Rye Country Day’s Michael Rocco tries to get a shot off as Rye goalie Aidan Talgo and teammate Jason Chin defend during a hockey game at Rye Country Day School in Rye, Jan. 22, 2013. RCDS beat Rye 2-1.( Mark Vergari/The Journal News ) To view a gallery of photos from the game, click here.
By Mike Dougherty
RYE — It’s quite the neighborhood rivalry.
There was no room for the game on the schedule a season ago, but Rye and Rye Country Day picked up Tuesday right where they left off, going after each other like cranky siblings in the backseat.
Each hit added fuel.
Zachary Coppola scored as time on a critical third-period power play was running down, giving the Wildcats a 2-1 win and lassoing bragging rights. He whistled a shot from the left circle inside the post with 4:40 left to play.
“It took you long enough to shoot,” RCDS coach Erik Kallio joked when he crossed paths with the junior forward after the game.
Coppola was too open to do anything else.
“On the power play in the first period, they were leaving the slot wide open so we were able to make some good passes through it,” the Irvington resident said. “I guess they tightened the middle up in the third and that left me open. My teammates were yelling at me to shoot it the whole first minute of the power play, and when I finally got it off, there was a lot of space open on the side of the net.”
Garnets goalie Aiden Talgo was otherwise on his game, making 32 stops.
Overtime seemed likely as Rye (10-3-1) got low and continually applied pressure in the closing minutes. The Wildcats had a physical advantage, but struggled to win the puck against pesky forwards who began to swarm deep in the zone.
And the hits just kept on coming.
“We practice at the same rink,” Garnets forward Griffin Tutun said. “We know a bunch of the kids. We came out of the same Rye Rangers system, and play a lot of travel hockey with them. I remember growing up watching this game, it was always nuts.”
Jason Chin drove a nasty slap shot from the point that RCDS goalie Michael Mossman controlled with 11 seconds to go. A pileup and a penalty resulted in the Wildcats (8-7-1) going a man down so there was nervous tension until the puck was pinned in the corner and the buzzer sounded.
“This is going to be a close game no matter what the matchup is on paper,” said RCDS defenseman Michael Rocco, who lives in Greenwich, Conn. “They have very skilled players, too, and there’s an extra intensity. When we scored that first goal, then we knew we had something. And then we gave it up and I was getting a little nervous, but we got another big goal. At that point you have to tighten things up and we did.”
Kyle Halloran broke a scoreless tie when he poked in a rebound with 2:20 to go in the second period. It was Coppola who skated the puck in and got off the initial blast that unleashed a major scramble in front. Tutun knotted the score with a second-chance goal in the opening minutes of the third period.
“I was able to get the puck into the zone and get a shot,” the junior forward said. “I missed, but then I got a great pass back from Jack O’Brien. He got the puck right on my stick and I was able to put it right in the net.”
37 Comments
I gotta agree with Mike in that it is silly for good section 1 teams to not try to add RCDS to their schedules. As well as other solid local teams like Iona Prep, Brunswick (for the Big 4, I don’t think any other teams would give them a meaningful game), Greenwich, are all teams that would give everyone in Section 1 tough games.
Mamaroneck used to play them in the 24 game schedule days. Playing local strong teams would also be more exciting for teams to see good games. The big 4 teams go way upstate and play in exciting tournaments, but only a few parents make the trip to see that.
It would be great to see more local non league games played.
One thing that some public school coaches worry about is, if RCDS smokes some of our good teams…. maybe they will lose kids to those private schools.
Brunswick would not play the “big 4”. The “big 4” are really more like the tiny 4 relative to Brunswick.
“We know a bunch of the kids. We came out of the same Rye Rangers system, and play a lot of travel hockey with them” . . . well then both teams must be pretty lame
Mmmm- That is true. I don’t think Brunswick plays RCDS anymore. They have moved on to New England Prep league (the Choates, Kents, etc.) with PG players from Canada residing in Greenwich. None of the Section One teams would have a chance against Brunswick. I think RCDS loses kids off their team to New England Prep league boarding schools. Still, RCDS is a very good opponent for any of the top Section One teams. But, you don’t get many bonus points for playing them due to the just OK record the Wildcats have playing a tough schedule. Pelham plays the toughest schedule of the Section One teams, and RCDS plays a togher schedule than does Pelham. Get RCDS on your schedule late in the season, and you have yourself a great playoff tune up.
a lot of those RCDS kids start out playing mites/ squirts as rangers (who use the rink) and them move on to higher level programs like Express and Mid Fairfield.
