A slow start doomed the Rye Town/Harrison hockey team on Jan. 15, as the Titans fell 2-1 in a showdown with the Rye Country Day School at the Playland Ice Casino. But although the loss highlighted some problems that have plagued the 11-3 Titans all year, head coach Rich Myers is confident that his squad will be able to bounce back in time for the playoffs, with a slate of tough contests remaining on the regular season schedule.
Will Dodge got Rye Country Day School, RCDS, on the board just five minutes into the game, and teammate Jack Kissell made it 2-0 before the end of the first period. Although the Titans would clamp down from that point on—and pick up a goal from Joey Harrison with just 6:58 left to play—they couldn’t quite overcome a sluggish opening period.
According to Myers, the Titans have often struggled early in games this season, despite their gaudy record, and coming out of the gates quickly is something the team will continue to work on.
“We’ve probably come from behind in most of our games and slow starts are definitely something that we’re addressing,” he said. “We may have the kids get to the rink a little earlier, change up our pregame routine with some more skating to get the legs going and the blood rate pumping.”
The Titans outshot their opponents 27-18, but a 26-save performance from RCDS netminder Eddie Abrams kept the Wildcats in control.
“[Abrams] was good, he was big,” Myers said. “But not only did we outshoot them, we possessed the puck most of the game; but even winning the puck possession, I don’t think we put enough good shots on net.”
The Titans, who opened the season with eight straight wins, have now dropped three of their last six games. With a slate of tough contests to round out the year—including tilts with league foes John Jay, Brewtown and Mahopac, as well as non-league games against Scarsdale and Mamaroneck—Myers is hoping to see a bounce-back before the postseason arrives.
“We’ve got some good games coming up and we can’t afford to look outside our league,” he said. “Division I, Division II, there’s a lot of parity this year, so everything is really wide open.
“We have to shoot more and put more pucks on the net instead of banging them off the boards,” Myers added. “We’re working hard out there, we’re just not getting the results.”
