U(Tica) Are The Real MVP
March 26, 2015
For the second year in a row the Scarsdale varsity hock- ey team has found themselves planning for Scarsdale’s first state title. The team finished the regular season with a record of 19 wins and only one loss, arguably their most successful season yet. The Raiders ended the season tal- lying a total of 140 goals, and only allowing 38 goals.
On March 2, Scarsdale fans adorned in maroon and white faced off against Suffern fans covered in black, all gathered at Sport-O-Rama Ice Rink located in Rama- po, New York to watch Scarsdale defeat Suffern 4-3 and win their second Division 1 Title for the second year in a row. This win provided the
Raiders with another op- portunity to seize the state title they sought last season. Both Suffern and Scarsdale showed up with massive crowds, filling the rink to its maximum capacity. “[We] couldn’t have asked for a better fan section. The fans were great and really helped us.” James Nicholas ’15 stated. Scarsdale ended the first period with a score of 2-1. Nicholas added to the lead late in the second period and Duncan Hindmarch ’15 then built onto the lead with 10 minutes and 11 seconds left in the third period. Scarsdale had a seemingly comfortable 4-1 lead with five minutes left in the third period, but although the scoreboard appeared in Scarsdale’s favor, Suffern was not done. Suffern scored two goals in a row, cutting Scarsdale’s lead to one with a score of 4-3 with two minutes and 12 seconds left in the game. “We just needed to settle down and start focusing. We got a little complacent and got away from our game,” Nicholas ex- plained. Despite Suffern coming scarily close to winning, Scarsdale came out victorious and earned themselves an- other opportunity to win the state title. “Scarsdale played very well. Plenty of good contributions from all players,” stated SHS varsity hockey Coach Mancuso.The Raider’s next opponent would be the Massena Red Raiders.
The Raiders continued with their success on March 7 when they defeated the Massena Red Raiders 3-2. The team traveled up to Massena, NY, which is on the border of Canada, over seven hours away. The team got off to a rough start when Massena managed to score a power play goal seven and a half minutes into the game. However Nicholas scored on the power play with 4:11 left in the first period, tying the game. One minute lat- er Nicholas struck again with the help of Hindmarch and the Raiders were up 2-1. Then late in the second period another Nicholas, Stephen ’16 added to the score with an assist from Dev- on Schell ’15 and Scarsdale was up 3-1. Similar to the Raider’s game against Suffern, the opposition was not ready to give up, and the Massena Red Raiders scored with one minute and 50 seconds left in the second period and cut the Raiders lead to 3-2. In the third pe- riod, both teams had many chances to score, but neither team capitalized and the Scarsdale Raiders won the Regional Championship. The entire game was lively and the Raiders fought until the end. “The game was very intense and the reason we won was due to our strong defensive play during the third period,” stated Sam Stemmerman ’16. Goalie, Gabe Harrousseau ’15 finished the game with 22 saves helping lead the Raiders to victory.
The Raiders’ next task was to play the top team in the state, McQuaid, in Utica, where their streak unfortunately came to an end, Saturday March 14 when they lost to the McQuaid Jesuit Knights, an all-boys high school, 4-2. The Raiders got off to a good start after Hindmarch buried a rebound and then Stephen Nicholas decked out a defenseman after a creative pass from Devon Schell. At the end of the first period Scarsdale was up 2-0. The Raiders were not able to hold the lead and found themselves tied with the Knights late in the second period. “After the first period, the team started to lose momentum and McQuaid was able to tire out our players because they were more physical,” added Joe Gandolfo ’15. Early in the third pe- riod McQuaid was able to capitalize and the Knights had their first lead of the game. A comeback looked promising for Scarsdale after McQuaid commit- ted three consecu- tive penalties late in the third quarter, but Scarsdale was not able to score. Moreover, McQuaid scored again with five minutes left in the game, and slowly the Raiders’ opportunities began to dwindle.
Even though the game ended in defeat, our crowd remained enthusiastic throughout the entire game. “All of our fans were really enthusiastic and involved in the game. The fact that we were able to get 150 people to attend the game shows how amazing our student body is and how loyal we are to the Raiders,” noted Emily Berkowitz ’15. The final score was 4-2, and the Raiders were defeated in the semi- finals for the second year in a row. Although they did not win, judging by their winning streak, it would not be surprising to see them suceed in the following academic year.