Some great DII playoff preview games coming up in the next 10 days including:
Pel vs. Scars on 1/25
Jay vs. Rye on 1/26
Pel vs. Rye on 1/31
Scars vs. Rye on 2/5
the rye high school kids also. if you are serious about hockey you move on from that program. its not really a hockey program, more like an expensive baby sitting service
Here come the Rye Rangers haters again.
Imagine if all those kids had stayed in their program. Imagine that. What a novel concept. All the kids developing, growing and playing together.
Maybe you wouldn’t be so bitter about the program if all those kid’s parents had decided to stay there.
all would have stayed if the program wasn’t run so poorly. they used to stay, before current management. rye teams of the 80’s and early 90’s were great, were all rye ranger trained through midgets or juniors and did not have to leave. anyone who knows anything knows where the fault lies. gotta call a spade a spade
The RCDS vs. Brunswick games in the 90’s when Coach Effinger was the coach at RCDS were great. It’s a shame that RCDS could not keep up the program at that level.
Well then it doesn’t say much for the “other” programs you took your kid to as RHS keeps coughing up games like this and losing to Pelham in the playoffs.
What is your excuse now? The RHS coaching staff not getting it done?
Seems like the Rye v RCDS game could have gone either way. 2-1 defensive battle. Coughing up games? Playing good competition just makes Rye a better team.
I do think Rye HS is overrated, and can easily get picked off before West Point. But I won’t be surprised if they make West Point.
They are much more battle tested than JJ and Greeley.
@ gimme a break . . . the rye system is broken through and through as the best kids get spread out to other programs and then, when at the better programs many determine to go to prep school, iona etc. Yes, the coaching is pretty lame also, especially relative to Pelham.
It all started with the down hill slide of Rye Rangers when current management took over. That led to creation of Mariners which is equally as bad if not worse of a program.
Bottom line is that Rye is a huge and successful sports school system. In numbers it is much bigger than Pelham and, due to its hockey history should be a factory that pummels all of section one other than Suffern as it did in the 80’s. But it doesn’t. Pelham is much better run thus the success.
When has rye rangers had a board meeting to address dificiencies? (answer: never). Pelham has regular board meetings and input from members. Rye Rangers does not . . it is a dictatorship run by a clueless despot.
For a view of what Rye Hockey could be like just look at the lacrosse program. Its only existed 6 or 7 years but is an incredibly well run, transparent, inclusive program. In that short time Rye High School has become or is almost a state power.
With the new coach at RCDS they are going to try to move back in the direction of being competitive with Brunswick. No way they get there but if they could get to where they could be on the same ice and lose only 4-1 or 5-1 or so, they’d be the best hockey option in section one by far.
@yup…So you are just as frustrated at the program you jumped to as you are with Rye Rangers when your kid did not develop into the player you thought he would. Is that right? Pretty much all the kids who left Rangers all end up on the RHS or RCDS teams don’t they? So why leave in the first place? Let them all play and grow together. But no, you had dreams of a D1 scholarship or some crap like that and it didn’t work out for you.
Sounds like that bitterness is eating you up. Get some psycho therapy.
@ gimme a break. sure you’ve got it figured out. you must be really smart
... and gimme a break, sure most of them end up back at rhs and rcds, but they are the ones who at least get to play. the one’s who stay at your program ride the bench for 2 or 3 years.
... and the guy who ruined the program’s own kid doesn’t even play there anymore. He plays at a better program cause he hopes to play D1 or something that he won’t
Wow. Thats crazy stuff. Hockey in Rye has a lot going for it. Before the Hurricane they had access to two nice ice rink facilities and two youth programs.
yup
Enough. Take your personal agenda elsewhere.
thanks Mike, Its so silly. Rye and its programs do just fine
Wait, why is Yup’s opinion any less valid than all the serial bloggers? Why are his comments an agenda? You can make the point that FOTG has an agenda pumping up Rye. The fact is that Rye is really a program that is mostly Tier 3 players, which is pumped up as some kind of State Power.
But the problem with your argument here is you single out one program and beat up one person running it. Not a very interesting discussion for the rest of us.
Yup,
You are a latecomer to the D-Bag of the year award. Obviously you have an agenda. I love morons like you who attack people who volunteer (or get paid a little) their time to give kids an opportunity to play hockey. Even HS coaches who get paid very little to spend alot of hours with other peoples kids do a great job. If it is high level hockey you are looking for, have your kid try out for the express, or the hitmen or applecore.
I’m sure with your crappy genetics and attitude he will get cut the first day. Bring your mental problems to a self help blog. The Rye coaches do a terrific job.
Hey Yup,
YOu are a typical, fan in the stands. A dope who sits on the sidelines and criticizes everyone and everything…. but does not actually DO anything to help. Must suck to be as irrelevant and insignificant as you. I just hope you are more pleasant to the customers you serve at McDonalds, than you are on this blog.
