The Rye High School Ice Hockey team started the new season with a strong 3-1 record on their home ice at Playland Ice Casino.
The Garnets claimed their first victory at home on Dec. 13 over the Scarsdale Raiders 5-2 with a boost from junior defenseman Jamie Showers, who scored twice and had an assist. Junior forward Drew Dolan provided a clutch goal and Owen Fitzgibbons recorded his first varsity win as a sophomore goaltender for Rye.
The mighty Pelham Pelicans came to town on Dec. 15 for what proved to be a difficult, 8-2 defeat for Rye. Senior captain Seth Dorfman and junior Nick Doyle score the Garnets’ two goals. The next home game was the annual Hockey Fights Cancer Game against the John Jay Wolves on Dec. 20. Wearing customary purple-and-white jerseys for the cause, the Garnets played a fast opening period, leading 2-1 on goals from Dorfman and senior forward Ivan Vasyuta. Rye extended its lead to three goals early in the second period, but the Wolves clawed their way back within one goal by the end of the period. The Garnets quickly responded with two goals within 90 seconds at the start of the third, then went on to win 9-5. Senior captain Henry Bagley netted four goals and Vasyuta scored a second and got an assist.
In a two-day pre-Christmas tournament in Plattsburgh, the Garnets overpowered the Clinton Cougars 12-6 on Dec. 22 with four goals from Dorfman and two goals from senior forward Tommy Broderick. The next day, however, they dropped the second game to Beekmantown High by a score of 6-1.
In the new year, the Garnets returned to Playland Ice Casino to play their crosstown rival, Rye Country Day School. With a packed house on Jan. 5 representing both fan bases, the first two periods were defined by RCDS capitalizing on two power-play chances in front of the Garnets net, making the score 4-3 Wildcats at the start of the third period. Showers tied the score at four each, but the Garnets then allowed the Wildcats to score a third power-play goal. A clutch goal with a minute and 28 seconds remaining by senior defenseman Lucas Tsuchida tied the game 5-5, sending it into overtime. Both squads had opportunities to win the game amid a series of up-and-down-the-ice rushes during the 5-minute overtime, but with 10 seconds left in the game, it was Bagley who stormed up the right side of the ice for Rye and scored on a backhand fake with two seconds remaining on the clock. His teammates and the entire Rye Garnets team stormed the ice in victory.
Bagley had two goals and two assists in the 6-5 overtime win, displaying both his scoring skills and his playmaking ability.
“We’ve obviously had a slow start to the season, but this is exactly the kind of win this team needs to get back on the right track,” Vasyuta said. “As a group, this game is big for our confidence in getting back to playing hockey the way we know we can play.”
Next up for the Garnets: a Jan. 24 home game against Clarkstown.
