By Sam DeLeon
With day 3 being the final day of games`for PRIHA, the men's national team will face Jamaica in the final game of the three game series, ADP1 will face off against City Ice S. K. and Hockey in Harlem Alumni,The U18s would play the AA Jr Islanders, the women would play NJP and IU19, YDP2 would play Hockey in Harlem 12U and YDP1 would play Hockey in New Jersey and the Great Neck Bruins.
To start the game, Jamaica would score first and hold the lead for most of the game, but the relentless attitude shown time and time again in PRIHA would really start to show late in the game, but was played with for all 60 minutes.
After trading goals back and forth all night, the Jamacians would hold the lead for most of the game. This game was a highly anticipated one given the fact that both teams came into the night with the series tied at 1-1. Th.is contest was a very physical one that lacked no intensity at all, plenty of big hits, highlight reel goals and chirps were thrown all night long.
At one point being down 4-2, the Puerto Ricans were in a tough spot, but that in no way killed their spirit. In a massive comeback rally, after a few more goals were traded late in the game, the score would be 5-4 and with an empty net, Mikey Marquez would score a backdoor one-timer goal to tie the game and send it to OT.
4 minutes into OT, the Puerto Rican’s would force a turnover and a rush would be led up the ice. With Christian Jimenez leading the rush, he would dump it, chase it, beat out the Jamaican player, wheel around the zone and find none other coming down the right wing than longtime PR player and alternate captain Dennis Ruppe. Rupee, would catch a rough pass skating backwards, pivot forwards and snipe one low blocker side to score the game winning goal
With Puerto Rico not only beating Jamaica to give them their first loss ever and also winning the series 2-1 this weekend would be a huge one for the Puerto Rican’s, but also for the game of hockey in general, from playing games in non hockey heavy markets, to bringing in hockey programs to play against that would not necessarily get recognition otherwise, to headlining the Puerto Ricans Vs. Jamaica, this was a huge win for the game in general, growing it to new heights in underserved communities and seeing it all unfold firsthand, this is only the start to something incredible.
ADP1 would take on City Ice S. K. and in a very evenly matched game it would end in a tie. After many back and forth chances, this game would end in regulation 2-2 and head to the first overtime of the weekend. In the overtime, with many great chances for both sides, neither would capitalize and this game would end in a tie.
For the ADP1s 2nd game of the day and final of the weekend, they would face off against Hockey in Harlem Alumni. In this game, it would again be a very evenly matched game, with it being a very close one, but in the second period, PR would take a 4-3 lead and hold it for the third to secure their win, ending the weekend with a 3-0-0-1 record.
The U18 team for Puerto Rico would face off against the AA Jr Islanders in what was the most anticipated game of the weekend for the young squad. Noah Rosado would strike first for the U18s and Puerto Rico would hold the lead from there on out. The final score of this game would be 6-2 in favor of Puerto Rico, but this was no easy win. The AA Jr Islanders are a very skilled team that went to nationals in the spring, making this a very hard fought game.
The YDP1 team would play their first game against Hockey in New Jersey and prove to be more than Hockey in New Jersey could handle.The Puerto Rican’s would score first and hold the lead for the entirety of the game. By the time the final buzzer came around, the score would be Puerto Rico 5, Hockey in New Jersey 3.
In YDP1s second game of the day they faced off against the Great Neck Bruins. In this contest, the Bruins would be too much of a challenge for Puerto Rico beating them out 9-3. Although not a bad game played by YDP1, the Bruins made less mistakes, leading them to the victory.
The YDP2 team faced off against Hockey in New Jersey, 12U team and beat them in a 7-3 contest. For the youngsters this game would cap off the weekend for them with a perfect 3-0-0-0 record. With the youths of PRIHA leaving in great spirits, there is much to look forward to at the next PRIHA event.
The Women's national team would play their first game of the day against the NJP and beat them 4-1. This game would be a clinic put on by the women's team that they will remember for a while. The NJP were a great opponent, but Puerto Rico for another time this weekend would seal the win.
In their second game of the day, the women's national team would play IU19 and would sadly fall 3-0 against them. The shutout score would net represent how hard fought this game was with the women's national team playing relentlessly until the final buzzer. This game would cap off the weekend for the women's national team and it is very easy to say there were nothing but positives to take away.