From the moment the National Anthem commenced to about two-thirds through the first period, Fieldston and Poly Prep’s annual battle on ice seemed too good to be true. Fieldston’s whole team was amped up from the start as a few hundred raucous Bird fans established their presence outside the rink. As it turned out, the end of this year’s game really was straight out of a cheesy sports novel, only Fieldston was on the wrong side of the miracle.
Going into the game, everyone in the 10471 zipcode had heard what the word coming from Brooklyn was: the Eagles’ 7-0 beatdown of ‘Prep last year was a fluke, Poly’s guys had to drive much further to get to the game, yadda, yadda, yadda…
The bottom line is that the Flock came in with explosive energy and established a frenetic tempo early on, with Noah Knopf (IV) and Nick Hershey (V) each tallying goals in the opening minutes. Playing like a team with a chip on its shoulder, the Eagles soared out to a 4-0 lead midway through the first period. The Nest was rocking, and the body language of the Blue Devils’ players was, well, blue.
But then, something happened. Senior “spirit squad” captains Andrés Vaamonde, Zach Jaffe, and Jonas Weitzman told Eagles fans to “sit down and stay quiet”–presumably as a way of saying to Poly’s skaters and its fans that the Eagles already had the win in the bag and that there was no point wasting energy on a matchup as weak as the Blue Devils…or something like that.
As soon as Fieldston’s fans sat down, it was as if a switch had been turned on the Poly Prep bench. Suddenly, Poly’s players could hear themselves think for the first time in under an hour. Suddenly, they had a chance to catch their breath, to sit back for a moment and say, “hey, we’ve weathered the storm, now it’s time to make our move.” Suddenly, Poly, not Fieldston, was the more pissed-off bunch, the team playing with something to prove. And suddenly, the Blue Devils began to pour in goals.
At the end of the first period, the score was even at four apiece. Once again, Eagles fans got on their feet and restored the energy level that had sparked their team to a rocketing start. However, as the game progressed, the Blue Devils continued to loosen up and move the puck, matching the Eagles punch for punch over the next period and a half. Then, with just a few minutes remaining in the third and final period, Fieldston seemed to finally pull away, charging out to a two-goal lead. However, just as Poly had done at end of the first period, the Blue Devils collected themselves. The Brooklynites began going for (and winning) 50/50 pucks like a team that knew it had nothing to lose. Lo and behold, consecutive goals by Poly senior captain Ethan Cohen and senior Sean Feldman sent the game into a shootout.
Just like the three periods preceding it, the shootout was a tightly-contested nail-biter until senior Seth Pantalony “popped the cup” following an Eagle miss. Poly’s players skated off into the bone-chilling winter night, kings of the ice for at least 364 days, while Eagles Noah Breite (V) and Karan Reddy (V) just lay on their stomachs in despair, their breath visible inches above the war-torn crystal battlefield.
Quotes of the night: Players’ Reactions to the Game
On the Eagles’ Performance:
Luke Gordon, Form V: “I thought that our effort the whole game was unbelievable. Despite losing a four goal lead in the first period, then a two goal lead with two minutes left, we pushed the game to overtime and found a way to keep fighting. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t put one in the net at the end.”
On the impact of Fieldston’s fans during the game:
Karan Reddy, Form V: “The fans were phenomenal. It is one of the best feelings ever to have that big a crowd supporting you for an entire game. However, lots of fans also mean lots of pressure. As much as I tried to zone them out during the game, playing in front of that many people gives you an adrenaline rush like no other. For my first couple of shifts, I really had to try and keep my cool, and just play the way I always play.”
Ethan Cohen, Senior, Poly Prep Captain: “Generally when I’m playing, I block all the crowd noise out. But in a game like that, it’s hard to block everything out. As far as I could tell [the fans] added to the atmosphere without detracting from the game itself. More than anything, the Poly fans gave us the lift we needed when we got down in the first period.”
On what the tough loss says about the Eagles’ squad:
Noah Knopf, Form IV: “This game proved what a passionate group of kids we have. I was very impressed with almost everybody’s effort on the ice, but also how hard everybody took the loss. Losing a big game like that stings, but we’ll remember how it felt to sit in the locker room after it was over and when we play Poly again next year, that memory will only make us hungrier.”
On scoring a goal in the shootout:
Hugh Klein, Form V: “While it may sound a bit self-absorbed, I can honestly say that I will never forget the goal I scored in the shootout. As I skated from the bench to the center of the ice, it really started to set in that if I missed, we would lose the game, but the second the puck touched my stick, everything just felt natural. I got closer and closer to the goal, and was contemplating my options, but there was never really a question in my mind, I was always going to go high glove side, because that is what I always do. Karan even told me afterwards that he knew I was going to shoot there [laughs]. After I saw the puck go in the net, I heard the crowd roar, and I can confidently say I will never forget that sound.”
On the overall game atmosphere:
Sean Feldman, Senior, Poly Prep: “From a player’s perspective, it was unlike anything I have ever experienced. I think that Fieldston had a chance to run away with the game early, but once we settled into the game it was an amazing atmosphere. That’s the way hockey is meant to be played.”
