A record-setting night on the ice for Horace Greeley/John Jay squad

Brendan Asta (center) is congratulated after scoring a goal on his way to setting the John Jay career points record.

Henry Millhon finishes a check against Mahopac. Jim MacLean photos

By JIM MACLEAN 

After all they have accomplished together the last two seasons, it was only fitting that a trio of senior captains would enjoy a record-setting night on the ice, not for just one of them, but all three, in the same game, in the same period.

Skating together on the first line for the combined Horace Greeley/John Jay varsity squad, seniors Brendan Asta, Ryan Marcus and Brody Stogsdill have scored a lot of goals. All three are four-year varsity players, the last two together for HG/JJ, and the chemistry is obvious when they are on the ice.

And so it ended up being a perfect situation for a record-setting evening as the trio led HG/JJ to an 8-4 victory over Mahopac at the Brewster ice arena Friday, Jan. 23. Asta finished with a hat trick, scoring three goals and adding three assists, to break the John Jay career point scoring record of 141 points as he now is in first with 142 points. Marcus and Stogsdill each scored a goal and added two assists, to break the Horace Greeley career point scoring record as they are tied at the top in the Quakers record book.

“Getting the points record is something I’m proud of, it means a lot for me and the team, but I’m glad we got the win,” Asta said of his John Jay record. “We’re winning games this year, we’re off to a good start and that’s the most important thing to me.”

While Asta set the mark for John Jay, the Greeley duo of Marcus and Stogsdill set the mark on the same play, teaming up together as they have done for four years on the ice with Marcus scoring a goal off an assist from Stogsdill.

“It was a good win, a little sloppy in the beginning, missing some guys again, but I was happy we got the win and I was happy those guys were able to score their points” HG/JJ coach Alex Lichorat said of his first line. “Brody and Marcus broke the career points record for Greeley, a big moment for both of them, four years together and they’re tied at the top.”

Asta was not the only player to register a hat trick as John Jay sophomore Henry Millhon also had a big night. Millhon was moved up to the front line with Marcus back on defense to fill in for some missing players, and he made the most of the opportunity paired with Asta as Millhon scored three goals and added an assist.

After falling behind 1-0, Asta scored off an assist from Frankie Epstein to even it up at 1-1 by the end of the first period.

It was a big second period for HG/JJ as Asta started it off with his second goal of the game for a 2-1 lead, and just 30 seconds later Marcus scored to make it 3-1. Millhon then scored off an assist from Asta on the power play to make it 4-1, before Mahopac was able to score and cut the lead down to 4-2.

Millhon scored his second of the game to start off the third period and make it a 5-2 lead, but Mahopac responded with a pair of goals just 10 seconds apart to cut the lead down to one goal. Stogsdill was able to answer off an assist from Marcus, and then when Mahopac pulled its goalie Asta converted the empty net goal for his hat trick. With a minute left, Millhon scored off an assist from Asta to make the final score 8-4.

“He’s a team player right there,” Millhon said of teaming up with Asta to score six goals together. “We were missing a few guys, so it was good to grind it out and get the win. It was a lot of fun.”

With the victory, HG/JJ improved to 8-2 overall on the season. The team was set to return to the ice at the Brewster Arena on Saturday, Jan. 31, against Fox Lane.