There was a pretty entertaining winter-break matinee playing Thursday afternoon at the Playland Ice Casino: an action-thriller called “Small-Town Hockey,” starring ensemble casts from Rye Country Day and Rye High School.
With so many local teams preparing for the start of section playoffs this weekend, not every Rye family was out of town. The line to get popcorn was longer than one might expect, and the game itself lived up to the hype.
Rye sophomore Max Niejadlik tied things up with under three minutes left in regulation, and sophomore Colin Nigro scored the game-winner in overtime, giving the Garnets a 6-5 victory in the regular season’s final act.
This annual feature between schools that sit five minutes apart has no bearing on either team’s league or postseason standing – Rye had already secured the top seed in the Section 1 playoffs, which begin Wednesday, and RCDS will try for its third-straight FAA league title next week – but many of the athletes grew up playing junior and club hockey together, and many parents from both schools are good friends.
When RCDS (9-6-2) and Rye (15-2-3) meet on the rink, they’re playing for keeps. The 2023 and 2024 matchups also went to overtime, with each team picking up a win. The third chapter of the trilogy was tightly contested from the start, as both teams entered Thursday riding seven-game unbeaten streaks.
Rye sophomore Will Niejadlik got the high-scoring affair started midway through the first period with an assist from his twin brother, Max. RCDS junior Jacob Tucznio made it 1-1 with 1:40 left in the period. Then, suddenly, his electric classmate Paul Heintz struck with just 12 seconds to play to make it 2-1 RCDS at the first intermission. Tucznio and Heintz, two highly skilled skaters, would continue to be a problem for Rye the rest of the afternoon.
Will Niejadlik netted his second goal one minute into the second period to bring Rye level at 2-2. Then, Tucznio answered on an unassisted breakaway to restore the RCDS lead with four minutes to go in the period. In the blink of an eye, the Wildcats scored again to make it 4-2.
Then, like Indiana Jones with a hockey stick on his hip, Rye senior Jamie Morris scored on a breakaway to make it 4-3. A few minutes later, Morris connected again off an assist from freshman Connor Dehmer to tie the game with nine minutes to go. But Tucznio & Co. were not done yet.
Under a minute later, Tucznio completed the hat trick off a beautiful assist from Heintz, and RCDS was back on top 5-4 with 8:20 to go in the game.
If anyone needs to go to the restroom, now would be a good time.
With just 2:45 left, with Doc up on the ladder struggling to connect the power lines, Max Niejadlik hit the flux capacitor off a face-off, and with a flash of lightning, the game was tied 5-5.
Halfway through a tense overtime period, with the patrons all on their feet, Colin “Maverick” Nigro looped around the back of the net, got good tone, and connected on an unassisted wrist rocket to end it, 6-5 Garnets.
Rye junior goalie Fernando Mosquera was, without question, the difference in this game. Save after save, sprawling from post to post, glove or blocker, in heavy traffic or one-on-one, Mosquera is consistently as good as any high school goalie in New York.
In the end, Mosquera was spotted quietly riding his white horse out of the Playland parking lot. With a classy tip of his helmet, young children could be heard whispering, “Who is that masked young man?”
