Girls Ice hockey: OT title game loss sinks the Avalanche

Kathryn Becker of John Jay gets off a shot in semifinal victory. Jim MacLean photo

Marcie Maurice of John Jay controls for the Avalanche.

Violet Fishlin of Fox Lane clears for the Avalanche.

By JIM MACLEAN 

Almost an hour after the puck first dropped, it was finally decided, an overtime thriller to decide the Section 1 girls ice hockey championship between the top-seeded East Green Wave and the second-seed North Avalanche on the ice Friday, Jan. 30, at Sport-o-Rama in Monsey.

Unfortunately, someone would have to go home as the loser and one team would be crowned as champion, and that was the East Green Wave made up of girls from southern Westchester County. It was a tough loss for the North Avalanche, including a trio of girls from John Jay and Fox Lane, but the team left it all on the ice in the title game.

The Avalanche won the title last year, so the girls know what it feels like to be on the winning end, and they knew it would be a tough challenge this year against the East Green Wave, a team they had lost to three times already. They were the underdogs, but they played one of their best games of the season and almost pulled it off.

John Jay freshman Marcie Maurice has been a two-year starter on the team and was busy in the finals on defense against a strong East Green Wave attack. John Jay junior Kathryn Becker is an alternate captain and another key contributor for the Avalanche. Fox Lane junior Violet Fishlin also contributes and was part of the championship team last year.

The two teams met again in the first round of the state tournament with the East Green Wave pulling away for an 8-1 victory as the Avalanche closed out the season after playing a tough schedule against teams from upstate New York and Connecticut, and five games against the Section 1 champs.

“We always play a tough schedule against the top teams in Connecticut, and playing at that level helps us grow each and every game,” said Avalanche coach Stacey Wierl. “Marcie is such a talent, we are so lucky to have her for the last two seasons. As equally as talented as she is, she’s just a wonderful person. Kathryn, as our only junior captain, she brings a level of leadership, a never let down mentality, she raises our level of play and just keeps the team together in the locker room.”

To get to the championship game, the North Avalanche hosted the Rockland Rockies in the semifinals on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at the Brewster Ice Arena. The Avalanche cruised to an 8-0 victory behind a strong team effort.

“We really wanted to get back to the championship game,” said Becker. “We definitely had a tough schedule this year, but I think we showed a lot of growth. Playing the same teams we played earlier in the year, our scores kept getting better. The team was really starting to gel.”

Becker had an assist in the semifinal win, while Maurice had some fun playing on offense as she scored a goal and had an assist.

Maurice provided a highlight play as she won the puck in the defensive zone and carried the puck up ice, feeding a perfect pass to Francesca Brucato for the goal. Brucato and River Salisbury each finished with two goals to lead the Avalanche to the victory.

“It felt great, so much fun to make a connection like that with my teammate,” Maurice said of the play in the semifinals. “It all starts in the locker room, we’re so close and it’s so fun to play on this team and get to know the girls from different schools. I just love the sport, my two older brothers and my dad all play, so I spent my childhood at the rink and love every minute of it.”

While winning is nice, it is more than the wins and losses as the team provides an opportunity for girls in Northern Westchester and Putnam County to play high school hockey. Fishlin summed it up as the Fox Lane junior expressed her feelings about competing with the Avalanche.

“It’s so amazing, such a supportive environment on and off the ice,” Fishlin said of the season. “I’ve made some of my best friends in the world on this team. They support me through everything and I love them so much, such an amazing team to be a part of.”