By Sam Cohen

“We played poorly in the first period and it was hard to get in the game,” stated Mt. Pleasant Ice Cats Senior Captain Jacob Kramer, reflecting on his team’s performance in its 6-3 loss on senior night against the Eagles of Eastchester, Tuckahoe, and Bronxville.

The Eagles broke the scoring open early at the end of their first power play and dominated possession for the rest of the first period, putting three goals behind Ice Cats goalie Lucas Van Bramer and leaving the Ice Cats scoreless at the end of the first.

The Ice Cats showed signs of life early in the second period with a J.C. Zangrilli wrist shot that snuck over the glove of ETB goalie Ethan Reich. Unfortunately for Senior Captain Zangrilli, his shot would not be enough to wake the Ice Cats from their sleepy performance. ETB gained another power play soon after the first Ice Cats’ goal and were able to capitalize. By the end of the second period, the Ice Cats were down 5-1.

The first-period domination by ETB and excessive penalties became too much for the Ice Cats to handle, and after scrapping together two more goals from Jacob Kramer and Oscar Marchi, Mt. Pleasant got its goal total up to three by the conclusion of the game.

The Ice Cats can still qualify for the playoffs despite their weak 3-14-1 record. If the Ice Cats win their remaining two games, they will have an overall winning percentage of 25%, which is one of four ways that teams can qualify for the playoffs in Section 1 ice hockey.