top defensemen all season. In addition to being a scoring threat from the blue line, collecting eight goals and 11 assists, he was one of our most consistent and trustworthy defenders with a +17 rating. Lukas was called on to play in every situation and asked to shut down the opposing teams’ top players.

“Tommy Greenhaw, who was a defenseman throughout his hockey career, converted to a center this season. He stood out as a top player in only his first season on the varsity team. Tommy quickly became a go-to scorer for us with 21 goals and 10 assists on the season. Tommy is a gifted player whose speed and stick skills made him a focal point of our opponents’ strategy.”

Coach Thomas led Rye High hockey to a 16-3-1 record in the regular season and all the way to the Division 2 Sectional semifinals.