"Play Like a Champion Today."
That was the single phrase of inspiration that was written in black marker on the Rome Free Academy home team hockey bench before the Black Knights took to the ice against Section III Division II East rival Utica Proctor on Tuesday night at Kennedy Arena.
On a night when former RFA hockey player Bobby Ciccotti was honored during a moving ceremony before the game, the Romans did just that as junior forward TJ Reilley scored two goals and added an assist, while Garrett Reilley recorded a goal and had three assists and the Romans played disruptive defense in an emotional 8-1 rout over crosstown Section III Division II East rival Utica Proctor.
Before the game, the Ciccotti family stood at center ice as they watched RFA captains Kyle Williams and Max Bartell skate around the rink to show off Bobby’s bench that will be dedicated in his honor forever at the Arena to a standing-room only crowd that came out in support of Ciccotti and the Ciccotti family.
The 2005 RFA graduate was killed in a motorcycle accident in the Town of Verona last March at the age of 22.
"It was an honor just to be able to do that for that family and for everybody in Rome to see. It really motivated me to go out there and play better," said Williams, who had two assists in the win.
"I didn’t know him personally, but I knew who he was. He was a good hockey player. I watched him when I was younger and I learned a lot of things for him," he added.
"It was a very emotional game out there tonight. It was emotional for me and I hope that we did the Ciccotti family proud," said TJ Reilley.
RFA coach Greg Cuthbertson also shared his feelings about his former player.
"Obviously, it was really emotional for me because Bobby played for me, and it brought back some memories that I had of him. It’s good to see that they are doing something for him and remembering him because he was a big part of the hockey community here," he said.
"He was on my first senior class when I took the job. He put a lot of work in for me. I was a young coach at the time, I was 25 when I first started here, so he was one of those kids that I kind of grew up with. For me it was special because I have that close relationship to him," Cuthbertson added.
The fast-paced, up-and-down action between the two schools saw RFA sophomore forward Garrett Reilley taking over early and often in the first period with an assist on a goal scored for his older brother, TJ, before he then peppered the back of the net for a tally of his own off an assist from Matt DeMatteo to give the Romans a quick 2-0 lead at the 7:42 mark. TJ then quickly added another goal on a wrister in front of the net with helpers from Garrett and Williams off a power play inside the first three minutes of the second period.
The Romans would then add two more goals in that period with tallies from DeMatteo and Robert Waller, who finished with a goal and two assists, and the rout was on.
The Black Knights, who improved to 7-2 in the league standings and 9-5-1 overall, then sat back and played solid defense while Anthony D’Urso patrolled the net. D’Urso finished with seven saves, but faced only one shot in the entire second period before being relieved by Derek Pfeiffer in the third period.
The surprising sophomore keeper now has a 5-2-1 overall record in net for the Black Knights and has 186 saves in eight games played this season.
The Raiders took only a handful of shots in the first two periods, while the Romans stormed their opponents’ net 15 times against netminder Lee Barker in the second period alone. Barker made 37 saves as he was bombarded by shots all night.
Cuthbertson said it was his team’s defense however that he was most pleased with in this victory. "The kids will probably tell you the shots, but my thing is the defense. That’s what we have been focusing on. We’re going to get our opportunities on offense based on our defense," he said.
"The second period has sort of haunted us a little bit, so we have addressed that with the kids. We wanted to put the pressure on tonight and really work on our floor checks and it came out good," he said.
Being up 5-0 at the start of the third period didn’t stop the host team’s tenacity, either. A pair of youngsters, sophomore defenseman Eric Joyce and freshman forward Mike Seifert, pumped in their first goals of the season. Joyce slapped home a one-timer from an assist from Waller on the left side of the net while Seifert came along the boards on a break away for an unassisted goal following a strong finish.
"I got out on a breakaway, went up top, and it came out really good," Seifert said about his first goal. "Best goal of my playing career. First one in front of the home crowd, so it was really special," he added.
Cuthbertson added that it’s been nice to see some of the younger members of the team contributing because it will add to the squad’s depth as they prepare for the postseason.
"Anytime we can get any secondary scoring from the other guys it’s always a bonus for us. But, they have earned it, they are working hard in practice and they have earned the playing time. It’s good to see them get rewarded for their hard work," Cuthbertson said.
"It seems like now they are used to the varsity level and you can really see that they are beginning to pick their games up," Reilley added about his young teammates.
The guests finally broke the RFA defense and found the back of the net as Nate Pearson slapped in a late goal off an assist from Dominic Steppello for the Raiders, which dropped to 0-7-1 in the league and 3-10-1 overall.
The Black Knights will travel to face Division II East foes Cazenovia on Friday night starting with a 7 o’clock faceoff.
After the game, Cuthbertson was happy for the win but was even more proud of the strong community support received by the fans.
"You saw the great turnout here on a Tuesday night. You couldn’t ask for anything better, and our kids really appreciated that, too," he said. "I was really happy for the family that so many people showed up for them and for Bobby. It was really great to see."
