Niagara Falls coach Stan Wojton expected a highly offensive game against Lew-Port Saturday night, and he wasn’t disappointed. As the game wore on, the Wolverines pulled away for a 6-4 win, but not before the Lancers came from behind to tie the game twice.
“We knew that they were a team that was on fire,” Wojton said. “They were a team that was putting the puck in the back of the net. They had a lot of offensive production the last couple of games. So we were excited, we knew that it was gonna be an offensive shootout. We knew that we were gonna get in a game like that, and we knew that being rivals, it was gonna be a high-spirited, high-energy game. I thought both teams played hard. It was just a good atmosphere; it was a good thing to be a part of.”
After a strong start to the season, Niagara Falls had lost three straight going into Saturday’s game. The team needed a quick start and a lot of offensive to rebuild its confidence and get back on the right track.
Lew-Port defenseman Chris Corbetta accepts the MVP award following Saturday’s game against Niagara Falls
“We knew it was gonna be a tough game,” Wolverines forward Alex Hailey said. “We’ve been struggling lately and they always bring it when we face them, so we were excited to get back on track.”
“Every year we play Lew-Port it’s always a tough game, and we always gotta fight hard,” added Nick Lepine. “Can’t stop skating, and we just gave it our all, and we got back on the right track.”
The Wolverines executed their game plan perfectly to start the game, as Alex Hailey scored less than a minute and a half into the first period.
“We jumped out on the second shift,” Wojton said. “Alex scored a goal to kind of get us going in the right direction. We needed a lift, losing our last three, so I think right out of the gate that really helped us.”
“We were struggling to get off to fast starts, and we had a game plan: go hard on the first shift and then come back the second shift and try to score a goal,” Hailey said. “So that’s what we did, and we executed our plan.”
“It was big getting the first goal because we usually start slow and then our third period is usually our strong suit,” Lepine said. “But our first period we actually started very good and we got on the right track quick.”
Freshman Grant Asklar, playing in his first varsity game, scored 6:52 into the first to put Niagara Falls up 2-0, but the Lancers quickly showed that they weren’t about to go down without a fight. Jacob Peters and Matt Spameni scored 18 seconds apart, and the game was tied at two less than a minute after Asklar’s goal.
“We knew we could score goals,” Hailey said. “We weren’t getting down on ourselves, and that’s what happens in hockey. We score, they score, and we were just trying to kind of get back on track and score some goals.”
Hunter O’Donoghue put the Wolverines back on top with 3:10 left in the first, and they carried a 3-2 lead into the second.
It didn’t last long, as Lew-Port sophomore Mat Carden’s 10th goal of the season tied the game up at three, but Lepine’s first goal of the game less than two minutes later put Niagara Falls back on top for good. Anthony Coty scored later in the second, and Lepine’s second of the game early in the third gave the Wolverines a 6-3 lead.
Jacob Thomason’s goal with less than two minutes remaining in regulation cut Niagara Falls’ lead to 6-4, but it wasn’t enough as Niagara Falls came away with the win.
“This game was a battle, and they were coming at us, we were going at them,” Hailey said. “We just had to put our heads down and work hard and score some goals. They were coming at us and we couldn’t back down, so we just had to go out there and play our hardest.”
“A lot of credit to Lew-Port,” Wojton said. “They came back, they battled back, and they tied it up at two. And then it was just one of those things, back and forth. We got a little sloppy in our defensive zone, battling on the wrong side of pucks, not taking the body, stuff like that. And this year, the parody in divisions 3 and 4 — those mistakes end up in your net. So we cleaned up on that. We ended up giving a better effort, especially the second half of that second and third period, and we were able to pull away.”
Nick Lepine accepts the MVP award after scoring two goals in Niagara Falls’ win over Lew-Port Saturday night
Wojton had a happy locker room after the game, and he was excited for his players that their hard work had finally resulted in another win.
“We needed that because this year, I have a great team,” Wojton said. “I really have a great group of kids. It’s a lot of fun coming to the rink with this team. And they were working hard, and they needed it. They deserved it, so for them I was happy that they were just able to get that monkey off their back and then get things rolling.”
Lepine’s two goals earned him MVP honors in the win. On Sunday, he wants the Wolverines to take what’s theirs.
“It was just big because this tournament, we haven’t won it yet,” Lepine said. “And it would be big to win it for us. It’s our tournament.”