The Yeshiva University Roller Hockey team was out in Old Bethpage, Long Island this past weekend for three big ECRHA matchups. After spending last Sunday in Massachusetts collecting two wins and two losses, the boys stayed local as they rolled into Skate Safe America poised for some tough competition against the leagues' strongest teams. 
 
Up first was a Saturday night tilt against the first-place team in the ECRHA, the Syracuse University Orange. The last time these two teams played was in April at the NCRHA National Tournament in Rochester, NY, where YU eliminated the Orange in an OT thriller. With revenge on their minds, Syracuse came in hard and scored two quick goals before the Macs finally answered back late in the first, thanks to some nice passing between Matthew Carl and Sammy Smigel. The Orange opened the second with another quick one and finished off the period with two more, one of which was on the power play. Syracuse got another off the opening face-off of the third before netting one more, closing out YU's first game of the weekend with a 7-1 loss. Despite flashes of strong play, 'Cuse out-skated the boys for most of the game and showed why they're the top team in the conference. After the game, the boys headed to nearby West Hempstead for the annual make-your-own pizza party at the Weissman house. Delicious food and some great team bonding afforded the team a much-needed morale boost before two more big games in the morning.
 
Game two of the weekend was an 8am bout with another top team, the SUNY Oswego Lakers. Although the Lakers are known for their high-powered offense, the Macs successfully held down the fort until late in the first when Oswego finally broke through with two ginos. Strong early period defense tapered the deficit at three until the floodgates finally gave, and Yeshiva found themselves in a 6-0 hole. A beautiful individual effort by David Soffer dented the Lakers' lead to five after two, but Oswego scored two more in the first minute of the third, and another a minute later, putting the tally at 8-1. YU got one back when Zev Markowitz made a saucy dish to Carl who finished with a quick slapper, but it was ultimately too little too late as the boys fell to Oswego 8-2. The boys showed improvement but seemed to be no match for the powerful Lakers. With a few hours before their final game of the weekend, the Macs took a break at the nearby Bagel Boss to unwind and prepare for their noon matchup against the talented Hofstra University Pride.
 
Putting behind the first two games, the Macs came into game three hungry for a dub. Hard skating and physical play by the boys kept the match knotted at zero through period one, but an early second period strike by the Pride broke the stalemate. Showing impressive resilience, the boys soon tied it back up thanks to a Shuki Weinstein snipe off a slick bank pass from Rav Zev. More strong play kept it even until Hofstra broke through yet again, netting two goals, one of them on the PP, and setting Yeshiva back 3-1 after two periods of play. More offensive opportunities for the Macs went uncapitalized before the Pride upped their lead to four, putting them up 5-1 with a few minutes left to play in regulation. A late man advantage cut the difference to three when Big Man Zev set up yet another goal, this time a Smigs tap in. Sustained offensive pressure led to an easy takeaway and another goal by Sammy but the Maccabees couldn't complete the comeback and fell to Hofstra 5-3. YU looked good in the final game, and despite facing another strong team in the Pride, they stayed the course and kept it close. Clutch goaltending by Scott Weissman as well as a relentless defensive effort nearly forced an upset, but in the end, Yeshiva left Long Island winless.
 
While the season has been tough thus far, the boys will have this weekend off to rest and recover before they're back in action on November 24th at The Sportsplex in Feasterville, Pa. With three games packed into the Sunday trip, they'll take on Boston University, SUNY Cortland, and James Madison University. Make sure you follow us on social media for updates!