EDISON, NJ—May 7, 2025—On Tuesday the RPRY Panthers hosted the He’Atid Hurricanes in a First-Round playoff game for the YMSSA Girls Hockey League. The two teams had faced each other earlier in the season in a closely contested match which RPRY had won by a single goal, 3-2.
RPRY jumped out in the lead after a quick first line goal and added a second goal in the period to increase their lead to 2-0 at the break. A pair of goals by each team in the second period kept it close at 4-2. But then the Hurricanes stormed back with 2 goals in the third period to tie up the score with just over two minutes left in the game. The noise was deafening and tension in the gym was palpable. With just 24 seconds left in the game, RPRY co-captain Maya Wasserman scored to put the Panthers ahead and secure their Quarter Finals slot. She stated, “As the captain, it felt truly incredible to be able to lead my team to victory, scoring the game-winning goal, with 30 seconds left in the game. I’m really proud of everyone for giving it their all and never giving up. It was a hard foughtt, back and forth game and everyone pushed until the last whistle. Everyone on the team contributed to this win and I’m so proud of them!”
RPRY Athletic Director Rabbi Meir Lipschitz was in attendance at the game and said, “We are so proud of our girls. They have played with grit, heart, and endless energy all season, and their hard work has really paid off.”
The first-round playoff game was called a “Play-In” game by the league. A new playoff structure was instituted this year after two teams, the He’Atid Hurricanes and TCA Torches, joined the league and brought the number of teams in the league to ten. Similar to a professional league’s wildcard game system, four teams competed for the final two slots in the Quarter Finals.
RPRY co-Head Coach Michael Zemble noted, “We were happy to welcome Coach Wolf and his Hurricanes to Edison for our playoff game, and to see how competitive they are in just their first season in the league. Both teams played really hard all three periods. Part of the magic of the playoffs is that anything can happen, and the girls had to fight hard for their win.”
The Panthers will play SAR in the Quarter Finals next week.
