Lead Stories, Sports

Titans cruise past Cavs

On Monday, night, the Rye Town/Harrison hockey team continued its stellar play, authoring a one-sided 11-5 victory over the Harvey School at Rye Playland. A quick start and relentless energy set the tone for the surging Titans, who have put together an impressive seven-game winning streak over the last month. With an important matchup against undefeated league foe Horace Greeley on the horizon, the Titans hope to keep that momentum going as they make one last playoff push.

Joey Harrison eyes a shooting lane on Jan. 28. Harrison had three goals against Harvey.

Rye Town/Harrison’s offensive efficiency was on display early on, as the Titans scored on each of their first four shots to put the Cavaliers on the defensive from the opening face-off. Quick triggers from the team’s offensive stars has been a key to the Titans’ success during the course of the win streak, during which the team has averaged 9.3 goals per game.

“If there is one thing we reiterate, it’s basically just ‘shoot it,” head coach Rich Myers said. “If we are waiting to long to find the perfect shot, things change and you lose opportunities, and we’ve been doing a better job of that lately.”

Jack Shapiro and Joey Harrison each recorded hat-tricks for the hosts, while Christian Pizzutello tallied two scores. Eric Mehlman, Jonah Schultz and Ben Shapiro all found the net for the Titans as well.

“We’re starting to play unselfishly and move the puck well,” Myers said after the game. “They are learning that the quicker they give it up, the quicker they’ll get it back, and they’ll be in better position.”

Rye Town/Harrison also benefitted from a solid performance by sophomore goaltender Clark Cooper, who made 29 saves before giving way to backup Ben Stephenson. Cooper recorded his first varsity start on Jan. 14 in a 9-5 victory over New Rochelle and remains unbeaten in four appearances as a starter.

“[Cooper] is un-phased by anything, and he has all the confidence in the world,” Myers said. “He made one mistake in the first period last night, he let a quick one in over his shoulder, and he took ownership of the situation and made some adjustments.”

After taking on Mount Pleasant/Briarcliff on Jan. 30, after press time, the Titans (11-3) will travel to Brewster to take on league foe Horace Greeley (12-1) in an anticipated showdown between two teams with high postseason hopes. Myers said he hopes to get a better idea of the Quakers’ strengths before the two teams square off.

“We don’t know much about them, but we know they played Scarsdale tough,” he said. “They’ve got some good veteran defensemen leading the way.”