East Islip Red’s freshman squad blanked Longwood White 5-0 on Friday at The Rinx – North Rink, improving to 17-0-2 and moving into first place in the Suffolk County High School Hockey League freshman division with the regular season winding down. Anthony Ford turned in a shutout in net for the Chiefs, who spread the scoring around en route to the win.
East Islip wasted little time building a cushion, scoring twice in the first period. Liam Vansteen opened the game at 8:52 on assist from Liam Lazzarino, and Jaxon Gerena added the eventual game-winner at 13:13 with Rory Straub picking up the helper. Alex Walsh extended the lead in the second period, burying a shot on assists from Tyler Doherty and Vansteen to make it 3-0 through two.
The Chiefs put the game away in the third. Walsh struck again at 12:56, this time unassisted, before Vansteen capped his two-goal night with just one second remaining in regulation, set up by Doherty. Vansteen finished with two goals and an assist for three points, while Walsh matched him with two goals of his own. Doherty chipped in two assists in the win.
Longwood, now 11-7, was unable to solve Ford and dropped its second meeting of the season against East Islip after falling 8-2 to the Chiefs back in November. Malcolm Sherman took the loss in net for Longwood. The Lions remain tied in points with Southampton as they look to settle their playoff seeding.
Both East Islip and Longwood have secured playoff spots, but seeding remains to be determined with the regular season concluding Sunday, when East Islip is set to face Smithtown Hauppauge Blue.
