Steve Orleman made a season high 55 saves as the New York Riptide won their first home game of the season, defeating the Albany FireWolves 14-12 at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday night.
“They’re a great defense. Obviously Dougie [FireWolves goaltender Doug Jamieson] is one of the best in the league, if not the best, and I think sometimes we play with a little more fire and a little more energy, and I think for me personally, just feeding off teammates,” said Jeff Teat.
Teat started the action just over a minute into the game when he cut to the front of the net and scored with a twister. Ethan Walker tied the game for Albany not long after, and the teams played a defensive battle for several minutes until Matt Marinier restored the lead with his first goal of the season. Dan Lomas scored in his return to the lineup two minutes later off a feed from Brett Hickey. Walker got his second of the game for the FireWolves, however Lomas responded shortly thereafter, and the Riptide finished the quarter with a 4-2 lead.
Teat scored the first three goals in the second quarter, the by first beating his defender and going through the five hole. Teat completed his hat trick just 36 seconds later, finishing his trifecta by scoring a shorthanded goal in transition nearly seven minutes later. Albany got their only goal of the period from Kieran McArdle on the power play; the Riptide led 7-3 at the break.
New York started the third quarter hot with goals from Larson Sundown, Lomas, and Connor Kearnan coming on consecutive possessions in the first two minutes of the quarter, Jack Kelly followed this up with a power play goal for his first career NLL goal. Colton Watkinson temporarily stopped the bleeding for Albany, but Teat responded with his fifth goal of the evening during a 4-on-4. Albany began to mount a comeback with two quick goals, taking the teams into the fourth quarter.
Albany’s comeback continued in the fourth, with Connor Kelly and Tanner Thomson scoring three and two times respectively to make it a one goal game, with coach Dan Ladouceur attributing this to poor discipline on New York’s part, leading to many power play opportunities for Albany, which tired out the Riptide defenders. Teat finally got the Riptide’s first goal of the period with 2:56 left, and followed this up with another goal just 22 seconds later. Walker once again made it a two goal game with less than a minute to play, however, the Riptide defense was able to hold strong and come away with the win.
“We needed to get it in front of our fans. They’ve been supporting us like crazy this year, and we really appreciate that as players. From a goalie aspect, it just helps build that confidence,” said Orleman. “It feels so good. There’s no better barn to win in than this one.”
The Riptide return to action on Sunday, February 19 against the Halifax Thunderbirds at the Scotiabank Centre, with the opening faceoff set for 1:00 PM. The game will be available to watch on ESPN+, and listen to on WRHU 88.7 FM, WRHU.org and the WRHU iPhone App. Live stats and periodic in-game updates will be available via Twitter @NewYorkRiptide.
