The Saint Anthony Friars faced off against the Connetquot/Sayville T-Birds on October 24, in a game that would move the winner to 5th place in the standings.
After the Friars ruined the T-Birds’ underdog quest last season, you would think the T-Birds had all the answers for the Friars in the ‘23 season. However, picking up right where they left off last season, this game was filled with emotion as the Friars won 6-2.
The Friar’s top players along with goaltender Thomas (TJ) Ulmschnieder showed up big. Five of the six goals the Friars scored came from their top point producers. The Senior right wing, Nick D’Andrea recorded 3 goals, and the Junior Brady Monteleone and Senior Captain Jack Dlugos both had one a piece and Alex Grzesiak netted his third goal of the season.
Around 10 minutes into the game, D’Andrea found the back of the net for the 9th time this season giving his team the lead. Two minutes later, defenseman Matteo Marchese, scored on the powerplay to even the game at 1-1. The tie only lasted a little more than one minute before Monteleone scored at 3:17 in the first period. That ignited the Friars’ offense which couldn’t be stopped and proceeded to score five unanswered goals. Ryan Fleischauer gave the T-Birds life when he scored to make the game 6-2 early in the 3rd period. After that, the Friars relied on Ulmschneider, who had 6 saves. Ulmschnieder got his fourth varsity start of the season and his level of play was impressive yet again. He allowed 2 goals on 18 shots and now has expanded his win streak to three games.
The Friars improved to .500 and will play on November 6 against West Islip. Additional information can be found on the team’s Instagram page @stanthonyshockey. Hockey’s official CHSAA winter season will begin after Nov. 11th.
Highlights
- Dlugos had a season high of 4 points
- D’Andrea is now leading the league in points
- Joseph Lentini, Andrew Phillips and Gzesiak provided bottom six scoring chances and constantly switched momentum of play with aggressive forecheck and playing physical.
- Ulmschiender continues to be locked down. He has won 3 consecutive games and has only let up 2 goals in the last 3 starts.
Nicholas D’Andrea is a senior at St. Anthony’s, this is his first year with the Friar Scoreboard. He is on the Varsity Hockey team, and in his free time loves analyzing sports.
