Peter Mikowski recorded a hat trick and Henry Alfano added two goals and two assists as Northport/Huntington (JV) defeated Smithtown/Hauppauge Blue (JV) 6-4 on Friday at The Rinx – North Rink. Both teams entered without a win, and Northport/Huntington improved to 1-1-0-0 while Smithtown/Hauppauge Blue fell to 0-2-0-0.
Mikowski opened the scoring with 4:28 left in the first period, pulling the puck from his backhand to his forehand before finishing off a feed from Alfano. Smithtown/Hauppauge Blue answered with 1:47 remaining when Leandra Barger scored the first goal of her career, set up by Thomas Heubish, to tie it 1-1. The building responded with cheers and applause for the milestone.
Christopher Quinn restored the Northport/Huntington lead with 9:47 left in the second, collecting his own rebound and finishing it unassisted for a 2-1 edge. Jake Ventura pulled Smithtown/Hauppauge Blue even with 3:37 to go in the period, scoring on a well-executed backhand with Cole Kozak assisting for Ventura’s first point of the season. During a penalty-filled stretch in the second period, both sides took multiple minors.
Mikowski then took over late in the period. He put Northport/Huntington ahead 3-2 with 1:30 left on a play set up by Logan Serino and Alfano, then completed his hat trick 41 seconds later off another Serino assist, sending his team into the third with a 4-2 lead. Alfano extended the margin to 5-2 with 14:30 remaining in the third, a goal that held up as the game-winner, and Serino finished with three assists.
Smithtown/Hauppauge Blue pushed back. Colin Juarbe converted a power-play goal with 8:33 left, finishing from point-blank range after crisp puck movement from Matthew Benstock and Ventura created an open look. Alfano answered unassisted 39 seconds later for a 6-3 lead, but Luke Jarrett cleaned up a rebound off a Juarbe assist with 3:35 remaining to make it 6-4. Jarrett had entered the game with three points in one game. Smithtown/Hauppauge Blue pulled its goaltender for an extra attacker in the final two minutes, and Northport/Huntington used a timeout late to settle things before closing out its first win.
Matthew Macartney earned the win for Northport/Huntington, allowing four goals. Jack Pace took the loss for Smithtown/Hauppauge Blue after allowing six. Northport/Huntington will try to build on its first win, while Smithtown/Hauppauge Blue looks to carry its third-period push into its next game.
