The #1 Rye Hockey team kicked off their quest to defend their Section 1 Division II title with a blowout win on Friday, February 27, as they knocked #4 Pawling out of playoff contention with an 8-2 victory. The Garnets, thanks to a stellar regular season, are now back in the Sectional championship game for the second consecutive season.
“We were a little slow out of the gate, but found our game midway through the second,” Head Coach Pete Thomas told MyRye.com after the win. “Our guys kept at it and wore down Pawling to punch our ticket to the Section finals.”
In front of a solid crowd for the final home game of the year, Colin Nigro opened the scoring in the first period, only to see the Tigers take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. However, the Garnets struck for seven unanswered goals across the final 20 minutes and change of play after most of the second period went scoreless.
Max Niejadlik tied it as part of a three-point night seconds after Rye killed off a lengthy 5-on-3 man advantage for Pawling, which served as a critical turning point in the game. From that point forward, Rye dominated play, scoring six more times and only ceding one shot on goal against. Four of their goals came in the third period, putting the game completely out of reach.
Will Niejadlik also produced a three-point night, tying his brother for the team lead. Kai Brittain, Jack McGill, Jake Souza, and Connor Dehmer all had two points in a multi-way tie for third. Fernando Mosquera settled in after the first period to make 16 saves on 18 shots against and earn the win.
Rye (16-2-3, 1-0 postseason) can defend their Section 1 title with a win on Sunday, March 1, against #3 Byram Hills. The contest begins at 1:00pm at Brewster Ice Arena up I-684.
