Love on ice: Rangers/Devils playoff series divides some NY couples

Tara Crowley and Harrison Kipel have been dating for about year after meeting through mutual friends. But last September, when hockey season began, it became clear there is one thing that will always divide them: Crowley bleeds Rangers blue and Harrison is a die-hard Devils fan.

"During the season it's really not that bad, because they don't play that many times," said Crowley, who lives in Franklin Square on Long Island.

"But now that they're both going for the Stanley Cup, it's bad," she said with a laugh. "If we start talking about it and it escalates too much, we'll just change the subject. It's like politics; we just don't want to go into it."

She added: "When the Devils won [Game 2] I was just like: 'Don't even look at me.' "

Crowley and Kipel are among many New York couples with opposite allegiances in the Hudson River rivalry, with boyfriend and girlfriend pitted against each other as the series heads into Game 4 tonight at the Prudential Center in Newark.

The Rangers lead the series 2-1, having shut out the Devils this past Saturday in Game 3 of the first postseason series between the teams since the 2008 Eastern Conference quarterfinals. (Crowley's Rangers won 4-1).

Kipel, of Williamsburg, is equally dedicated to his Devils. The series puts a playful spin on their relationship, he said.

"We have the occasional teasing and not speaking to each other after games. Sure, we're pretty passionate, but we don't take it too seriously," he said. "I'll even probably get her a little something if the Rangers with the Cup."

Hilary Parry, a 31-year-old Tarot reader from Tarrytown, has been a Devils fan since her teens. Her boyfriend of five years, Dave Haggerty, 34, has been a Rangers fanatic for more than two decades. This is the first time their respective loyalties have really come into the play in the relationship -- and that has made for an icy past two weeks.

"When we found out they'd be playing in this series, we said we were going to break up for the next two weeks," she said with a laugh, adding that she and Haggerty "absolutely do not" watch this series together.

"It would get ugly really quickly," Haggerty said. But when the games are over, the two are on the phone right away -- if the other picks up, that is.

"I've only gotten the chance to call him once this series, and I don't believe he answered the call right away," Haggerty said.

Jersey native Rich Stein, 28, who now lives in Bushwick, and his girlfriend, Rangers fan Sara Yulianto, 30, discovered their cross-state enmity about two years ago, and this year they're thrilled the teams are meeting.

"We were actually pretty excited that the Rangers and Devils are playing in this series," Yulianto said. "We like teasing each other about hockey, and we love watching it ... So it's really exciting to watch these games together, especially this playoff intensity."

She added: "We haven't really gotten too heated yet, but it's still early."

Follow reporter Tim Herrera on Twitter: @tim_herrera

Correction: An earlier version of this story transposed the affiliations of Hilary Parry and her boyfriend Dave Haggerty.