Sleepy Hollow/Irington's Great Hockey Season Brings Awards

When a team makes a postseason run to the semifinals of its sport, there's usually a win that defines the run.

For the Sleepy Hollow/Irvington ice hockey squad, that defining win came in the quarterfinals of the Section 1 Division II tournament, when it defeated last year's state finalist Pelham 2-0. Pelham had made the sectional finals 19 of the previous 24 years.

"That win meant so much more because we know the established program that Pelham has," Sleepy Hollow/Irvington coach Howie Weiner said. "They (Pelicans) improve every year and put in that hard schedule so they are ready for the playoffs. It was a great test for us to see if we improved as much as they did. For us to tie them 1-1 at the beginning of the year then to come back in the playoffs and beat them 2-0 shows that we are on the right path as well. Whenever you beat a program like that, it's a major step."

Helping the Legends (14-7-2) take that major step against Pelham was sophomore defenseman Brett Pesce, who scored twice against the Pelicans. He was named all-section and all-league. Pesce wound up with 32 assists, second in the section and 18 goals. His 50 points led all defenseman in the section.

He had such a dominant season that when it came time to vote for all-section players on March 2, the coaches didn't even have to spend time debating his merits for all-section. He was an obvious choice.

"Brett may be the most talented player in the league," Weiner said. "Everybody knows it. The talent he has is unreal. I have known him for a long time. Talking to other coaches, travel coaches, he's got a chance to be a Division I hockey player. He's tall, he's got the size, he has got everything going for him. There are no stutters in his moves. Everything in his game is really smooth and he's only 15-years-old. He has a good future."

Providing leadership for the Legends this year were co-captains, senior forwards Bradlee Pesce and Josh Kaplan, who were both named all-league honorable mention. Bradlee Pesce's 72 points was second in the section and his 49 goals were third. Kaplan tallied 22 goals and 22 assists for the Legends.

Weiner said the team came into the season wondering about who would fill the leadership role. That's because the only captain the Legends had in their first three years of existence, Craig Halpin, had graduated.

"Craig was a great leader," Weiner said. "Josh and Bradlee though really stepped up big time and filled that leadership role. They led with their voices, they led by example in practice, team meetings and team dinners. They did it all."

The team also enjoyed the success it did thanks to the play of freshman goalie Matt Inglis, who made 433 saves.

Having guys like Inglis in goal and Brett Pesce on defense along with junior forward John Garro, sophomore forward Kyle McGovern and junior defenseman Dennis Sullivan, should make the Legends a threat again next winter.