CROSS RIVER, N.Y. - On Thursday, Feb. 19, fifth-seeded Greeley-Jay hosted the Cortlandt Rebels. The teams skated to a scoreless first period, though according to coach Alex Lichorat, the stalemate didn’t tell the full story.
“Their goalie played great,” he said.
Cortlandt’s strong goaltending kept Greeley-Jay off the board early, but the hosts made the most of their chances later. Despite being outplayed in the second period, Greeley-Jay emerged with a 2-1 lead and eventually secured a 4-3 victory.
Brendon Di Benedetto was tested immediately. Just a minute in, Brendan Asta rushed up the left side and forced the Rebels’ netminder to make his first save. Moments later, Ryan Marcus followed with a chance of his own, and Freddie Ross set up Brody Stogsdill out front, keeping the pressure on.
Midway through the period, Asta carried the puck into the zone on a one-on-one, but Di Benedetto stood tall again.
Greeley-Jay continued to press and drew the game’s first penalty at 6:11. Marcus, Asta and Gross all generated chances, but the Rebels’ goalie held firm.
Late in the period, Jack Hartney tried to break the deadlock. The junior reached high to knock down an attempted clear and sent the puck on net, forcing Di Benedetto to scramble. The Rebels’ goalie sprawled to keep the game scoreless heading into intermission.
Greeley-Jay finally broke through early in the second. After a faceoff win by Asta, the puck landed on Stogsdill’s stick, and Di Benedetto was beaten for the first time.
Cortlandt responded quickly. At 15:59, Aiden Dzubak began to assert himself, twice dancing through defenders and testing the Greeley-Jay defense. On a power play at 14:00, Dzubak took a pass and fired a shot over Emmet Geller’s shoulder at 13:35 to tie the game.
Greeley-Jay answered again. Hartney nearly converted on a backhand that sent Di Benedetto sprawling, and the goalie followed with a glove save moments later. With 10 minutes remaining in the period, Dzubak intercepted a clearing attempt, forcing Geller to scramble at the other end.
The combined squad regained the lead with strong puck movement behind the net.
“I saw they weren’t covering the slots, so I found open space on the side,” said Asta. “The puck went to me from Stogsdill, and I just tipped it in.”
Dzubak continued to generate chances, sending Greeley-Jay on alert four more times, but Geller and the defense held firm to carry a one-goal lead into the third period.
Cortlandt pressed after intermission and went on the power play just 50 seconds in. Dzubak weaved into the zone and unleashed a shot, but it sailed high.
Greeley-Jay answered with a chance that rang off the crossbar, preserving the slim margin with 14 minutes to play. Soon after, John Jay faced a two-on-one, but Matthew Lennox’s shot was turned aside by Geller.
Trailing 2-1 at 9:09, Cortlandt received a golden opportunity when Greeley-Jay was assessed a five-minute major.
“The coaches gave us a great game plan to forecheck hard,” said Asta.
The penalty kill proved decisive. Marcus sent a pass down to Henry Millhon.
“He knocked it out of the air, and I came racing down on the left,” Asta said. “Great pass — I just low blocked it, and it went in.”
Two minutes later, Millhon added another, cutting across the zone and beating Di Benedetto to extend the lead to 4-1.
“They really stepped it up on the power play,” Lichorat said.
With five minutes remaining, the game appeared in hand — until Dzubak struck twice in a 40-second span, pulling the Rebels within one. With 90 seconds left, the tension was palpable.
“Playoff hockey is tough,” Lichorat conceded.
He called a timeout to steady his squad.
“They had a shorter bench than us, and I didn’t want them to get any rest,” he said.
The strategy paid off. Greeley-Jay kept its composure and held on for the 4-3 win. North Rockland awaits Monday.
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