The Kushner Cobras took home the MYHSAL girls varsity hockey championship this past Wednesday night, putting the finishing touches on an undefeated 2017-2018 campaign. Winning the game, played in Frisch against the Ma’ayanot Rapids, was no easy task. For Ma’ayanot, a trip to the finals was nothing new, having appeared in almost every final since 2010, while the Cobras would be making their first appearance in league history. Kushner, however, had shown itself up to the task, running a perfect 8-0 record in an extremely difficult Western Conference, the same division in which the Rapids posted a solid 5-3 record.
Both schools had earned their way to the finals by defeating Western Conference rivals. The Western top-seeded Cobras earned a 4-1 win over #3 Heschel, while the Rapids, the #4 West seed upset West #2, Frisch, 3-0. In the regular season, Kushner took both ends of a home-and-home, winning 2-1 in the rink in Kushner and then blowing out Ma’ayanot 7-2 in Teaneck.
As the ball dropped in the first period, early jitters were apparent as both teams missed early chances to put the first notch on the board. Both goalies, Kushner’s Julia Morealle and Ma’ayanot’s Kayla Kalb were up to the task, keeping the game scoreless into the first break.
In the early moments of the second, it looked as if Kushner would get their opportunity. A delay of game penalty against the Rapids for covering the ball in the crease would result in a penalty shot and the Cobras would turn to their go-to offensive player this season, freshman Hannah Nussbaum. Nussbaum, already having notched 22 goals in nine games played, moved forward with the ball and tried to get Kalb to open her leg pads before shooting the ball. Kalb however, was able to get just enough as the ball trickled through her legs to deflect the ball safely to the side, keeping the scoreboard clean.
Kushner would almost capitalize only a few minutes later, when a Carly Ratzker shot from inside her own defensive zone curved around a defender toward a screened Kalb, but dinged off the post. The Rapids would have opportunities of their own, successfully possessing the ball in the Kushner zone better than any team that Kushner had faced all year, but, yet another intermission would come without a goal.
With tension mounting, the third period became an one of the most exciting 12 minutes of the season. Both teams traded penalties in the first half of the period with Kushner earning the advantage early on a Ma’ayanot slashing penalty and Kushner returning the chance to the Rapids only two minutes later on a hooking infraction. Neither powerplay would yield a goal as the netminders stood tall heading into the half-way switch. With the clock winding down, overtime began to creep into the minds of all those present, but the extra session would never come. With just over 3 minutes to go, the most productive offensive combination of the season struck, once again, as an Arianna Matthew setup from behind the goal found Nussbaum in front of the net, and Nussbaum would plant the ball through Kalb’s legs into the Ma’ayanot net.
The Rapids would attempt to rebound, pulling their goalie and playing with five shooters, but the empty net would allow the Cobras to capitalize once more, as junior Olivia Lefkovitz directed the ball in with just under a minute left to put the game away. Morealle would hold strong for the final minute as she had done all game closing out the 2-0 shutout victory, with the sophomore goalie earning championship MVP honors. Congratulations to the Cobras, Head Coach Paul Reiz and the Kushner community on their victory.
