Connect with us

High School

Deja Vu All Over Again

Published

on

Brody O’Doherty scored the eventual game winning goal with 10:47 remaining in the 3rd period. TJ Ulmschneider picked up his fourth win of the season for the St. Anthony’s Friars. Brody Dickson started his eighth game of the year for the East Islip Chiefs. The Friars defeated the Chiefs in a best of three series to win the 2022-2023 SCHSHL Varsity Finals, but St. Anthony’s lost their first meeting of the 2023-2024 season to East Islip by a final score of 8-6. The defending champions have now evened the score with a 5-2 win on Monday Night. The St. Anthony’s Friars moved to 6-5 on the campaign. The East Islip Chiefs dropped to 8-1-2 on the season.

The East Islip Chiefs entered the night with a chance to leapfrog the Kings Park Commack Knights in the standings with a win against the St. Anthony’s Friars. The Chiefs loss is the Knights gain, as KPC takes a narrow one point lead in the standings over EI. Ryan Anatra did not draw in for the East Islip Chiefs. Brady Monteleone was out of the lineup for the Friars after being assessed a game misconduct against the Kings Park Commack Knights. The lone goal of the first frame came on a buzzer beater by Anthony Pepe assisted by Thomas Ivers.

At the start of the second stanza, the East Islip Chiefs led 1-0 against the St. Anthony’s Friars. Thomas Azzariti scored on a breakaway with 10:23 remaining in the 2nd period. The tie game didn’t last long. With 5:08 remaining in the frame, Gerard Nealon scored a power play goal assisted by Azzariti. The Friars led 2-1 after 2 periods of play. St. Anthony’s would lead for the remainder of the game.

With 10:47 remaining in the third frame, Brody O’Doherty scored the third goal of the game for the Friars. The St. Anthony’s blue liner went coast to coast on the play, circled the offensive zone, and cut to the slot before firing a wrist shot across his body that beat the EI goaltender glove side high. Forty-two seconds later, Thomas Azarriti fired back to retake the two goal lead for the Friars. Louis Cutalo IV scored stick side high to seal the deal for the Friars.

Scoring Summary

PeriodTimeGoal Scorer (Team)Assist(s)Goal Type
1st00:01Anthony Pepe (East Islip)Thomas Ivers
2nd10:23Thomas Azzariti (St. Anthony’s)Louis Cutalo IV
2nd05:08Gerard Nealon (St. Anthony’s)Thomas AzzaritiPower Play
3rd10:47Brody O’Doherty (St. Anthony’s)Zackary SirelGame Winning Goal
3rd06:42Alex Carino (East Islip)Thomas Ivers
3rd06:00Thomas Azzariti (St. Anthony’s)Gerard Nealon
3rd01:36Louis Cutalo IV (St. Anthony’s)Unassisted

Three Stars of the Game

StarPlayer (Team)Stat LinePerformance Summary
1stThomas Azzariti (St. Anthony’s)2 Goals, 1 AssistThe former freshman phenom opened the scoring for the Friars, garnered the lone assist on the power play, and scored the insurance goal for good measure.
2ndBrody O’Doherty (St. Anthony’s)1 GoalThe blue liner scored the game winning goal for the Friars, but his ability to force turnovers and carry the puck up ice was just as important if not more so to St. Anthony’s success.
3rdLouis Cutalo IV (St. Anthony’s)1 Goal, 1 AssistThe play-driving power forward lit the lamp once and garnered an assist while playing big minutes in all situations for the Friars.
Looking Forward

A Next Man Up Mentality

The St. Anthony’s Friars will be back in action against the Connetqout Sayville BBP T-Birds on Sunday December 10th, at 7:50 PM. The Friars won round one against the T-Birds by a final score of 5-1. Great programs are able to overcome the loss of key players. After Nicolas D’Andrea graduated this past spring, the Friars were off to a slow start. Brady Monteleone had previously missed time due to injuries, but the Captain was held out of last nights contest due to a suspension. So for the first time in a long time, a new name took center stage for the Friars. The former St. Anthony’s Freshman phenom, Thomas Azzariti, who just made the leap to the Varsity level this season. Isn’t that something?

You Can’t Win Em’ All

East Islip will look to bounce back against the Ward Melville Patriots on Wednesday, December 6th at 9:20 PM. The Chiefs defeated the Patriots by a final score of 6-4 in their first meeting of the season. The last team to finish the regular season without a loss was the 2021-2022 Northport Huntington Tigers. That team lost 3-2 in round one of the SCHSHL playoffs to the Connetqout Sayville BBP T-Birds. Sometimes it’s easier to win after you get a loss under your belt. SCHSHL fans should expect a strong showing from EI in their next matchup.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply