By MIKE SMITH Sports Editor
As a club that had high hopes heading into the 2019-20 season, the Rye Town/Harrison hockey wasted little time making its presence known last week, opening the season with two decisive victories at the annual Guy Matthews Invitational in White Plains. Earning wins over both Mahopac and BYNSY in the opening two rounds, the Titans find themselves with a chance to go a perfect 3-0 when the tournament resumes on Sept. 5. Coming into the season opening tournament, which kicked off on Nov. 27, Titans head coach Rich Myers said he was sim-ply hoping to see how his team would respond to its first on-ice challenge this year. “Coming in, I didn’t really know what to expect,” Myers said. “We had a couple scrim-mages beforehand, but I was just really looking to see the kids come together and increase the energy level, which we were able to do.”That energy level led to two one-sided victories, as the Titans topped Mahopac 8-4 on Nov. 27 before handling Brewster 6-2 two days later. Those two wins have set the stage for a Thursday showdown against Horace Greeley, with the Guy Matthews tournament title on the line.“We gave up an early goal in that first game, just a bad bounce off a defenseman, but we bounced right back,” Myers said. “I’ve been very happy with the way we’ve played so far.”The Titans wins came as a result of balanced offensive attacks, explained Myers. Against Mahopac, Charlie Tanico and Jackson Schultz each had three goals, and Schultz scored two more to pace RTH against Brewster on Saturday. Through the first two games, junior Joey Harrison has dished out a stunning seven assists. “Coming in we knew that Jo-nah and Joey were going to have to step up their production to make up for the guys we lost,” Myers said. “And Charlie has re-ally set the bar high for the rest of the season after getting off to a phenomenal start.”Last season, the Titans finished 17-4, losing to Mahopac in the Division I quarterfinals. This season, with returners like Schultz, Harrison and Eric Mehlman on board, Myers believes his team has the ability to vie for a section title. “Since we got together, we’ve pretty much tried to drive in the idea that we are one of the teams to beat,” Myers said. “The kids know everyone is coming for us, so they’re ready.”Rye Town/Harrison will play Horace Greeley for the tournament championship on Nov. 5. Although the Titans have played well, Myers is hoping to see a bit more discipline from his skaters, as the team has accrued a tournament-high 41 penalty minutes in the first two contests. “Right now, that’s an unfortunate stat and something we need to work on,” he said. “It’s very tough to be successful playing like that.”
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