Garnets goaltender Aidan Talgo gets credit for many of his hockey team’s wins. What few people know is that the Rye High School senior leads the conference in keeping pucks out of the net. Talgo’s prowess landed him Lions Club Athlete of the Month honors for January, and helped his Garnets advance in Section 1 playoffs this week.
By Jon Craig
Garnets goaltender Aidan Talgo gets credit for many of his hockey team’s wins. What few people know is that the Rye High School senior leads the conference in keeping pucks out of the net. Talgo’s prowess landed him Lions Club Athlete of the Month honors for January, and helped his Garnets advance in Section 1 playoffs this week.
“Aidan has been at the center of the ice hockey team’s success thus far,’’ Coach Jason Friesen said.
The Garnets are 16-4-1 and seeded No. 2 in Section 1 Division 2 tournament play. RHS defeated Hendrick Hudson, 9-0, advancing to Friday’s 5:30 p.m. semifinal playoff game against third-seeded Horace Greeley at Hommocks Ice Rink. Talgo had 16 saves in Wednesday’s shutout against Hen Hud. Top-seeded John Jay plays Pelham in the other semifinal game at Brewster Ice Arena on Friday. The championship game is Sunday at 1 p.m. in Brewster.
Talgo has made 872 saves in 42 high school games, amassing a 92 percent save record during his Garnets hockey career. This season, opponents have scored an average of just 1.8 goals per game against Talgo, making him the top goaltender in Conference III. His 10.7 goalie rating also ranks Talgo as the fourth best in all of Section I.
“Aidan’s hard work and dedication have provided a great example to the rest of his team and continually contribute to positive results on and off the ice,” Friesen said. “He is a great teammate and a wonderful young man.”
Talgo said he was honored to receive the Lions Club honor. “So many great student-athletes have accomplished this feat and I feel privileged to be associated with them. I want to thank my teammates and coaches for helping me play at a level where I could be considered for this award.”
A high honors student at Rye High, Talgo is also vice president of the My Soldier club, which raises money for overseas troops. The past two winters, he helped children learn how to play the game he loves at Rye Rangers Ice Hockey Clinic. In the spring, he volunteers at Rye Recreation baseball camp. During the summers, he has worked as a counselor at Can/Am Hockey Camp in Lake Placid, and as a caddy at Winged Foot Golf Club.
Talgo has been accepted to Lehigh University, where he plans to play club hockey. He said he chose Lehigh because he wants to focus on academics and still play on a highly competitive Division I team.
