The Manhasset/Port Washington JV hockey team, the Storm, won the Nassau County championship 6-3 against first seeded Bellmore/Merrick on March 24 at Twin Rinks Ice Center in Eisenhower Park
To get to the championship, the Storm, with the 2nd-seed, defeated 3rd-seeded Plainview 9-4 on March 22 in the semi finals.
Not only did the team win the JV Championship, but it also qualified for the State tournament, which took place in Ithaca, New York from Feb. 27 to March 1.
In the State tournament the team was not as successful. They lost 3 consecutive games, 3-2, 2-1, and 4-1.
Despite the unwanted results, the team enjoyed the experience of playing in a competitive tournament.
“Going to the state tournament was an incredible experience where we were able to compete against teams who played at an extremely high level and practiced everyday,” said junior captain Dan Feldman. “It was great to play against some of the top teams in the state.”
Beating first seeded Bellmore/Merrick was something that team members had on their minds throughout the season and they were satisfied after accomplishing this goal.
Although winning was a main objective, the Storm knew that its chances would be highest if they stuck to game plan that had gotten them to the finals. Staying consistent and focusing on each shift contributed to the Storm’s success throughout the year.
“Counties was a great experience where we were fortunate enough to prove that we were the best team,” said Feldman. “However, we treated it as if it was any other regular season game in order to maintain our composure and keep it at a regular game discipline level. I think that really paid off for us in the end. We were able to get the win because of this.”
Between the pipes for the Storm was sophomore Will Longmire. Longmire was successful in limiting Bellmore/Merrick to three goals, making key saves throughout the game.
Tallying goals for the Storm were sophomores Marko Cohen and Matt Dieber.
Feldman also contributed to the victory by adding three assists.
The roster for the Storm includes Port Washington players juniors Justin Cenname and Dan Feldman, sophomores Matthew Dieber, Andrew Gottfried, Kyle DiLeo, Thomas Carillo, , John McDonald, Sam Contino, and Gianfranco Stacconi, and goaltenders William Longmire and Ben Schildkraut. Manhasset sophomores Corey McCluskey, Kevin Barrett, Jack Boyle, Aram Dadourian, Markus Mildt, Henry Bushell, Andrew Colgan, and Noah Kniesly are also on the team.
The team is officially a school club, so each member of the team must pay a fee in order for the team to function.
The coaches for the Storm are former Schreiber students Alex Caruso, Jordan Caruso, and Jake Lublin.
The Storm finished the season with an 15-4-1 record.
By the end of the season, the Storm finished with 131 goals for and 68 against.