Clarkstown Hockey Closes Season with Dominant Performance Over Nyack/Tappan Zee

Clarkstown hockey finished its regular season strong Wednesday dominating Tappan Zee/Nyack, 6-1, on the ice at Palisades Center in West Nyack.

The fast-paced and physical game started off close, but Clarkstown’s relentless offense gave them numerous shot opportunities, which they really began to capitalize on in the second and third periods.

“We were hoping that we would win in a dominant fashion, which, it didn’t start out looking that way, but it ended that way, which was good,” said Clarkstown’s head coach Andrew Trust.  “We were very happy.” 

He added, “The first two periods, we were getting a lot of shots, we weren’t getting quality shots though and we were missing the net a lot.  In the second and third, we really tried to settle down and focus and when we came out in the third, once they got the first one, it really just opened the window and we got a bunch more.”

For Trust, their success on offense came down to one thing, “shoot the puck.”  Clarkstown did this quite aggressively, as they out-shot Nyack/Tappan Zee 47-16.  In this regard, AJ Sanfratello was a force to be reckoned with, as he started things off for Clarkstown with three unanswered goals.  He would be the lead scorer for the night.

“They played us tough last time, so we were expecting the same,” said Sanfratello.  “We knew they were going to come out hard and they did.  First period it was a one to nothing game so we just wanted to, after that period, pile it on and try and make it as big a lead as we could. We just kept forechecking and keep pounding and that’s what happens.”

With Clarkstown shooting so aggressively, for Mike Hughes, one of Nyack/Tappan Zee’s head coaches, one of the major issues of the night was the amount of shots that they allowed.

“We just gave them too many opportunities,” said Hughes.  “We didn’t pick up our checks off of face offs, I thought we took a couple of inopportune penalties, which put them at an advantage, which wound up hurting us in a couple situations.  They’re a fast team, they’re a quality team, and if you give any quality team opportunities like that throughout the game, it’s going to wind up costing you, so we have to do a better job of that starting Sunday.”

He also outlined their offensive issues for the night.

“We’ve got to get our shots off quicker,” said Hughes, “and they did a nice job of getting their sticks in the passing lanes and the shooting lanes, which limited us a little bit, so we’ve got to get those shots off a little bit earlier, use the defensive men as screens, and then crash the net and get some dirty goals, but we weren’t able to do that.”

From Trust’s perspective, Clarkstown’s success on defense came largely down to their physical play.

“We practiced all week, taking the body on defense and once the forward crosses the blue line, to just hit them, and we were better at that today, not great, but better,” he said.

At the center of this defensive effort was goalie Mike Levy, who was nearly perfect for the night, as he successfully defended 15 of 16 shots on goal.

“Our defense was able to step up tonight, which I really liked a lot, because sometimes, like in our last few games, they’ve just been coming backwards and blocking my vision,” said Levy.  “I thought they were really doing a great job of stepping up, making sure I was able to see the shots and then our offense was just doing an excellent job playing the whole offensive zone, being able to cycle the puck, put shots on net, it was a great job.”

The game started off fast and physical.  Sanfratello was able to put Clarkstown up by one by the end of the first, while Nyack/Tappan Zee could not make use of its limited shot opportunities.  Clarkstown finished the period with thirteen shots on goal to Nyack/Tappan Zee’s three.

In the second, Nyack/Tappan Zee more than doubled their shots on goal to seven, however, Clarkstown nearly doubled theirs as well, with 21 shots.  Sanfratello scored twice more to make it 3-0.

“They just gave me a lot of openings and Mitch Leseur and Adam Myers on my line, they helped me out, they gave me some good passes, and I just got through and I was able to score,” said Sanfratello.

Feeding on their momentum from the second, Clarkstown opened up on Nyack/Tappan Zee as they took total control in the third.  Mitch Leseur, Mark Rodi and Jake Dickson each scored one to put the Rams up 6-0 and the game securely in their grasp.  Then, in the final minutes, it was Nyack/Tappan Zee’s Mike McGivney who broke through to prevent the shutout and steal away a perfect game from Levy.

“It’s a lot of excitement,” said Levy.  “You try not to think about it, you try not to talk about it, because there’s a superstition if you say it or you think about it, then it’s not going to happen.  Maybe I was thinking about it too much towards the end there but I tried my best and the kid just had a good shot.”

The goal was too little, too late, and Clarkstown took home the 6-1 win to finish the regular season strong.

“We were expecting a fast-paced, very competitive game,” said Hughes.  “We played them at the beginning of the season, and it was a close game, but they out-shot us significantly, so we wanted to limit the shots against even more so than we did the first game, but we were unsuccessful doing that and the shot total was about the same.  But they’re a quality team and the playoffs start on Sunday and we’re going to face another quality team in Mount Pleasant, and we just gave them to many second opportunities and that’s not going to cut it.  We had a much improved season from last year and we want to build on that in the playoffs and especially next year.  We’re kind of looking at it as a new season, we’re going to regroup after a few days practice tomorrow and Friday and we’re gonna go at it on Sunday night.”

Despite the tough loss, Hughes was happy with their improvements this season and is looking forward to the chance to continue to improve in the playoffs and next year.

“We don’t have any kids in this locker room that have been to the playoffs,” said Hughes.  “This is the third year of the merged program and we lose three seniors off this team, so experience is not on our side, but we’re here to get in there and get some experience for this year and for next year.  But to get a win, we’re going to have to play a sharper game than we played tonight.  It’s the same thing you’d do for any game, but Mount Pleasants a good team and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Nyack/Tappan Zee closes their season with a record of 8-11.  Clarkstown finishes at 10-9-1.

Closing their season in such a dominant manner sets the tone for Clarkstown as they enter the playoffs.

“Hopefully it’s going to propel us into the playoffs and we’ll keep shooting the puck,” said Trust.  “That’s what we wanted to do all season, so, now that we’ve proved that we can put six goals in, we need to keep doing it.”

For Levy and Sanfratello, Wednesday’s win was all about finishing what they had started to open the season.

“This was our last season game, so it’s good to have a win to go into playoffs and I was trying to say to the guys on the ice yesterday in practice that, we started our season off 1-0 and it’s good to end our season with a win,” said Levy.  “It was really good to bring it full circle.”

Sanfratello agreed, saying, “We started the season with a win and we wanted to get a win to end the season going into playoffs.  We’ve been playing pretty good lately, so it’s just a good thing to go into the playoffs on a good note.”

Both teams begin their playoff run this Sunday, Feb. 20.