On Wednesday February 14th 2024, the Bethpage Golden Eagles Hockey team etched their name in school history, winning the Nassau County championship for just the third time in the program’s history (first since 1998) with a 3-2 win over Bellmore-Merrick.
The Golden Eagles came into the regular season with high expectations, which were met as they finished with a 12-3-1 record good enough for the top seed in the conference. Despite such a successful regular season campaign, Bethpage was doubted at every turn throughout their playoff run. First they were predicted to lose to Long Beach in their barn in the semifinals but the Eagles faithful stormed the beach and willed the boys to victory along with Senior goalie Matteo Bellise’s 47 saves to punch a ticket for an appearance in the county finals(without star captain Marko Lisica). Next it was three out of four “expert” writers for Long Island Sports Network picking Bethpage to lose the 3 game set to the Bulldogs of Bellmore-Merrick.
And once again the haters were proven wrong. Game one saw a 4-1 rout led by Senior captain Jake Kelly’s two goals to set up a scenario where Bethpage had to win just one of two in their own backyard at T.O.B Ice Rink.
It was there that the Eagles would finish the job. With a rink packed to the gills with friends, family, students ready to erupt, the Golden Eagles soared. From assistant captain Jake McAuliffe opening the scoring to storming back from a 2-1 deficit, all capped off by Captain and 4 year starter Stavros Likourentzos
scoring the “Golden goal” late in the third period with a selfie stick goal celebration that electrified the crowd (shown below).
And surprise surprise…Bellise stood on his head once again with an outstanding 39-save performance and was named MVP of the Playoffs as the Golden Eagles hoisted the trophy.
This year’s team was as tight-knit as you’re likely to see in high school sports.
Senior Jake McAuliffe said, “teams like Bellmore-Merrick run traps and are all Xs and Os…while we’re out there winning with the power of friendship.”
He calls it the power of friendship, this reporter calls it talent. From Marko Lisica, Tyler Wodicka, Nick Morolla to Justin Verdi, Michael Sheehan, and Nick Morgan, there was plenty of talent on the ice every night. Every game the Golden Eagles played, the more-skilled team was wearing blue and gold and yet they were continuously doubted at every turn.
You can’t doubt the champs, though.
