After jumping out to an early lead in their Tuesday night game against Rye Town/Harrison, it seemed unlikely that New Rochelle would need any late-game heroics to pull out a win over the Titans. But by the time the final whistle sounded, it took just that—in the form of two third period goals by Tyler Hembury—to put the Huguenots on top for good with a 4-3 victory.
Hembury found the net twice in the final stanza, tying the game at three and then netting the game-winner with three minutes remaining to cap off a wild Huguenot win and put New Rochelle in the win column for the first time in two games.
Coming off losses to both North Rockland and Pelham, New Rochelle—which improved to 9-3 with Tuesday’s win—came into their tilt with the Titans in need of a win in the worst way, said Hembury after the game.
“We started 8-1, we hadn’t lost back-to-back games all year,” said the senior forward. “So that was tough for us and we needed to bounce back.”
Early on, it looked as though the Huguenots were firmly in control, scoring the first two goals of the game and getting outstanding net-minding from James Palermo. But in the second period, the Titans struck back with three straight power-play goals to head into the final 17 minutes with a 3-2 lead.
According to Hembury, the Huguenots knew it was incumbent upon them to raise their game if they hoped to notch their ninth win of the season.
“We just learned that we can never give up,” said Hembury. “We didn’t give up and we ended out coming out and playing well in that third period.
With the loss, Rye Town/Harrison falls below .500 on the year, with a 6-7-1 record. The Huguenots (9-3), maintained their lead over Byram Hills in League D. Both teams are gearing up for the postseason will commence next month, but a game like this—said Hembury—should help both teams get ready for the level of competition they will see in the playoffs.
“Every game is a tough one,” he said. “And so we go into each game knowing we are going to have to play our best if we want to come away with a win.”
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