Shorthanded Wings Bow to Massapequa 3-1

Playing without three of their top players and facing one of the top offenses on Long Island proved to be too much for the Garden City Wings to overcome.

Despite a solid defensive effort and 26 saves by David Wax, Garden City allowed two third-period goals and had its four-game winning streak snapped with a 3-1 loss to Massapequa Friday night at the Bethpage Community Center.

Joey Bochichio had what proved to be the game-winning goal and added an assist for the Chiefs, who have won nine in a row since losing to Bellmore-Merrick on Dec. 8. Phil Armato and Nicholas Mangone had the other Massapequa goals and Bobby Oldmixon chipped in two assists.

The Wings were without leading scorer Albert Markopoulos and forward Chris Arena, who were playing for their respective travel teams, and injured defenseman J.P. Burnside. Assistant coach Brian Johnston said Burnside, who has five goals and seven points in three games with Garden City this season, pulled a muscle in his back during a recent workout and will likely miss Sunday night’s contest against Cold Spring Harbor as well.

“It’s a huge difference,” fellow blueliner Elias Georgas said of Burnside’s absence. “He brought so much to this team and so much firepower. It makes it so much easier on us.”

Wax was immediately tested by the faster Chiefs right from the opening faceoff and stopped all 10 shots he faced in the first period. During a Massapequa power play, he withstood a goalmouth scramble before robbing Michael Tardno from in-close.

“He played very well again as usual and kept us in it the whole time,” Johnston said of Wax.

Garden City stunned the Chiefs even more at 5:34 of the second period thanks to a little luck. During a Wings power play, defenseman Shawn Post collected the puck at the right point and fired a wrister that deflected off Massapequa’s Dominick DiGiovanna and past goalie Mike Mottola for the game’s opening tally.

But just under five minutes later, Armato banged in Bochichio’s pass from behind the net past Wax for his team-leading 16th goal of the season.

The Chiefs took the lead for good at 3:12 of the third period when Oldmixon found Bochichio at the left side of the net for an easy tap in. Just 72 seconds later, Mangone blocked Georgas’ clearing attempt and quickly shot the bouncing puck by Wax to cap the scoring.

“I tried to get the puck out,” Georgas said. “I hit it a little bit, but it went right to him and he got a shot. The goalie wasn’t expecting it.”

Despite the loss, Garden City limited Massapequa to its lowest single-game goal total of the season while killing off all five shorthanded situations. The Chiefs, who came into the contest with a whopping 122 goals in 15 games, had two four-goal efforts in November.

“The defense played very well,” Johnston said. “They kept the gaps close. (The Chiefs) have two of the top leading five scorers in the league and they did a great job with them. They ended up having two points and the game-winner, but overall that’s a line that could really dominate this game, given our depleted defense, and they did a nice job.”

The Wings have played just twice since Dec. 21, with the Jan. 12 contest against Massapequa postponed because of a snow storm. That game will be made up on Feb. 4.

“Some of the guys were saying they were a little rusty,” Johnston said. “We haven’t had as many practices since the break either. But a couple of shifts and you shake that off and get right back into it.”

Sunday night’s game against Cold Spring Harbor and Tuesday night’s date with Wantagh/Seaford are both scheduled for 9:15 p.m. at Bethpage.

First Period-No scoring. Penalties-Post, GC (tripping), 9:19; DiGiovanna, Mas (interference), 12:13.

Second Period-1, Garden City, Post (unassisted), 5:34 (pp). 2, Massapequa, Armato (Bochichio, Oldmixon), 10:16. Penalties-T.Von Wieding, Mas (boarding), 4:47; Oldmixon, Mas (interference), 6:01; Bartels, GC (interference), 10:44.

Third Period-3, Massapequa, Bochichio (Oldmixon, Armato), 3:12. 4, Massapequa, Mangone (unassisted), 4:24. Penalties-Georgas, GC (roughing), :29; Fargione, Mas (holding), 5:24; Volz, GC (tripping), 5:50; Powers, GC (high-sticking), 7:50.

Shots on goal-Garden City 5-4-1--10; Massapequa 10-1-11--29

Power Plays-Garden City 1 for 4; Massapequa o for 5.

Goalies-Garden City, Wax (29 shots-26 saves); Massapequa, Mottola (10-9).