Don Bosco is king of outdoor hockey in Queens by Greg Tartaglia of The Record
NEW YORK – George Weiner swung for the fences. His team hit a home run.
The senior defenseman was one of two Don Bosco skaters to net a hat trick Wednesday evening at Citi Field. The Ironmen reigned as kings of outdoor hockey by dominating the Hun School of Princeton, 8-1, in Queens.
Don Bosco improved to 12-0-1 this season and 1-0-1 all-time in Big Apple ballparks, including a 2014 appearance at Yankee Stadium.
“I was actually there with [teammate] Graham Garlasco,” Weiner said, recalling the longtime friends’ trip to the Bronx as eighth graders. “I just remember sitting in the crowd and thinking to myself, ‘I really hope I get the chance to play outside like they did.'”
Not only did the Ironmen get the chance, they capitalized quickly. Tyler Sedlak opened the scoring 15 seconds into the game on his way to a hat trick.
Weiner made it 2-0 midway through the first period, ending a Don Bosco power play eight seconds after it began. He turned toward the outfield fences located beyond the team benches and mimicked a home run swing.
“I’m a big Charlie McAvoy fan, he’s on the Bruins now but played for [Boston University],” Weiner said. “And when BU played at the Frozen Fenway last year, I saw him score and do a baseball celebration. So I even said to my friends, ‘If I score, that’s the first thing I’m going to do,’ and luckily enough, it happened.”
The Ironman goals kept happening on special teams, too. They finished 3-for-3 on the power play, tallying their man-advantage goals in a combined 47 seconds. Sedlak also scored shorthanded, and Don Bosco killed off its first four penalties before Brian Nelson of Hun (7-4-1) broke the shutout with 3:53 to go.
Senior center Mickey Burns was announced as player of the game after a six-point outing (one goal, five assists). John Campomenosi added three assists, including one on a Robbie Greenleaf goal, while Tsubasa Konishi had two assists, and Weiner and Michael Forgione each had one.
Goaltender Conor Callaghan stopped all 11 shots he faced in the first two periods, and Kevin Rose made eight saves in the third period.
“Everybody played, which was great, and everybody played a lot,” Don Bosco coach Greg Toskos said. “In a game like this, especially with all of this [atmosphere], it was really cool that guys got to skate.”
Here we are – @DBIronmenHockey has arrived @ Citi Field for the NJ HS Winter Classic vs. Hun. Faceoff in just under 90 min…
Campomenosi noted that the Ironmen took in as many sights and sounds as they could when not on the ice, from the massive video board in center field to the requisite flights from LaGuardia Airport that flew overhead.
Some of the New York-themed décor that had been in place for the Rangers/Sabres NHL Winter Classic two days earlier was gone – the Checker cabs all checked out – but that hardly seemed to detract from Don Bosco’s experience.
“We just can’t thank all the coaches enough for what they did to get us here,” Weiner said. “It was the best experience of my life, the most fun hockey game of my life.”
Don Bosco out of the “tunnel” about to take the ice