Mahopac Ice Men Get Off to Fast Start

MAHOPAC—The Mahopac High ice hockey team is off to a fast start, with a 3-1 record, including going 3-0 in Conference 1 play.

Saturday saw the Indians defeat the Brewster Bears in a Conference 1 matchup at the Brewster Ice Arena by a score of 3-2. That followed another conference victory over Pawling on Friday night by a score of 5-1, which also took place at the Brewster Ice Arena.

The Indians’ first win of the season came Nov. 29 when the team defeated Carmel 3-0 at the Brewster Ice Arena. That game followed a season-opening 7-0 loss at Mamaroneck on Nov. 28.

Saturday’s game against the Bears saw the Indians jump out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to a goal by junior forward Dillon Savitzky with 11:11 left in the first period. However, Brewster tied the game up a few minutes later.

The Bears then took a 2-1 lead with another goal with 13:10 left in the second period. Mahopac answered and tied the score on a power play goal by junior forward Tyler Gyscek, one of the teams’ captains, with 11:49 to go in the period.

The score remained 2-2 until Mahopac’s Brandon Fitzpatrick, a freshman forward, scored the winning goal with 6:07 to go in the third period. It was the first goal of his varsity career.

Gyscek, junior defenseman Kevin Kennedy, senior forward/defenseman Rich Barletta and senior defenseman Robert Harker each had assists.

Senior goalie Bobby Fatone was able to block 23 of the 25 shots he faced.

Mahopac coach Steve Tuite said it was good to see his team be victorious in a game this close because that was usually not the case in the past. Victories in tight games like this give the players confidence that they can succeed in those situations.

“Guys start to believe that they can win close games,” Tuite said. He was impressed with Fitzpatrick’s first career goal. “It was good to see,” Tuite said. “He is a hard worker.”

He attributed the key goal to Fitzpatrick’s work ethic. “That is what created the goal,” Tuite said, adding that the freshman had to really fight to get it in the net off of a rebound.

In the 5-1 win over Pawling, both teams were held scoreless in the first period but the Indians put the puck in the net twice in the second. They scored three more times in the third to make the score 5-0 before Pawling scored its lone goal with 7:45 left in the game.

Gysocek and junior forward Mark Sottile each scored two goals for Mahopac and Kennedy scored one.

Barletta, sophomore forward Ryan Harker, senior forward and captain Nick Lopilato, Savitzky and senior forward/ defenseman Mike Gilmore each had an assist.

Junior defenseman Paul Hoppinthal had two assists and Fatone saved 11 of 12 shots he faced.

Tuite said he was impressed with how his team attacked against Pawling. “I thought we were going to the net well,” he said. He credited Fatone with keeping Pawling out of the net for most of the game, which allowed Mahopac to build a big lead.

In the Indian’s victory over Carmel on Nov. 29, Kennedy, Savitzky and Barletta each scored a goal. Gilmore and Barletta had one assist each while Gyscek had three.

Fatone stopped all nine shots he faced.

Gyseck’s performance was one that really stood out for Tuite. “He just had a strong game for us overall,” Tuite said. “He made nice passes on a couple of goals.”

He was impressed with how his team came back after suffering a tough defeat the day before against Mamaroneck.

The team’s three goals came off power plays, which pleased Tuite because his team had had quite a few power plays the day before that they didn’t take advantage of.

“I thought our guys were pressing against Mamaroneck,” Tuite said. He credited his team with playing well in the first period against Mamaroneck. However, things fell apart after the opponent scored two short handed goals on their way to a 7-0 victory.

“That took the wind out of our sails,” Tuite said.

Mahopac’s next game is Friday against Yorktown, which is 2-0-1 overall and 0-0- 1 in the conference,at 9 p.m. at the Brewster Ice Arena. The team also plays on Saturday on the road against Ossining, which is 0-2-1 overall and 0-1-0 in the conference. Both are conference games.