With 13 minutes remaining in the third period of Thursday’s Section 1 Division II hockey semifinals, Playland’s Ice Casino went completely dark. A power outage froze the game in place, with Rye leading by three goals and Byram Hills about to go on a power play.
Fortunately, there was a stoppage of play at that very moment, and the boys weren’t skating at full speed on the ice. Without those handy-dandy cellphone flashlights, it was nearly impossible to see. The building was safely evacuated, and play was suspended until Friday night.
Byram Hills made things interesting when play resumed, cutting Rye’s lead to a single goal in the final five minutes, but the Garnets secured a 6-4 win to advance to Sunday’s Sectional championship game.
Top-seeded Rye (15-5-1) will play No. 2 Pelham (13-8) at Brewster Ice Arena. The neutral-site showdown also serves as a rubber match. Rye lost at Pelham, 3-1, on Jan. 14, then beat Pelham, 3-1, on Jan. 29 at home.
The final 13 minutes Friday were action-packed. Byram Hills narrowed the margin to 4-2 with 7:21 left, then Rye freshman Will Niejadlik responded 18 seconds later to restore Rye’s lead to three goals, 5-2.
Then suddenly, after two Byram Hills goals in 30 seconds, including one on a power play, it was 5-4 and game on for the final 3:22.
With just 40 seconds left to play, and the Bobcats frantically attacking, Rye senior captain Dean Kim broke free for a breakaway and beat Bryam Hills’ goalie one-on-one to give the Garnets’ a two-goal win.
Before Thursday’s power outage, senior Tyler McDermott got the scoring started just under three minutes into the game. Rye dominated the puck early on, smothering their offensive zone with early pressure. With 4:06 left in the first, McDermott struck again, this time off an assist from Kim, to make it 2-0 Rye.
Junior Jaime Morris netted Rye’s third goal late in the second period with help from Niejadlik. Byram Hills forward Christian Cipriano got the Bobcats on the board with an unassisted power-play slapper with four minutes to go in the second.
Up three goals in the final period, Rye appeared headed for an uneventful semifinal win. The final few minutes after play resumed may have been more nerve-wracking than Rye would’ve liked, but the team remains in top form, with a win streak that now stands at 10 games.
