Thursday 10/15 Sr. League Patriots Vs. Steelers

Mikey Levy, Sports writer

On a cold Thursday night in October, the undefeated Patriots (2-0) played the winless Steelers (0-2) in high scoring hockey game.

Just a few minutes into the game, Rami Laifer (8th grade Yavneh) of the Patriots, scored the first goal of game. After that the goal it seemed that scoring goals was a fast spreading contagious virus as the Patriots scored 2 more goals, both by Daniel Levy (6th grade Yavneh). At the end of the first period it seemed like the Patriots were going to cruise to victory, as they held on to a commanding 3-0 lead.

The Patriots began the second period just where they left off, with another goal! This one was scored by Ari Fineberg (7th grade Yavneh) aided by a beautiful pass off the stick of Jacob Levy (8th grade Yavneh). The Steeler coaches, clearly annoyed by their team’s lackluster play, called a timeout with the hope of lighting a fire under their players. Telling them not to give up, and to think one goal at a time, the message was heard as Samuel (Taco) Rochlin (8th grade Yavneh) put the Steelers on the board. However, the second period ended with the Pats still up by three goals.

The third period began and Rochlin was trying to will his team back. With help from his teammates, he scored his second of the night. However, Laifer matched Rochlin with his second goal of the game to put the Patriots back up by three. However, the story of this game was Taco Rochlin, who scored again to cut the lead back to two, and then scored again to trim the margin to a mere one goal. With that goal, Rochlin became the first player this year to net four goals in one game. The Steelers, suddenly only down one goal, were throwing everything on net. Ari Fuchs (6th grade Yavneh) of the Patriots played an amazing game on defense, repeatedly stopping Steeler players from creating chances. Late in the third, Daniel Levy became the first 6th grader with a hat trick as he scored his third goal of the game to put the Patriots ahead for good at 6-4.

The Steelers deserve a lot of credit for fighting back and not giving up, which will hopefully carry over to their next game as they will attempt to get into the win column for the first time.