Every winter, the Rye Town/Harrison hockey team begins its season with a three-game set at the Guy Mathews Tournament at the Ebersole Ice Rink in White Plains. This year, the Titans couldn’t have drawn up a better start, authoring two big wins at the annual invitational to kick off the winter campaign on a strong note.
On Friday, Nov. 25, the Titans turned in an impressive offensive performance in the season opener against Mahopac, topping the Indians 12-4 with a relentless assault on the net. Max Tse notched a hat trick to pace Rye Town/Harrison, while Sean Mohr added a two goals an assist in the win. Overall, head coach Rich Myers was happy with the way his team shared the puck, noting that he felt the team should look sharper as the season moves along.
“I was happy; we moved the puck well,” he said. “We got a little sloppy in our end because it’s the beginning of the season and people are anxious to score and not thinking about defending, which is what we have to concentrate on if we want to be successful.”
The Titans ran away with the contest in the third period, something Myers chalks up with the work his skaters did early on in the game.
“We just wore down their goalie, I think,” said Myers. “We had to have put 50 or so shots on him in the first two periods and he played great, but that took a toll on him.”
The Titans’ late game heroics continued on Saturday, as they recorded a 6-5 overtime win over Carmel in the second game of the tournament. Isaac Schultz led the way against the Rams, notching three assists and scoring a goal in the win. Over the course of the first two games, five Titans—Jack Mazzella, Peter Boracheck, Billy Villanova, Ethan Leland and Messier Mollica— all recorded their first varsity points. Myers believes that the development of his team’s younger players will be vital in terms of the Titans’ success this year.
“We have a few upperclassmen leaders and we need them to play like seniors,” he said. “But the younger players are really going to have to step up into new roles this year and that’s what we were hoping to see in these first few games.”
The Titans’ two wins earned them the right to take on fellow 2-0 squad White Plains for the championship on Sunday night, but the game was halted just 10 minutes into the first period due to bad visibility and poor ice conditions. The game is scheduled to be replayed on Dec. 7 at 3:45 p.m.
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