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Tigers Pick up 2 Points in OT

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Northport Huntington and Ward Melville go to Bonus Hockey

In a closely contested game against the Ward Melville Patriots, the Northport Huntington Tigers picked up their third win of the 2023-2024 Campaign in Overtime. The Tigers created havoc early on in the game, forcing Patriots Netminder Michael Sittler to make three consecutive show stopping saves.

The second year varsity goaltender played nine Varsity games in the SCHSHL last year with the Middle Country Cougars. Sittler has proven to be a great pickup for the Patriots, having started four games this season. On the opposite end of the ice, Tigers goaltender Boden Rudloff was not to be outdone. Rudloff made several stellar saves of his own, which kept the game even. Still scoreless late in the first period, Ward Melville Captain Jake Mangano entered the Tigers defensive zone on a two on one opportunity. The Patriots Captain made a beautiful cross ice feed to John McCormick, who put Ward Melville up 1-0 with his second goal of the SCHSHL 2023-2024 Varsity Season. 

Down 1-0 at the end of the period, the Tigers offense stormed back in the second. Just 2:25 into the period, Tigers leading goal scorer Sean Tittel made a pass intended for Ryan Colapinto, which was deflected by the Patriots defense onto the shin of Colapinto. With the puck loose up front, Colapinto pounced on the opportunity and tied the game. Sean Tittel was awarded the sole assist on the play. Ryan Colapinto returned the favor shortly thereafter, carrying the puck beneath the goal line before threading the needle to find a wide open Tittel in the slot.  

Down 2-1 at the start of the third, Patriots forward Aiden Ayers entered the Tigers zone one on two and beat Tigers Netminder Boden Rudloff with a beautifully placed wrist shot. At around the ten minute mark of the third period, a power play turnover by the Tigers led to a shorthanded breakaway goal for John McCormick. This marked McCormick’s second goal of the game and third of the campaign. 

The Patriots then had a string of momentum altering penalties, with Jake Mangano being assessed a five minute major and ten minute misconduct for charging. Mangano’s penalty came just 21 seconds into a Patriots Power Play. A high sticking penalty commuted just 14 seconds later by Louis Scolaro, gave the Tigers a 4 on 3 power play. Michael Sittler’s and the Patriots Penalty Kill managed to save off the Tigers for the next two minutes, but as Scolaro exited the box the Tigers maintained a 5 on 3 advantage in the offensive zone. 

Northport Huntington Blue Liner Ryan Collins capitalized on the extra time and space, walking in and beating Sittler with a beautiful wrist shot. Sean Tittel was awarded an assist on the play, and that goal brought an end to the Tigers odd man advantage. Then in overtime, Sean Tittel wrapped around the net and fired an off angle shot past Sittler to secure a 4-3 overtime victory. 

Stars of the Game 

Third Star of the game goes to Ryan Collins, whose stellar two way play always shows on the ice. Tonight, he stepped into the spotlight while notching his second goal of the campaign in just his fourth game this year. The Second Star goes to Ryan Colapinto, who opened the scoring for the Tigers before notching a nice assist on the second Northport Huntington goal of the night. First star goes to Sean Tittel, who contributed to each and every goal scored by the Tigers tonight. His four point performance, two goals and two assists, was capped off by his first ever Game Winning Goal  in the SCHSHL Varsity Division. Tittel only had one goal and one assist in fourteen varsity contests during the 2022-2023 Varsity season, which just goes to show that his hard work has paid off. 

Looking Forward

After a 3-3 start to the season, the Tigers will go toe to toe with the second and third place teams in the varsity division in back to back games. On Wednesday November 1st at 7:50 PM, the Tigers will take on Jesse Lemza and the Knights. Then on Wednesday November 8th, the Tigers will square off against Ryan Anatra and East Islip. Then on Wednesday November 15th at 9:20, the Tigers will take on Ryan Fleischauer and the T-Birds. 

After beating the inaugural Longwood Lions Varsity Program 3-2 in week one of the season, the Patriots have dropped five straight. However after the Knights notched an empty net goal to beat the Patriots 4-2 on September 27th, the Patriots have now dropped five straight. The Patriots then had two heartbreaking two goal losses to East Islip and Connetquot Sayville BBP, followed by an 11-2 loss to Smithtown Hauppauge. While tonight’s overtime loss is a heartbreaker for a team trying to get back into the win column, this Patriots squad is getting better results than their record might suggest. Look for Jake Mangano and Ward Melville to hit the ground running on Sunday November 5th against Thomas Konkowski and his currently undefeated Sachem squad. Then on Monday November 6th at 9:40, the Patriots will take on Ciaran Pollard and the West Islip Lions. Then the Patriots will square off against a St. Anthony’s Friars program led by two time SCHSHL Varsity Champion Brady Monteleone. 

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