Monday night saw the debut of the 2019-2020 Portledge Boys Varsity Hockey team and the debut of new head coach and former New York Islanders superstar, Rick DiPietro. And what a debut it was. Right after the game, Coach DiPietro commented on the game, “That was unbelievable. I told the guys before the game, I haven’t been more nervous since I played. I was up at 2 o’clock in the morning just going over what I would say to the guys.”  In front of an amazing crowd of over 100 students and even more parents, it was a “sitting on the edge of your seat” three periods of regulation between the Portledge Panthers and the Christain Boys Academy Colts, where both teams were gifted with incredible goaltending. Halfway through the first period, it was the Colts who struck first with a goal from Zachary Wagnon ‘22. Down a goal early on in the 2nd frame, the Panthers were given a power play and did not disappoint as Odin Ford ‘22 tied things up at 1 a piece. That score would hold until the horn sounded at the end of the 3rd period meaning that the boys were not done and that we were going to have ourselves some 3-v-3 overtime. And it was in the clutch moments of the extra period that senior Brandon Avezov picked up right where he left off last year as he found himself alone down low and was able to elevate the puck on the backhand past Colts goalie Joseph Cartigiano, giving the Panthers the sudden death victory. When asked about stepping up to the standards and delivering when it mattered most, the senior center said, “Feels great, didn’t know if I was going to get it. He was solid in net all game. But I was lucky to find myself alone in deep and was able to put one past him.” When asked how his team was able to break the walls of Cartigiano, Avezov ‘20 selflessly responded saying, “ Gavin (McDonald) ‘21 made a great play. He got the puck in deep and then just hounded his guy. It was tough but it goes out to Gavin who played a heck of a game.” 

As much as that OT winner will be remembered, this team wouldn’t have been in that position if it wasn’t for the man in between the pipes, Luke Truicko ‘21. In his first ever start for the Panthers, the junior stopped 23 out of 24, with 20 consecutive saves. When asked about his stellar performance Luke said, “Man it feels great, it was a whole team effort. I’m really excited right now and I’m excited for more wins.” When asked about what it took to be able to settle into the game and make save after save, Truicko ‘21 said, “ Lots of deep breathing and just knowing that you have a team you want to win it for, just wanting to do everything I can to help them out.” 

Coach DiPietro was elated after the game as he commented, “ For them to pull it out at the end like that, I mean they deserved it.” As a former Goalie himself, DiPietro gave Truicko all the credit in the world saying, “He was amazing, he really was. He made a couple huge key saves when we needed him. He stood tall and that’s the reason he is the player of the game tonight.”

The boys hit the road tomorrow in a big matchup against a tough opponent in Delbarton. When looking at the next tilt, DiPietro said, “Yeah, huge game. Boys are going to have to bounce back and just stay out of the box, especially in a back-to-back. Smart and simple, the big thing for me is that there is no better way to go into the Thanksgiving break than with a 2-0 record.” Your final from Beaver Dam, 2-1 Portledge, in overtime, thanks to the magic of Brandon Avezov ‘20 and the Panthers.