After another successful regular season, the Macs traveled out to Feasterville, PA for the ECRHA Regional Tournament. Despite finishing just two points out of second, the boys entered the weekend as the fifth seed out of eight, and were ready for their shot at their second regional title and an auto-bid to the National Tournament.
With a double elimination format and just Friday and Saturday for games, the boys had no choice but to win out both games on Friday and secure a bye to the semi-finals Saturday night. A single loss would mean a Saturday afternoon game, and therefore a Shabbat forfeit and a trip to one of the consolation games.
The boys started off the tournament with a match-up against the Hofstra Pride on Friday at noon. Having finished the season as the fourth seed and winners of their last nine, Hofstra was sure to be a tough opponent; they beat Yeshiva in both regular season meetings, including their most recent game.
It didn’t take long for the Pride to get on the board, but it took even less time for David Soffer to answer back on a sweet five-hole snipe. The Macs took the lead when Daniel Bordan found a cutting Benjy Shulman for the one-timer, and a power play laser by rookie defenseman Zev Markowitz made it three. Yeshiva scored a fourth straight when captain Benjy found a loose rebound in front and poked it home, closing out the first with YU up 4-1. The Macs built on their dominant and strong defensive effort in the second and added to their lead when Matthew Carl cleaned up in front on the power play. The boys gave up one early in the third on a bad turnover, but answered back quickly once again when Matty C used his soft hands to give the boys a 6-2 advantage. YU continued their solid defense, and a strong effort from goaltender Scott Weissman shut down Hofstra for the remainder of the game, handing the boys a 6-2 redemption victory and sending them into game two with plenty of confidence.
Yeshiva’s opponent for the second round would be none other than the Endicott College Gulls. Coming in hot as the top seed after an undefeated season, the Gulls were the number one ranked team in the country and had already beat Yeshiva twice during the regular season. With a 4 p.m. scheduled start time, the both the league and Endicott graciously offered to move the game to 3 p.m. out of concern for Shabbat.
Endicott struck first when ECRHA player of the year Corey Eisenband put it past Yeshiva goaltender and Young Israel of Feasterville Gabbi, Scott Weissman just 47 seconds in, and the Gulls put in three more before the first period came to a close. The Macs opened the second with an MC goal, but Endicott scored three straight to make it 7-1 after two. Soffer scored just two minutes into the third but two more goals from the Gulls finished off Yeshiva, and YU dropped game two to Endicott 9-2.
With game three taking place on Saturday morning against Syracuse, the boys informed the league they would be forfeiting and headed back to the hotel to prepare for Shabbat and rest up for the fifth/sixth place consolation game the following night. Despite the loss, the boys were in high spirits over Shabbat and enjoyed a meaningful kabbalat Shabbat led by assistant coach and amateur cantor Ari Drazin, followed by a team dinner. After dinner, the boys were joined by some fellow ECRHA players who informed us that captain Benjy had won Scholar Athlete of the Year at the banquet/awards ceremony earlier that night.
After another beautiful davening and kiddush, the Macs had a light lunch and some pre-game nap before their 7:30 p.m. matchup against Temple University. The boys prayed Maariv and enjoyed a team Havdalah led by the Bordans before racing out to the rink in time for the consolation game, which had no bearing on the regional tournament but carried serious implications for the National Tournament selection bids.
Having split the season series 1-1, the Macs were ready to prove their superiority over the seventh seeded Temple Owls. Daniel Bordan put Yeshiva on the board first when he cut hard to the net and put in his own rebound on an impressive goal. Another gino by Bordo early in the second doubled YU’s lead, which was increased once again by Bords when he sniped a drop pass from D Sof, thereby completing his hat trick. The Owls got one late in the second but Yeshiva entered the third up 3-1. The lead increased to three when Cap’n Benj sniped one home, followed soon after by a top shelf rocket by Moshe Genuth. Soffer put the boys up 6-1 on a sweet backhanded move, and after a shorthanded goal by Temple, the final buzzer rang and the Macs took the 6-2 victory. Solid defensive play as well at strong goaltending by rookie senior Josh Markowitz secured the dub.
Be sure to follow the YU roller hockey team on social media at @yurollerhockey.
By Aryeh Minsky
