GreeleyJay Season Ends in Heartbreak

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On Tuesday February 25, GreeleyJay traveled to Hommocks Ice Arena in Larchmont and faced Mamaroneck in a true back and forth. The quarterfinal round, Mamaroneck scored first, GreeleyJay answered, the Tigers regained the lead and GreeleyJay tied with 1:39 remaining in the game. So the lower seed was obviously hoping the string could be broken.

Unfortunately, the trend held up when Derek Tumsuden scored 57 seconds later, and GreeleyJaw saw their season end.

The scoreboard did not get a blemish in the first period, but the play went coast to coast nonetheless. Matthew Studdert unloaded from right in the early going, Jack Hartney shot from the left on the other end, and Mikey Dillon and John Marlatt were there in goal for Mamaroneck and GreeleyJay respectively.

Dillon began his own trend, though. Brendan Asta picked off a pass right in front, and with no one in between, Dillon made the first of a number of similar saves.

Most coming in the third period, Dillon gave Brody Stogsdill nothing when he swooped the goal line on the power play at 10:21. He simply played the angle, closed the five hole and then left the next flurry of goaltending to his counterpart.

Gabe Pzaona twice came out front with the puck and put GreeleyJay on edge. But Marlatt had the saves and was there again when Derek Tumsuden put the disc on the stick of Dmitri Thivaios.

Still, Tumsuden kept the pressure on with a shot wide in the final minute, and soon after, Mamaroneck went on the power play with 34 seconds left in the first. GreeleyJay was up for the kill anyway, and the game remained on an even keel into the second.

Not for long, Studdert got the first of his two goals. He took the pass from Tumsuden, and the Tigers led 1-0 at 14:07.

There was no respite for GreeleyJay either. Mamaroneck went right back on the power play, and the shots kept coming.

Even so, GreeleyJay may have had the best chance. Jack Hartney broke free from the pack, and with Tigers giving chase, Dillon denied the short handed opportunity.

At 12:28, GreeleyJay continued to keep Dillon company. Out front, Dylan Geary popped a deflection over the goal, Ryan Marcus tried a wrap around at 9:38, and Asta juked his way to the front of the net.

To no avail, sometimes it’s better to be lucky. On Marcus’s determined drive to the crease, Dillon made the save, and with the puck stick lingering on goalie’s left side, Marcus got whistled for a penalty behind the net. So with focus shifting to the shoving, the puck went in off a Mamaroneck player, and Marcus got credit for the goal.

In at 5:29, Greeley didn’t have long to take solace in a tie. Studdert again, he did it by himself with three minutes left in the second.

A scrum about a minute later almost negated the lead, though. With GreeleyJay making all the moves around the net, the puck stood unattended to the left of Dillon, but Hartney could not get a stick on to push in for the tie.

Onto the third, Dillon left nothing to such chance for most of the remainder. No less than four times, GreeleyJay made rushes into the zone where only empty space stood between Mamaroneck and a tie. Each time Dillon was there, and all GreeleyJay could do was walk away and wince.

Of course, Marlatt did his part too, and when the puck came back the other way with under two minutes to go, Dillon’s dream almost turned into a nightmare. With play coming from the right off the goalie, Brandon Foulks made the connection with the shot and tied the score.

Dillon’s teammates coming over to console, the streak of Tigers didn’t let him down. Tumsuden did the honors with 42 seconds left, Mamaroneck held on, and GreeleyJay returned home in heartbreak.