North Tonawanda decided to win the division anyway.
The Lumberjacks lost five players with three regular season games left, and they took some time to regroup and make a division win the goal for this season. Without the depth they had before, coach Alan Zbytek and his team knew that a deep playoff run would be no easy task. But a division win for the first time in Fed history would give them something to be proud of as well as a first-round bye.
“We decided that we were gonna look at these next three games and winning our division as our championship,” Zbytek explained. “We knew being shorthanded, going deep in the playoffs would be something that would be an enormous task that I’m not really sure that we’d be up for, just because you need depth to be able to go for a long run, and having five guys off your team certainly depleted that depth for us.”
The Lumberjacks tied Kenmore West 5-5 and defeated Lockport 4-1 before facing Sweet Home on Saturday and needing just one more win to take the division.
A 2-1 win over Sweet Home did exactly that for the Lumberjacks, and Zbytek was as proud as his players were excited.
“The guys rose to the challenge and they came up big in the three games,” Zbytek said. “And this game especially, they had to win and they held on for the end with the other team pulling their goalie and we had to scramble, but they did it. They achieved their goal of winning their division. So I’m pretty proud of the players, and they’re pretty excited about it.”
Sweet Home had a chance at the division as well before losing to NT on Saturday, and with the parity of the two teams as well as other teams in Division 4 and the entire league, the Lumberjacks didn’t expect an easy game.
“I knew it was gonna be a hard game, tough battle, but I knew we had to work as a team,” said Anthony Schiavone.
Schiavone’s linemate, Austin Spatorico, scored the first goal of the game early in the first period, assisted by defenseman and captain Dan Smolka.
“That was just a good play,” Spatorico said. “Pressure in the zone, caused them to cough it up the middle, and I was just right there and able to step up, drive around, and caught the goalie far side.”
Spatorico was relieved to see his shot find the back of the net and give his team the first lead of the game.
“That was a big relief, huge relief,” he said. “It could have been different if that didn’t go in, but I didn’t want to see it go that way.”
Late in the second, Schiavone added to the lead with a goal of his own.
“I just forechecked pretty hard and stole the puck away, just came to the goalie and stuffed it in his five hole,” Schiavone explained. “It was a big goal. Really boosted our confidence, and we went from there.”
It’s that hard forecheck of Schiavone, Spatorico, and their linemate Jason Lindhurst that Zbytek has come to expect from the line. Although Lindhurst was without a point on Saturday, Zbytek was quick to praise all three players.
“Those two and Jason Lindhurst, who’s been their linemate on that line, have really kind of taken the role of being our forecheckers and giving us the offense that we need to win the games,” Zbytek said.
And while Smolka did record a point on Saturday, he and fellow captain and defenseman Kyle Crooks, along with Andrew Horn and Connor Krupa, have provided strong defense on a team depleted of both key forwards and defensemen. Those four are all NT has had for the past three games to get through each entire game.
“Our defense has been solid in the absence of those five players,” Zbytek said. “Dan Smolka and Kyle Crooks, Andrew Horn and Connor Krupa have been playing four defensemen for the last three games, and that’s a lot of ice time when you’re going out there every other shift and playing defense, and they’ve held it together for us to keep the games close so we can just squeak by in the games that we play.”
They’ve provided some offense as well. Horn scored twice in the game against Kenmore West and Crooks scored once.
Sweet Home scored one late in the second and came out strong in the third period on Saturday, but the Lumberjacks held their own even when the Panthers pulled their goalie late in the game.
“Our plan was just to slow the play down, just ice it whenever we can, and just let them not get chances,” Spatorico said.
After the game, the Lumberjacks were tired but ecstatic as they reflected on not just the game but the events of the past few weeks.
“It’s exciting,” Schiavone said. “I don’t know, everyone thought it would be a tough battle, but I knew we could do it.”
“This is fantastic,” Spatorico said. “We only had two lines, so we knew it was gonna be tough. We came in here after the first three shifts, we were already tired, and it’s just great.”
North Tonawanda won’t know Sunday’s opponent for sure until prequarterfinals are complete, which are scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Despite its lack of depth, this team has given Zbytek reason to be optimistic.
“We’re gonna have to be really strong defensively in order to keep the game within reach so we can hopefully get a bounce or two, and you never know,” Zbytek said. “We’re never gonna give up, and we’re gonna try our hardest with the players that we have, and they’re confident that they can play, and we just have to see what happens.”