It was hard not to admire the determination of a Fordham Prep team that clearly doesn’t have the depth of talent Rye puts on the ice each season. Grit can be an effective weapon. It can also induce whistles, and force opponents to figure out another way to win.

And the Garnets did just that, picking up a 4-1 victory last night at Playland. Click here ^[1] for the box score.

There was no real flow in this game, and Rye didn’t have any scoring runs that were worthy of the highlight reel. Still, the Garnets met high intensity with great energy, and found a way to win. A loss to Mamaroneck is now officially a hiccup. They handled a bigger, physical team.

“What slows us down is getting in a game where we can’t play full strength,” head coach Jason Friesen said. “The game we want to be in is one where we’re running through lines and have the kind of energy to get up and down the ice.”

The penalty kill was good. The power play wasn’t bad.

A number of chances went just high or wide. At least three shots took paint off the pipes. Rams goalie Richard Gullo was busy all night and he came up with 39 saves. I did see an issue at the other end. The cavalry was slow to respond a couple of times when Rye goalie Aidan Talgo gave up a rebound on a perimeter shot, leaving the puck sitting on the doorstep for a couple of breathless seconds. A good team … Pelham … will bury that almost every time.