Win and you’re in. That was the challenge given to the Manhasset Middle School Hockey Team as the team headed down the final stretch of the season. Under the guidance of Coach Michael O’Gara, Manhasset did just that—they won. Manhasset won its last two games and clinched a Division 2 Playoff spot for the second straight year.
On Sunday, March 22, the team faced off against Plainview in a tight, back-and-forth game at Ice Works. The forward line of Eric Hasselberger, Joseph Schuler and Chloe Behringer led Manhasset in opportunities and pressured Plainview all night long. While Sean Berger, Luke Vetrone and center Brian Mack kept Manhasset in the game by tallying up the first two goals.
Down by two goals, with under five minutes to play, Logan Reisdorf blasted a power play goal to even up the game. The game winner was followed minutes later by a one timer by Danny McClellan on a beautiful pass from Brian Mack.
One day later, Manhasset faced their rival, the Garden City Wings at Long Beach Arena, in a game that had playoff implications for both teams. While the Wings merely needed a tie to make the post-season, Manhasset would need to come out on top to keep their season alive.
Great hustle and hard work by forwards, Rishabh Jajoo, Charlie Hasselberger and Cole Kniesley really kept the Wings from establishing any great opportunities. However, stellar goaltending and stud defense was the name of the game. Goalie Matthew Miller stood on his head all night, earning a shutout. Defensemen such as Tommy Sylvia, Michael Scharfenberger, Stelio Frankis and Jillian Kane shut down the opponents and kept their big guns off the scoreboard. Forwards even chipped in on defense. Center, Drew Miller, was given the job of shadowing their top scorer and was able to shut him down entirely.
Thanks to superb defense by both sides, the game went late into the final period tied 0-0. With less than six minutes left, Manhasset took the lead thanks to the quick hands of Sean Berger, who scored the eventual game-winner. Trailing 1-0, Garden City pulled their goalie, but once again, Manhasset’s defense held strong, preserving the shutout for Miller.
The team moved on to the playoffs to face Plainedge on Friday, March 27 at the Twin Rinks in Eisenhower Park.
Plainedge won the season series against Manhasset 2-0.
Unfortunately without the return of the shut down goalie Giovanni Kubanick, the Manhasset Middle School was upset by Plainedge in the finals.
