The Garden City Wings Varsity Ice Hockey team had two games over the past holiday weekend. On January 16, the team faced-off against Island Trees High School. The line of Ryan Norell, Conor Reeves, and Conor Sweeney applied pressure on the Island Trees goalie right from the opening face-off. Shortly after Ryan Norell clanged a shot off the goal post, Conor Sweeney knocked in a pass from Conor Reeves. Brian Collins also assisted on the score. Four minutes later, Ryan Norell blasted a goal, assisted by Scott Mischner and Kevin Seiferth. Towards the end of the first period, with Island Trees on a power-play, goaltender Tom Hickcox made two nice saves to keep Island Trees off the scoreboard. The first period ended with Garden City holding a 2-0 lead.

The second period started with Garden City once again on the penalty kill. Good job by penalty killers Kyle Seiferth, Nick Greco, Scott Mischner, Conor Sweeney, Conor Reeves, Brian Collins, Kevin Seiferth, Kevin Rice, Mike Makris, and David Brown who once again kept Island Trees off the scoreboard. Midway through the period, Garden City gained a three-goal lead as Brian Kiernan scored an unassisted goal. With less than three minutes remaining in the period, Brian Collins increased the lead to four, scoring on a shot from the point, with an assist going to Brian Kiernan.

A defensive zone Garden City turnover fifteen seconds into the third period, resulted in the only Island Trees goal of the game. A late third period goal by Brian Kiernan, assisted by Conor Reeves, closed out the scoring and the Garden City 5-1 victory.

The Garden City defense played a strong game, limited Island Trees to 15 shots during the contest. Goaltender Tom Hickcox played well, especially in control of rebounds. Good game by all five defensemen, in particular in controlling the play in their own end. Members of the Garden City defense are Brian Collins, Kevin Rice, Kevin Seiferth, David Brown, and Mike Makris.

Garden City controlled much of the offensive play during the evening. At times during the game Kyle Seiferth had the attention of two defenders in front of the net. Kevin Betts and Nick Greco both created a few scoring chances by carrying the puck down low in the offensive zone.

The following night, Garden City took on a tough Levittown High School team. These two teams met last year in the playoff finals and were currently tied for second place in the league. Garden City came out flying right from the opening face-off. The starting line-up of Scott Mischner, Nick Greco, Ryan Norell, Kevin Seiferth, and Kevin Rice kept the puck in the Levittown zone for the first 90 seconds of play. The continued pressure by Garden City over the next two minutes paid off when Aaron Kim knocked in a rebound off a Kevin Seiferth shot from the point, with the other assist going to Ryan Norell. Eight minutes later the same combination struck again, as Ryan Norell deflected in a goal off a Kevin Seiferth shot from the point. The first period ended with Garden City holding a two-goal advantage.

Three minutes into the second period, Garden City got an unassisted goal by Brian Kiernan to take a 3-0 lead. Garden City increased their lead to four goals a minute later when Kevin Seiferth scored, assisted by Conor Reeves and Conor Sweeney. Levittown scored with six minutes remaining to cut the Wings lead back down to three and the period ended with Garden City in front 4-1 over Levittown.

Three minutes into the third period, Levittown scored again to cut the Garden City advantage to two. The next ten minutes featured some great end-to-end hockey, as Levittown was attempting a comeback. Goaltender Jeff Greco was fantastic in net for Garden City, especially in the third period. Twice during those ten minutes Garden City was called for penalties. The Garden City penalty killers were exceptional on both penalties, led by Ryan Norell. Norell killed off half of those penalty minutes by ragging the puck along the boards in the Levittown zone. Twice it took three Levittown players to knock Norell off the puck. Other players contributing on the penalty-killing unit were Aaron Kim, Scott Mischner, Conor Reeves, Brian Kiernan, Conor Sweeney, Kevin Seiferth, Kevin Rice, Brian Collins, and Tom Rossidis. With ninety seconds left in the game, and Garden City again playing shorthanded, Brian Kiernan picked up a loose puck and charged into the Levittown zone on a two-on-one with Ryan Norell. When the Levittown defender came over to play him, Brian Kiernan slid the puck over to Ryan Norell, who proceeded to score his second goal of the evening to seal a 5-2 victory for Garden City.

A key factor in the victory was the play of goaltender Jeff Greco. Greco, who has been outstanding all season for Garden City, had 25 saves in the game including a stop of a Levittown breakaway. Jeff Greco has also recently been named a finalist for the Nassau County High School December Player of the Month in the Varsity division.

The game featured many other outstanding efforts by the Garden City squad. Great two-way effort by forwards Kyle Seiferth, Nick Greco, Scott Mischner, and Kevin Betts. Aaron Kim utilizing his speed to fore-check the Levittown defensemen. The back-checking by Conor Sweeney to prevent a three-on-one break for Levittown. The open ice hits by Conor Reeves and Kevin Rice. Garden City Defensemen Tom Rossidis, David Brown, and Michael Makris constantly beating the Levittown forwards to loose pucks. The stick checks by Brian Collins on the Levittown forwards. Three great shots from the point by Kevin Seiferth, all low and on the net, which led to three of the Garden City goals.

The Wings next game is Sunday, January 23rd against Cold Spring Harbor High School. Game time is at 6:15 p.m. at the Iceworks rink in Syosset. Please visit www.gcwings.org for a complete game schedule or for additional information on the Wings.