Nick Barletta Skip Pearlman MAHOPAC—Even though Iona Prep snapped the Mahopac High hockey team’s five-game winning streak, the Indians have to feel pretty good about where they stand. Following Wednesday’s 5-4 loss, the Indians (12-4, 8-3) got a late goal from Ryan Harker to pick up a 4-3 over John Jay- Cross River on Friday and then beat Lakeland/Panas 9-1 on Saturday to earn their seventh win in eight games.

The Indians closed out their week with a bit of payback against a Lakeland team that narrowly edged them a month earlier.

“That was kind of a revenge game for us, they beat us the last game,” coach Chris Lombardo said. “We went into that game and used that as motivation.”

With the previous loss in mind, the Indians took a 2-1 lead into the second period and pushed their lead to 5-1 heading into the third.

Brandon Fitzpatrick led the attack with three goals and three assists, while Mike DiPasquale added three goals. Bradley Alexander scored once and assisted on three others.

Brandon Fitzpatrick Skip Pearlman Nick Barletta and Joe Corradi each scored their first varsity goal in the win, while Rob Buckley and Kim Harker each had an assist for their first varsity points. Anthony Barletta made the start in net and stopped 12 shots before being replaced by Anthony Lomenzo. Lomenzo finished with six saves in the closing minutes.

A day earlier, the Indians outlasted John Jay in a back-and-forth battle that was ultimately decided by Ryan Harker’s power play goal with 46 seconds left. After winning the offensive zone draw, Harker drove to the net and knocked in a rebound off of John Hangach’s shot. The goal gave the Indians their second comeback win against John Jay this season.

“This team’s been a real resilient bunch all year,” Lombardo. “Getting down against John Jay in the first game of the season gave us the confidence that we had chance to comeback in this one.”

The Indians went into the third down 2-1, but tied the game less than a minute into the period thanks to a goal from Hangach. John Jay responded with a goal before Alexander tied the game with just under seven minutes left.

“After the first five or six minutes of the game, we outplayed them,” Lombardo said. “We felt that if we stayed within our game plan, we’d have a good chance and they did…we knew we had to keep pushing, keep moving.”

DiPasquale scored the Indians’ first goal in the opening period.

In their first game of the week, the Indians found themselves on the wrong side of a back-and-forth game. Neither team led by more than a goal, and they went into the third period tied at four. Despite several chances, the Indians failed to score in the final period and ultimately lost thanks to a power play goal with eight minutes left.

“It was a tough game,” Lombardo said. “We put them on our schedule because we knew it would be a challenge as we get ready for the playoffs. Even though we lost the game, it was more about getting players at a higher speed and getting ready playoffs.”

Alexander and Hangach each had a pair of goals in the loss. Alexander scored the team’s first and third goals while Hangach added the second and fourth. Barletta stopped 30 shots in the loss.

The Indians’ next game is Sunday at 8:10 p.m. against Carmel High at the Brewster Ice Arena.