by: Dovid Mirsky
A roaring crowd, pump-up introductions - and of course, winning - made for a great night in TABC! There was lots of food, music, fun, and of course, TABC hockey in store for the opening night.The Old Gym was renovated with new speaker systems that blasted music throughout the game, new bleachers that certainly helped pack in a house of around 400 people (and still not everyone got a seat!), and with a new floor adorned with TABC’s current colors and logo.
The night opened with the distribution of TABC scarves and food, because a TABC experience is never complete without food! We then went to the Old Gym where- after a long and impatient wait- we finally heard the introductions for this year’s JV Squad, looking for its 7th straight championship, led by Coach Norm Blumenthal. After the introductions, last year’s JV team stood together to raise TABC’s sixth straight championship banner! Then, the first game of the Ramaz doubleheader tipped off, marking the start of the TABC hockey 2014-15 season!
The JV game was nothing short of a dominant performance, as everyone contributed to the victory. TABC controlled the tempo the entire game, and Zach Rothenberg, Elie Shapiro, Akiva Wieder, and Yehuda Saks all scored goals for TABC. Solly Weiser did some stout goaltending for TABC, only giving up two goals in the second period as TABC cruised to a 5-2 victory against Ramaz.
During Halftime, Nets tickets were on the line as randomly chosen students (and one not-so-randomly chosen teacher) took a full court shot to try to hit a bottle in the center of the net. Zach Greenberg, who hit the Half-Court shot last year (in basketball), took another try at tickets. Although unsuccessful, he came the closest to hitting the bottle, while Hebrew Language teacher Moreh Baruch Dagan didn’t come so close!
We then packed the lunchroom for… more food! Lots of wings and poppers were devoured during the moments between games, as the Varsity Team, coming off a disappointment in overtime in the playoffs against HAFTR last year, was looking to start the new season strong. Introductions soon followed, as the Varsity team looked for a doubleheader sweep against Ramaz.
The game started off as a defensive showdown, both teams score less by the very end of the first period… or that’s just what it looked like! A long shot that hit off TABC goalie, Alex Kalb’s, glove and then went into the net provided Ramaz with the first goal of the game with just seconds left of the first period.
During the break, middle school age, future members of the TABC hockey teams, (many of whom are brothers of current JV and Varsity players,) showed off their skills in a friendly exhibition game that ended in a shootout! Shout-out to Eitan Schmeltz and Areli Bolour for their efforts as goalies!
Coming back from the 1-0 finish of the first period, Junior Yair Knoller scored TABC’s first goal, which was soon followed by a goal by Yehoshua Naor. Alex Malech and Ari Fuchs both scored in the third period, and our goalie, Alex Kalb, performed flawlessly for both the second and third periods, leaving TABC with a 4-1 win, and securing the double-header sweep!
All in all, it was a great night filled with Achdus, food, cheering, and of course, the thrill of winning! Now that’s TABC Hockey!