In another “Must win game”, the YDE Thunder JV Hockey team kept their march towards the playoffs and a division title afloat with a thrilling 3-2 win over the feisty HANC Hurricanes in Great Neck, NY, on Saturday night (12/14), in what was also a must-win game for the Hurricanes, as the tight playoff race in the East shakes itself out.
The game started in front of a raucous HANC crowd, and YDE came out flying and controlled the game in the early going, as they put pressure on the Hurricanes All-Star goaltender, to no avail. This allowed HANC to generate some offensive pressure, but it was quickly shut down by the great defense of the “Ikey duo”, in Ikey Greenstein and Ikey Dwcek. Late in the 1st, YDE finally broke through; as Ikey Dweck and Bobby Tawil used their phenomenally gifted stick-handling skills, to find the twine minutes apart, for two quick goals that gave the Thunder a 2-0 lead.
With 20 seconds left in the frame, an unlucky bounce of the puck led to a Hurricanes goal that cut the visitors lead in half, as YDE now led 2-1.
The second period brought high physicality and a lot of offensive pressure from HANC, that would net them an early goal, and send the crowd into frenzy tying this pivotal contest up at 2.
From that point on, the game was tight-knit and physical, with both teams trying to find different ways to gain a comfortable edge over each other. It was even hockey throughout the rest of the period, with multiple penalties due to the high intensity, with both teams showing how much they really needed this game to go into the win-column.
It was all square after two periods of play, with YDE heading into the locker room with a sense of confidence that they would win this battle, because of the depth advantage they had over the Hurricanes.
The third period was non-stop action, as the Hurricanes faithful was their loudest in the final frame, trying to will the home team to victory. It was back and forth action, with YDE goalie Eddie Khezrie making some big saves, despite suffering a leg injury in the second period.
With 7 minutes remaining in regulation, a Sammy Franco slap shot was blocked, but the rebound came out to Jacob Sutton, who fed Sammy, as he walked in for a go-ahead goal that put the Thunder in front 3-2, sending the bench, and the YDE fans into attendance into delirium.
The final minutes of the 3rd were frantic, with the Hurricanes “Sending the house” on offense, looking for the equalizer, but some great defense by Ikey Greenstein yet again kept YDE in front.
Unfortunately for the Thunder, the injuries piled up, as Franco and Jack Harary, (Who had been a mini distraction to the HANC guys with his speed and agility despite his small size), also suffered injuries late in the 3rd period, forcing YDE to go into “Next Thunder up mode”, by reaching deep into the depth bag of this team.
Out of that bag, came big defensemen Sammy Cohen and Steven Shemula, who’s clear out of the YDE zone in the final seconds, sealed a thrilling 3-2 Thunder win that improved them to 5-1 on the season.
3 STARS OF THE GAME:
3 Steven Shemula
2 Eddie Khezrie
1 Ikey Greenstein (Game Ball)
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
In the words of Abraham Ash, “This team is on Ash (Which Means Fire in Hebrew) right now.” “Let’s keep it going.”
UP NEXT:
In a game, that will likely decide who gets the 1 seed in the Eastern Division, the YDE Thunder will travel to DRS(6-0), on Wednesday night (12/18), where a win would put them in good positioning for a division title. Game time is 7:45PM.
Comments