Quakers Stay Hot With a Victory Against Fox Lane

Even though the Fox Lane hockey team found itself already trailing by three goals after one period on Saturday evening, there was something to look forward to at the start of the second.

The penalty box for the host Horace Greeley Quakers was a bit crowded.

With a chance to skate with a five-on-three advantage, the Foxes had a big opportunity to get right back in the game. In an instant, though, the opportunity vanished as the Quakers’ Ryan Renzulli burst out of the defensive zone, carrying the puck down the left wing. He got to the blue line, skated to his right and then sent a shot past goalie Will Brunner, all but assuring there would be no Fox Lane revival.

“In my eight years of coaching high school,” said Quakers head coach Dan Perito afterwards, “I can’t remember scoring down two men. I can’t speak for them, but I know for us if you’re up and then they score shorthanded, that’s demoralizing.”

Renzulli’s shorthanded goal was soon followed by two more from the Quakers, who went on to an 8-2 victory over the Foxes on Senior Night at the Brewster Ice Arena. Dillon Rusiecki, Jake Potter and Dylan Mutkoski each finished with a pair of goals as suddenly red-hot Greeley won for the seventh time in its last eight games.

“You never know after going through all the pregame stuff, breaking from routine, how they’ll come out,” said Perito about his Senior Night concerns. “I wasn’t really pleased with the warmup. But we came out possessing the puck, working the forecheck. We were able to get some pucks down low and get some shots, get some goals early to kind of ease into it. Once you get that, you can kind of settle in and breathe. That’s always important.”

The game was just 90 seconds old when Liam Whitehouse, on an assist from Renzulli, got the Quakers on the scoreboard. Fox Lane soon had two good chances to even the contest, but Eric Maiorano was thwarted in front of the net by Greeley goalie Arye Wolberg and then, 15 seconds later, Jared Goldstein’s redirected shot from just left of the cage rolled tantalizingly all the way across the crease behind Wolberg before it was cleared away.

Just past the midway point of the first period, Potter poked the puck past the Foxes’ Brunner to give Greeley a 2-0 lead. Then with 4:32 to go in thet period, and the Foxes just five seconds away from killing off a Quaker power play, Rusiecki found himself with the puck in front of the net. He easily deposited it into the wide open right side, stretching the Quakers’ cushion to 3-0.

But the period ended with both Whitehouse and Tyler Kay in the penalty box and the Foxes on the hunt with a two-man advantage. Just as Whitehouse’s penalty was ending early in the second period, the Quakers’ Evan Scott was whistled for cross checking. With another 46 seconds to skate with a two-man advantage, Fox Lane’s prospects suddenly looked a bit brighter.

Renzulli’s shorthanded goal in the opening minute of the second period immediately took away whatever momentum the Foxes were building. Instead of narrowing the deficit, they suddenly trailed by four goals.

“You know, I’ve seen it before,” said Fox Lane coach Charles Berger of the goal by Greeley despite being down two players. “When you’re on the umbrella, that’s one of the challenges you have because if they chip it by, they can go. It doesn’t matter if it’s five on three or five on four. I thought the power play got chances. We didn’t finish. Their goalie played very well.”

About four minutes after Renzulli’s momentum-changing goal, the Quakers struck again, this time on their own power play, as Potter tipped in the rebound of a shot by Rusiecki. Then with 8:18 to go in the second period, Mutkoski came around the back of the net and slipped the puck into the near corner, enabling Greeley to build its lead to 6-0.

Late in the period, the two teams got into a skirmish behind the net the Foxes’ Brunner was patrolling. The game was held up for over five minutes as penalties were doled out to three players.

“It’s a rivalry game with Fox Lane,” said Perito. “So I gave them a heads up last night and then today before the game. And then as the game started, ‘Don’t get caught up in anything extra after the whistle. You get tossed for a fighting penalty, then you’re out for the next three games.’ Two of those games are gonna be playoff games for us.”

A minute into the third period, Rusiecki tallied his second goal of the evening to give Greeley a 7-0 advantage. Late in the game, the Foxes managed to get on the board with goals from freshman Charlie Della Penna and then Maiorano 57 seconds apart before Mutkoski closed the night’s scoring with his second goal.

The loss to Greeley concluded a busy week for the Foxes that was highlighted by last Monday’s visit to the Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn, where they skated against Pearl River before an Islanders game.

“Absolutely incredible,” said Berger of the experience. “So happy we were able to do it. You know, even I got big-eyed walking in there. The stadium’s so gorgeous and the ice is amazing. The kids just skated real hard and fought. Every kid had a smile on their face and had a really good time. I’d suggest it to every team. Go play in one of these professional arenas that allow it. What an experience.”

The Foxes won’t be playing at the Barclays Center again, but they can look forward to something else this coming week.

“Well, we’re in the playoffs, which is a huge step for the program,” said Berger. “After two wins last year, we’re going to the playoffs. We know we’re gonna have a tough opponent, but we’re gonna be ready to go.”

Andy Jacobs

Andy is a sports editor at Examiner Media, covering seven high schools in the mid-Westchester region with a notebook and camera. He began there in the fall of 2007 following 15 years as a candid photographer for the largest school picture company in the tri-state area.

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