There are times as a coach that you know you were dealt a really good hand and these past two years Andrew Poska, Tyler Madeley and I have been given players that understand adversity, loyalty, and character. Last year they stayed loyal but forgot how to play the game of ice hockey the way it needs to be played. When you spend the year scrimmaging against your friends, you lose the intensity and grit that comes with the game. These first four months have been up and down due to understanding the game as well as teams cancelling or not being able to travel the first 6 weeks. This weekend saw it all come together while overcoming even more adversity.
The team travelled to St. Catherine’s Ontario Canada for 3 games. Defending MPHL Champions Ridley for 2 and Ontario Hockey Academy for 1 game. The trip started with a 13.5 hr ordeal where the kids got to Buffalo at 130am and crossed the border the next morning. After checking in and then lunch and a quick nap, the kids faced off against Ridley. The game was fast and physical and LFA carried the play 60% of the game with the Ridley goalie making 18 Grade A saves. Luke Hampel scored on a screenshot to tie the game with assists from Mathieu Fehr and Will Soloway. The Caxys then took the lead on a faceoff play with Aidan Stubbings scoring on a perfect shot from Owen Hardy. Ridley tied it early in the 3rd period on a blown icing call and from that moment on the Caxys poured on the pressure. The 3rd period ended in a 2-2 tie and then 3 on 3 overtime saw the Ridley goalie stop 4 breakaways so we headed to a shootout. Scott Daniels and Will Solloway scored to give LFA a big 3-2 win. Ian Vandenberg stopped 23 shots for the win and Tommy Enrietto was the player of the game.
The next morning we faced OHA. The Caxys stormed out of the gate with 2 goals in the first 40 seconds on goals by Aidan Stubbings and Masen Culley. The next 17 minutes saw a lully in play and then OHA scored 2 to tie the game. The score stay this way until late in the second period Owen Coxe threw 2 hits on the forecheck to cause the game to change and then Stubbings, Fehr and Enrietto scored 3 goals in 2 min to take a 5-2 lead into the third period. That's when the Caxys turned it up a notch and scored 2 goals in the first 30 seconds of the third period on goals by Ryan Costin and Owen Hardy. From there we added goals by Jackson Macejko, Scott Daniel, Owen Hardy and Asher Goduco for an 11-3 win. Charlie Campbell picked up the win with 21 saves.
The guys then had the rest of the day to enjoy Niagara Falls with each other and their families and then ran into my best friend from where I grew up who saw the LFA gear and went to meet the players.
Today the Caxys completed their weekend with a rematch against Ridley. The guys played their best game of the year and overcame a hot goalie and lots of interesting penalties from an official that I wouldn't say is an old friend and has officiated us for 17 years at Ridley. Ridley went up early on a miscue by our goalie and the player walked in for a tap-in. The guys never gave up and went full out to tie the game on a great shot by Aidan Stubbings. In the second period, we had to kill 6 penalties but unfortunately, the 7th made it 3-1 for Ridley. After a quick timeout, the guys killed the 8th penalty by controlling the puck for over a minute, and then Owen Hardy broke in on the right side to make it 3-2. Two minutes later Will Soloway stole the puck and fed Tommy Enrietto to tie the game and once again we headed to overtime. The Caxys had 3 great chances and then we received an interesting offensive zone penalty and that ended the offense. The guys killed it off and we once again went into a shootout. Unfortunately, the Ridley player scored on the 4th shot and Owen Hardy rang his off the post for a 4-3 loss but we still earned one point. Ian Vandenberg stopped 21 shots for the tie and Connor Drobny and Jayson Harrison III were co-players of the game.
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