Dylan Dechiaro scored the first and last goals of the night, and Middle Country (JV) opened its season with a 4-2 win over Northport/Huntington (JV) on Friday at The Rinx – North Rink. It was the first game of the season for both clubs and the first-ever JV game for Middle Country, which did not field a squad last season.
Middle Country took control early. Dechiaro scored unassisted with 13:46 left in the first period, and Zachary Maresca made it 2-0 with 10:47 remaining, with Liam McCarthy and Mason Lasalla assisting. Northport/Huntington answered on the power play with 8:57 left in the opening frame. Peter Mikowski won the faceoff and scored right off the draw, with Christopher Quinn earning the assist, to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Ty Schimkus restored the two-goal cushion with 10:52 left in the second period. Maresca set up the goal, which stood as the game-winner and gave Maresca a two-point night. Northport/Huntington again turned to its power play in the third, when Logan Serino scored with 11:38 remaining to make it 3-2. Henry Alfano and Declan Driscoll assisted on the goal, which set up a one-goal finish.
Northport/Huntington pulled goaltender Matthew Macartney with 110 seconds left to bring on an extra attacker. Middle Country called a timeout right away. Dechiaro then won the ensuing faceoff and scored into the empty net with 1:04 to play to seal the result. Macartney took the loss after allowing three goals.
Dominic Graziano started in goal for Middle Country (1-0-0-0) and earned the win. Jack Lasalla came on in relief, and each allowed one goal. Northport/Huntington (0-1-0-0), which blended freshmen with returning players, will look to build on a resilient power-play effort in its next outing.
