H-ton Trio Helps Win
JV Ice Hockey Crown
Three Huntington High School students helped the Northport-Huntington Ice Hockey Club’s junior varsity team win the Suffolk County High School Hockey League crown.
Sophomore Nicholas Baldanza and juniors Vincent Alongi and Conrad Johnson all played integral roles in the Northport-Huntington team’s JV county title run.
The Northport-Huntington JV squad compiled a 23-4 record, finishing first in a 10-team division. The team was in first place all season long, after winning its first 14 consecutive games.
The playoffs produced thrills and chills for the Northport-Huntington JV team, which went 4-0 in the post-season. The team topped West Islip in the best-of-three finals by winning the first game, 5-4 and then capturing a 2-1 overtime victory in the second game.
In the first game of the final series, Northport-Huntington trailed 2-0 after one period. The team scored two early second period goals to knot the score at 2-2 before surrendering two goals to once again face a two-goal deficit entering the final frame. Northport-Huntington then notched three unanswered goals to claim a 5-4 win.
The Northport-Huntington JV advanced to the finals with a 5-1 semi-final round victory over Half Hollow Hills. They took the Connetquot/Sayville squad in the opening round, 5-3.
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The Northport-Huntington Ice Hockey Club’s freshman team (ages 12-14 at the start of the season) included J. Taylor Finley Middle School students Luke Giordano, Henry Kurathowski, Rocco Meagher and Chris Warren.
The squad finished in fourth place in a 12-team division, compiling a record of 18-8. The team enjoyed separate winning streaks of six and seven games during the season.
The freshman team was knocked out of the playoffs by rugged St. Anthony’s in a thrilling 4-3 game.
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The Northport-Huntington Ice Hockey Club’s varsity team (grades 9-12) included Huntington High School sophomore Gavin Crockett and juniors Sam Kurathowksi, John Reilly and Nick Warren. The squad went 10-9-0-1 to finish seventh in an 11-team division.
The team started the season slowly, losing many close games en route to a 1-6 record. Northport-Huntington’s hard work finally began to pay off as the squad went 9-3-0-1 over its last 13 games to finish in strong fashion.
The Northport-Huntington varsity qualified for the playoffs, but dropped a quarterfinal round contest to a very tough Smithtown/Hauppauge/ team, 4-2.
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The Huntington School District students who participate in the Northport-Huntington Ice Hockey Club program helped spur the collection of donated toys for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots drive that provided toys for countless needy children throughout the area.