Following the systems and focusing on their own game more than on what their opponent was doing led to a Niagara Wheatfield Falcons win on Thursday after a 10-day break. They’d been left with a sour taste in their mouths after losses to Hamburg and St. Joe’s just before the break.
During those 10 days, Niagara Wheatfield coach Rick Wrazin and his coaching staff took a deeper look at what the team needed to do to right itself before its final six games.
“We worked a lot on our offense because we haven’t had a lot of poise and puck possession, and we’ve always been a puck possession team, so we kinda went back to the drawing board,” Wrazin said. “We have a younger team, and we’re trying to get guys to feel comfortable with the puck and be patient and poised and make good decisions.”
As the Falcons looked to Sunday’s game against Williamsville East, the plan was clear, and they came away with a 5-2 win.
“They’ve been a good team in this league for years, and we know they’re a well coached team,” Wrazin said of Williamsville East. “We got away from doing what we like to do as a team, and we’re trying to get back to it. So the last couple games, we’ve just been saying, we’re not gonna worry about what the other team does; we’re gonna go out and play the way we want to play.”
“We expected, obviously, to get a win, but also to play the systems the right way and do what the coaches expected of us,” said defenseman Cameron Ruhland.
“We expected our team to come out here and play our system, work our hardest,” said forward Alex Bauer.
It was Bauer who gave the Falcons the first lead of the game just 2:25 into the first period, assisted by Garrett Downie and Mike Lotempio. Bauer didn’t want all the credit for the goal though; he spoke of the entire team playing the way it was supposed to play.
“It felt nice to finally get up on the scoreboard,” Bauer said. “It’s not often that our team’s been scoring early, and it wasn’t just one play or one rush; it was our whole team going up and down the ice, playing the whole game, and it wasn’t just one play. It was our whole team breaking them down over time.”
Matt Cohen scored for Williamsville East just more than a minute and a half later to tie the game at one, but goals by Chace Woods and Downie in the first and a Ruhland goal just 2:12 into the second gave Niagara Wheatfield the lead for good. Ruhland’s goal came on the power play after the Flames took a four-minute major late in the first.
“Coach put me on the power play in front of the net because I’m a big body, so just basically doing what I was told to do and screen the goalie and get rebounds,” Ruhland said.
Alex Finley scored later in the second, but Bauer’s second of the game capped off the scoring with 2:29 left in the second. He reiterated the team effort that led to each of his goals.
“My linemates were there for me today,” Bauer said. “I was just able to capitalize today. Could have been any three of us. Could have been anybody on the team, so that’s just our team playing our system.”
Ruhland assisted the goal and again, he was just doing his job.
“Just get pucks to the net,” Ruhland said. “The last few games I’ve been hitting sticks, and I hit one tonight, but it landed right on Bauer’s tape and he put it in, so it felt good.”
And as the team has bought into and followed the systems, Ruhland could clearly see how that led to the five-goal outburst on Sunday night.
“I think just playing the system,” Ruhland said. “Cycling down low looked really good; using the points was good. I think just about everything down there — that’s always room for improvement, but I think it looked good today.”
“We did a nice a nice job of doing that for a couple periods, and then in the third we got away from it a bit,” Wrazin said. “But [the Flames] played hard in the third, so it was partially because of what they were doing. But we gotta learn to play through it and stick to what’s working.”
Not to be forgotten were Dominic Tallarico’s 32 saves in net for the Falcons.
“I don’t think I had any spectacular saves,” Tallarico said. “I just think I did what I needed to do and covered what I needed to cover and get the whistles we needed.”
And his team in front of him only made his job easier; knowing that he has this team in front of him gives Tallarico confidence.
“They did a good job of letting me see everything,” he said. “They got pucks away when they needed to, when I couldn’t get the cover, and it really helps a lot out there when you got guys in front of you that you can be confident behind.”
The confidence of the entire team was boosted by the win, and Wrazin and his players hope that the two-game win streak is a turning point in the season for Niagara Wheatfield.
“It’s a good win for us; I think the boys needed some confidence,” Wrazin said. “I think it’s a win that should help us to grow and move forward, especially in terms of getting everybody to believe and be on the same page.”
“It feels good,” said Ruhland. “It feels good to contribute to a good team win, and we just gotta keep moving forward.”
“It’s a big step in the right direction,” said Bauer. “Our past two games have definitely been different after a couple weeks off, and we hope to keep moving forward, to not take any more steps back.”
“It’s good to have back-to-back wins,” Tallarico said. “It really helps the team; gives you confidence throughout the season, and it might be a turning point in the season to help us keep building and building until you reach a point where it’s just automatic and we just can’t lose.”
Bauer knows the key to the Falcons’ continued success as they look ahead to the remainder of the season, which starts with a game Friday night against Orchard Park.
“This is a team game, and everyone’s gotta keep on playing for each other out there,” Bauer said. “So as long as we keep on playing for each other and moving forwards and not taking any more steps backwards, getting a solid finish and just sticking to the system, we’ll be alright.”