On Monday afternoon, two Section I hockey teams put their respective winning streaks on the line as New Rochelle—winners of five straight games—hosted a White Plains club that hadn’t tasted defeat since November. In the end, it was the Tigers—buoyed by an inspired performance by Daniel Cardozo—who stayed hot, topping the Huguenots 9-3.
Cardozo scored six goals and added an assist for good measure, writing another chapter in a stellar senior season that saw him become the program’s all-time leading scorer.
“He’s a really good skater with good hands and that’s a good combination,” said New Rochelle head coach Paul Viggiano. “He’s the kind of player who can take a game over and that’s what he did.”
The Huguenots trailed 5-1 after the first period but were able to stem the tide somewhat in the second as they found their way back into contention by winning battles in the offensive zone. Jason DeSalvo led the home team with two goals and one assist in the comeback attempt. Unfortunately for New Rochelle, each time they showed signs of life it was met by a swift response from Cardozo.
“I was happy with the way the team played overall, especially in that second period,” said Viggiano. “We were almost even in shots, we were winning puck possession, but it just seemed like every time we clawed our way back, [Cardozo] would score one or two more goals.”
With the win, the Tigers improved to 8-2 on the year. The team has not lost since Nov. 28, when it fell to Brewster. The Huguenots, on the other hand, saw their five-game winning streak snapped and fell to 6-5. Viggiano said he has been impressed with the club’s recent turnaround and hopes that the loss to White Plains will be a small speed bump as the team looks ahead toward the postseason.
“We missed a lot of players throughout December, so it was nice to get everyone back in January,” he said. “The biggest thing for us has been chemistry; we’ve had lines that meshed well, and we’ve gotten contributions from our younger players.”
With eight games left until the Division I playoffs start, Viggiano said he is hoping to see his team learn from setbacks as they eye a postseason berth.
“We need to work on our power play, we have to polish up the special teams because they can make or break us,” he said. “And we need to build out that third line because if you can roll out three lines regularly, that can be an advantage.”
The Huguenots will look to bounce back from Monday’s loss on Jan. 28, when they travel to the Brewster Ice Arena to take on Cortlandt (8-3-1).
“Cortlandt is a team that has some high-end AAA players and if they’re there, it makes a big difference,” Viggiano said. “We need to be able to put out a team that can defend against their first line and capitalize against the second or the third lines.”
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