The Avalanche Opens on the Upswing at Brewster Ice Arena

On Sunday December 10, the Avalanche opened their hockey season at the Brewster Ice Arena versus the Rockland Rockies. With girls from John Jay, Mahopac, North Salem and Fox Lane, a downsizing of sorts has taken place since last year, which doesn’t sound like a good sign for the sport in our area. But in fact, the opposite is true.

Meaning, it’s the geographic location of the players that has shrunk. So instead of all the girls hailing from this side of the bridge, an uptick in interest has them only coming from north of 287, and last year’s East team has split into two. “I can’t tell you how rewarding it’s been to get to this point,” said head coach Stacey Wierl. “I didn’t think we’d do it as quickly as we did.”

As a result, the girls no longer have to travel to Hommocks in Mamaroneck for practice. “Our home is now the Brewster Ice Arena,” said Wierl.

Still a very early daily start, bearing witness to the sunrise is no bother for Katheryn Becker. “I love 6AM,” said the John Jay freshman. “It’s the best way to start your day, and I walk into first period all fired up.”

The same goes for the way the girls got out of the gate on Sunday. Tereza Dolansky of Put Valley set up Aisling Stathos for the first shot on goal at 12:40, and 30 seconds later, Abigail Lehr of North Salem weaved through the zone for shot number two.

The pressure not abating, the northerners went triangulation to get on the board first. Westlake’s Kathryn Lonergan to Lindsay Smith of Brewster to Adrienne Kantrowitz, and the Ossining skater had the first of her three points on the night.

At 11:31, the Avalanche kept rolling, and Lehr was no snowflake. “I like to play a very aggressive game,” the defenseman said, and made two determined rushes on goal.

Maybe a little out of place, Wierl needed another skater on defense and having a chameleon in the midst has the coach admiring the first year player’s stripes. “You’ll see her in the offensive zone circling, so it will be fun to see what she brings to the table,” said Wierl.

A few minutes later, Lehr was pushing again on the power play. Her slap shot put Kantrowitz in position to pounce on the rebound, but Collette Curley stuffed up the drain in goal.

No problem, Lonergan and Smith teamed up again. The Westlake Wildcat shot, and Smith made good on the rebound with 2:31 left in the first.

A 2-0 game, the girls were still looking to beat the first period clock. Lonergan crashed the goal three times, and the crease softened up, Kasey Carboy of Carmel and Kantrowitz were readied for a two car pile up.

The Carmel skater shot from the point, and Kantrowitz’s second goal on the rebound had Wierl relishing the past and the present “She’s been with us the whole time, and tonight, she may have played her very best hockey I’ve seen,” said the coach.

She might have felt the same about Piper Ackner. The Fox Lane junior didn’t get a lot of playing time last year as a newcomer to the sport, and the miles logged on the bench didn’t sit well. “I didn’t like it, so I worked to do something about it,” she said.

Earning a number of shifts, Ackner came out front with the puck. Shooting high, she said, “It was hard, because there was a big girl in front of me.”

Vision the issue, fear doesn’t necessarily come into play for the spirited player. “You got to play the body,” Ackner said on the sly.

Of course, the Rockies know the same score and came to play too. Mauve McNulty got the puck ahead to Hannah Tiell, and she swooped across the crease to beat Jasmine Korinek at 7:56.

Unfazed, the Avalanche kept at it, and North Salem represented on the scoreboard. “I got a great angle from Lindsay (Smith) for the shot, and I hit it to the net as hard as I could,” said Lehr.

Good for a 4-1 lead, the 82 seconds left in the second had the Avalanche well on their way. But McNulty’s goal 15 seconds into the third did give some pause and was a departure from the blowouts the Rockies suffered last year at the hands of this team. “This was a hockey game,” boasted Wierl.

The Avalanche obviously held, and while winning feels pretty good, it’s the expansion that really puts one in the win column, according to Wierl. “We’re grateful for all the girls who wanted to be part of this,” she concluded.