NASSAU COUNTY PBA HOCKEY GAME REPORT
By: John Kannengeiser
On Saturday February 28th, the Nassau County PBA Hockey Team took to the ice at the Nassau Veterans
Memorial Coliseum and faced off against the Nassau County Volunteer Firefighters Hockey Team. The event
was titled “Nassau’s Finest vs. Nassau’s Bravest” and was a fundraiser designed to provide financial assistance
to the family of Ex-Chief Joseph Sanford, Jr. Sanford was a 17-year veteran of the Inwood Fire Department
who died in the line of duty in December 2014.
Despite the coldest February in the last 80 years, an impressive crowd came out to show their support for a
very worthy cause. The game was sold out and the PBA donated $10,000 to the Sanford family. We would
like to thank everyone who contributed their support, especially the New York Islanders, for making this
possible as the event was a huge success.
Being called for an interference penalty in the opening minutes of the contest, the PBA penalty kill was put to
the test early. Solid skating and stick work by forward John Lechmanski (4th Precinct) and defensemen Jim
Skopek (Homicide Squad) helped keep the FD power play unit off the scoreboard. As the first period
continued, both sides saw several scoring opportunities but both goaltenders were up to the task. It appeared
that the PBA took a 1-0 lead as a netmouth scramble saw Rich Goetchius (6th Precinct) force one past the FD
goaltender. However, the referee blew the play dead prior to seeing the puck cross the goal line and was
disallowed. So after the first 15 minutes, the score was deadlocked at 0-0.
The game was a tightly played, back and forth affair with neither side really having an edge. However, several
minutes into the second period, Evan Marro (5th Precinct) opened the scoring on a laser of a wrist shot from
the right point. Feeling the momentum turn, the PBA squad seemed to find their legs and pull away. They
began controlling the play despite some quality chances that were turned aside. The second period also saw
goals by Chris Karman (3rd precinct) and Dave Hennessy (1st squad) giving the PBA a 3-0 lead.
The third period saw the Firefighters turn up the heat with a speedy, sustained attack. An early FD power play
could have easily turned the tides on the PBA, but Chris Karman’s second of the game, a highlight reel
shorthanded goal basically took the wind out of their sails. Dave Hennessy added his second of the game and
Rich Goetchius also found the back of the net giving the PBA a sizeable lead. The FD squad rallied for a late
goal but the game was already long put away by then. As the final buzzer sounded, it was the PBA sealing a 61 victory. In the nets, Mike Vonnes (HPB), Kevin Imparato (5th Precinct) and Steve Goetchius (2nd Precinct) all
provided quality goaltending. The defensive corps was led by veteran Mike Dougherty (Court Liason), Mike
Cipullo (NVB) and Evan Marro. Regardless of the final score, the real goal was achieved, which was to support
a family in need.