E.M. hockey wins first two games

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East Meadow’s hockey team, the “Ice Falcons,” kicked off the season by winning two of their first three games. The Varsity hockey team, which includes athletes from East Meadow, Levittown and Hicksville, finished their first game with a 10-3 victory against Rockville Centre-Malverne at the Long Beach Arena.

Scoring students included Brendan Pedisich, Brendon Mangone, Matt Columbia and Frank Mangone, of East Meadow High School, and Jack Heyen, of W.T. Clarke High School.

“We’re off to a good start,” Columbia said. “East Meadow kids are heavily contributing to the scoring on the team, which is great.”

The Ice Falcons also defeated Plainview-Old Bethpage in their game at Cantiague Park on Nov. 4.

Despite a 5-2 loss against Oceanside on Nov. 10 at the Long Beach Arena, Coach Thomas Columbia said the game was competitive and the team played strong. He commended Junior Varsity goaltender Vinnie Gregori, of East Meadow High School, who was called up to varsity due to an injury to a starter player and held his own.

The Junior Varsity team also started their season in October and has a record of 3-4-1. Goaltenders Vinny Gregorio, of East Meadow High School, and Alex Pinto, of W.T. Clarke High School, are anchoring the team in net.

“It’s a credit to the kids adapting to the coaching staff and their philosophy on the game,” he said, noting that Oceanside was a test for the team because the current Varsity squad won last year’s championship on the Junior Varsity level.

“I think we have a real strong team and I hope this is gonna springboard,” he said. “The kids all really get along with each other and practices have been all business, the kids are taking it very seriously. The seniors realize we have the opportunity to do something really good here.”

The Ice Falcons are excelling off the ice too and are supporting the Special Olympics on Nov. 16 and 17 at Nassau Community College. The team will be helping set up and assist the athletes during a hockey session. For more information please call JV Coach Eric Peck at Ericpeck@outlook.com.

The High School Hockey League of Nassau County, sponsored by the New York Islanders, includes roughly 50 teams from public and private high schools across Nassau County and allows roughly 800 athletes to compete.