Despite Slow Start, John Jay Ice Hockey Starting to Hit Its Stride
C Petschek, Stark, Cucolo, J Browne, Fischetti, Hastings, Maloof, Blaney, D Browne, Daley, Verdeschi, Protomastro, Hasapis
High expectations were the one thing that defined the preseason for the John Jay Ice Hockey Team. The team would be composed of over half of the players from last year, led by a core upperclassmen group which has played together for the last two years. This was supposed to be the year that the Indians would contend for the Section 1 title and State Championship.
But after their first few games, Jay found themselves not playing to their potential. They suffered an early loss in the season opener to White Plains, about which Junior David Browne said, “We came in thinking we were going to roll over teams and that would be that. It should have been a wakeup call right away.”
After winning their next game against rival Brewster/Yorktown, the team once again played poorly against Bethlehem, recording a 7-2 loss. Browne added that, “In my opinion, in my three years of playing for John jay, this was the worst game we’d played. They were a good team and we just didn’t bring it. The result was embarrassing.”
Despite this hard loss, Browne said that the real wakeup call came during a 2-0 defeat to Byram Hills. Clearly being the more talented team, the Indians realized that they needed to get serious.
“We started working harder in practice on and off the ice and mentally preparing for games more effectively,” Browne said, “We really picked it up after that game.”
What followed were convincing wins against St. Paul’s (MD) and Wilton (CT) and a great comeback win against North Rockland. After going down 2-0 at the end of the first period, Jay stayed calm and scored four unanswered goals to seal a big win. “Ellis [Maloof] scored two big goals to get us back in it. Those two period were some of the best hockey we played all season,” Browne said about the win.
The team then traveled upstate to take on #2 ranked Skaneateles and Williamsville South. The Indians suffered a tough 3-2 overtime defeat to Skaneateles but went out the next day to beat Williamsville 4-2. The trip’s success partly due to the outstanding play of Junior Goalie George McMichael, who was named to the All-Tournament team.
“We’re in a good place right now and hope to keep our high level of play going,” Browne said, adding, “The slow start only made us better and more determined as the season goes on.”
