Squads Battle University Teams In L.I. Friendly
The Empire State Legends were guests of the Hofstra University D1 and B teams this past Saturday, Oct 13, for a friendly skate at Skatesafe in Bethpage, L.I.
The games were contested in a loose competitive skate format, with non-official referees. It was a friendly skate by two organizations looking to get into their grooves before the season opens in a month.
Elite GM/Head Coach Rich Ritchie was looking to see some future line combinations as well as working on some breakouts against a different set of legs. Minor Head Coach Marc Ferro had a similar strategy.
At the end of the day, the scoreboard read Elites 6-2 over Hofstra D1 and Minors 7-2 over Hofstra B, but that was not the story of the day for either organization, whose main goal was to expose players to a game situation.
Ritchie was especially pleased with the skating and the two-goal efforts of new comers Shawn Hroch and John Healy, both of whom have never played under his reigns. Veterans Joe Mazzie and Frank Florio also lit the lamp. Both netminders (Kevin Hamerschlag of the Elites and Jonathan Berghorn of the Minors) played well.
The Empire State Legends organization looks forward to a future invitation of this style again as both organizations get to work out their kinks.
