Season Recap: John Jay Ice Hockey

After its game against Newburgh was cancelled three times because of inclement weather, the John Jay hockey team had a choice. It could just stop playing and be guaranteed the No. 3 seed in the Section 1 tournament. Or it could add a game against Pawling on the final night of the regular season, and risk a lower seed with a loss.

The team decided to play the Tigers, and it was rewarded with a 4-0 win.

"That was really a character builder for the kids," coach Alex Smith said. "We wanted to play and earn it on the ice. It was a special way to end the season."

The Pawling game exemplified what made John Jay so successful this season — great goaltending, timely scoring and solid defense.

The Indians rode that formula to a 15-6-1 record, a second place finish in Conference III behind eventual sectional champion Rye, and a trip to the sectional semifinals.

"It was a fun season," Smith said. "The senior class was a bunch of good leaders, and the underclassmen really bought into the system. Overall we were satisfied with the progress."

Still, the year ended on a sour note when the Indians lost to No. 7 Yorktown 2-0 in the Division II semifinals, leaving the team one game short of playing in the title game at West Point. John Jay had beaten the Cornhuskers 4-2 earlier in the season.

"I thought it was a very good season with a disappointing end," Smith said. "Yorktown played a really good game and the bounces that would go our way all season went the other way, and you started pressing when you feel the season get away from you."

The fact that John Jay was even the favorite in that game showed how far it had come from last year, when the Indians won just four times. Smith, the program's original coach who returned to the bench this season, credits assistants Pat Chiappetta and Sam Kaplan for a smooth transition, and the seniors for committing themselves to putting the program back in the right direction.

That senior class included three all-league players — goalie Mike Ott, forward Scott Turecamo and defenseman Nathaniel Kaplan.

Ott was second in Section 1 with a 1.60 goals-against average and 93.3 save percentage, behind only Suffern goalie Tyler Stark. Turecamo was a quick all-purpose forward who led the team with 21 goals and 31 points, and Kaplan logged 30 minutes a game and was the leader in the locker room and on the ice.

Kaplan also won the Conference 3 sportsmanship award, while Smith was named Conference 3 coach of the year.