Tenafly/Cresskill trips up River Dell/Westwood by Greg Tartaglia of The Record
HACKENSACK – Nic L’Heureux got knocked down, got up again and sparked the Tenafly/Cresskill hockey team to its biggest win of the season.
The senior defenseman’s power play goal with 9:39 remaining lifted the Tigers past River Dell/Westwood, 2-1, Friday evening at the Ice House. Going in, the Golden Hawks (10-2) had been unbeaten in games when allowing two or fewer goals.
Tenafly/Cresskill (7-4-1) is on a 6-1-1 streak since Dec. 13, which coincided with the return of senior defenseman Matt Brown from injury. Brown assisted on both Tigers goals.
L’Heureux’s game-winner came less than two minutes after he was checked from behind and tumbled into the corner boards. He laid on the ice momentarily before skating off and returned almost immediately, as the Tigers had an extended power play resulting from a five-minute boarding major.
“I was getting the puck, and I didn’t look over my shoulder, so I wasn’t ready for the hit,” L’Heureux said. “My shoulder went in[to the boards] weird. It hurt at first, I got checked out by the trainer, but it felt fine in the end.”
Especially when he converted a pass from Brown at the other end to snap a 1-1 tie. Andy Chang was credited with the secondary assist.
“I was a little angry after that [hit],” L’Heureux said, “so I wanted to score.”
Brown and L’Heureux assisted on the first Tenafly/Cresskill score just 27 seconds into the second period. William Schreer, one of three freshmen making contributions, was the beneficiary and netted his first varsity goal.
“I think he was a little overwhelmed, he just [skated] away and started celebrating,” said Brown, who recovered the milestone puck for Schreer. “He was pumped up.”
River Dell/Westwood answered with 9:50 to go in the second, when Joey Ragno scored his 17th goal of the season from Eddie Dahdah and Vinny Ruff.
The Tigers defense held fast the rest of the way. Senior goalie Kyle Picinic made 22 saves, while the pairing of Brown and L’Heureux only came off the ice due to injury or penalty.
“They do everything I ask for and more,” Tenafly/Cresskill coach Andy Escala said of his top two defensemen. “Matt is a forward on his travel team, and he plays defense for us. He’s going to put the puck in the net no matter where he’s playing, and Nic has done a great job.”
The duo have combined for 55 points (30 goals, 25 assists) through 12 games. Their offense has been especially welcomed since top-line forwards Socrates Raftis and Minwoo Song have missed the past month due to injury.
Ragno (24 points) and Dahdah (23) added to their team-best scoring totals for River Dell/Westwood, while goalie Matt Ajello made 17 saves to keep his percentage over .950.
The Golden Hawks’ undoing was penalties. Besides the five-minute major, they were whistled for tripping twice in the final five minutes, diffusing any hopes of a rally.
“We’ve had a couple of instances this year where we’ve taken silly penalties in key situations, tonight being one of them,” River Dell/Westwood coach Kevin Sabella said. “We need to learn from it, and we need to grow up a bit.”