Can’t we all just get along . . . .
@yup-
You have yet to qualify how this “clueless despot” has run the program into the ground as you claim he has. In an intellectual discussion, one provides evidence of some sort rather than speculating and making absurd accusations and blanket statements. I’d love to hear what you have to say if you’re actually willing to discuss it like a mature, educated adult. If you’re just a hyped up parent who wants to make a fuss that’s fine, but don’t go around assuming that someone who runs a nonprofit organization gets the “lion’s share” when you can’t possibly know who gets how much. That seems over the line to me.
Well he did say it was a guess.
I should quit my day job and team up with Ned Bigby and run a “not for profit” travel hockey outfit. 50k and I get to run a hockey program? Cool.
In all seriousness, you could not pay me enough to run a youth hockey program. Between whiney kids, kids who don’t make a full commitment, parents complaining about playing time and all sorts of other things… etc. I would not want to do it. Not to mention I am sure for at least 6 months every single weekend is taken up with this program. Late night phone calls, non stop emails.
I tend to doubt that anyone does it only for a quick buck.
You gotta put a lot of heart and soul in to things of this magnitude.
True, sometimes parents do it for their own kids, then jump ship once their kid is out.
Yup
I warned you to stop. The last thing I want on this blog is vengeful parents ripping youth programs. Sure there’s a lot of nonsense in general, but unless you’ve got hard proof of abuse or embezzlement, I don’t care. Start your own blog, or better yet, find a support group for parents whose kids were denied playing time.
@ yup,
As a person who was actually part of the heated rivalry with RCDS and loved it , win or lose ,I think it is a total disgrace what you have done here.
You have taken a very mature statement by a young hockey player in the face of defeat and made it about you . IT WAS A GREAT GAME TO WATCH !
If you feel so strongly you shouldn’t hide behind YUP.
I would love for you to give me your definition of a successful program regardless of sport or discipline.
You will never be happy.
Best wishes , our prayers with you.
And on a lighter note….
I just want to see Rocket and Bigby on the ice together barking instruction at youngsters in the formative years of their hockey education. Now THAT would be worth blogging about….
BTW Ned, gotta hand it to you on the WSA joke. It got an involuntary snort of me. Good stuff.
I go back more than 15 years with Hudson Valley Youth Hockey League where both Mariners & Rangers play, along with teams like WP Plainsmen, Bear Mountain, Bedford, Clarkstown & Pelham.
They run A & B leagues at all levels. This is the lowest level of travel hockey…it is not AA or AAA, by any means. They don’t pretend to be anything else but a place to play youth hockey and have some fun.
Lot’s of kids get started in these programs and at some point choose to move on to the next level with better competition and more travel and more cash required. Nothing wrong with that! Some kids with the ability, don’t have the cash or play other sports so they stay.
Please try to remember that this where thes port grows. This is where parents, often with no hky experience, get their kids involved in the sport for a relatively low entry cost.
Today, bloggers are beating up Rangers & Mariners – Other times it’s about the ‘weakening” of the Atlantic League – then we have the Prep and Travel “make HS Hky look like a house league”
PLEEEASE…stop the madness – can’t we just enjoy the fact that kids in this area have alot of choices available to enjoy good, fair competition…wherever they play
HVHL
Well said.
Enough on the negative.
I have never agreed more with Rocket Fuel than his last three blog posts.
Mike D, did you ban that guy YUP?
@rjmkrm
I can run a program just like Herb Brooks…. as long as they sell adult sized double bladed skates.
Funny, with all the “low level” travel teams we have in the hudson valley…. we are pretty da#n good across the state. How many final 4 appearances have we had lately? How many state finals has section one been to lately? And of course the grand prize of the state championship by Suffern. So it is pretty great that these teams offer an oppourtunity for kids to grow, gain skills, and most importantly have fun by not being shut out.
Does anyone really think that running a program like the Mariners, Rangers, Bronxville Blackhawks, Ramapo Saints, Mamaroneck YH is a whole lot of fun and a financial goldmine? It is easy to say how YOU would run things… or how YOU would coach a team…. but some people would rather sit on the sidelines and be a sideline critic.
Im sure he bashes officials as well.
To all of the folks on both sides of this nonsense … I will not have this high school hockey blog turn into a forum on youth hockey. This conversation is over. I have spent far too much of my own personal time babysitting and will remove any and all further comments on this post that pertain to youth hockey. Period. End of story. Go meet in a bar, have a beer and discuss your differences. Step outside if you have to, but don’t come on here and pollute this space with personal agendas. ... (Added 11:57 a.m.) And to the individual who believes more people would read a blog about youth hockey, this blog gets 100,000 page views a month in season. Think again.