A week and a couple hours ago, some of the Fed’s best seniors took the ice at First Niagara Center. For some of them, they’d never touch the ice again. For others, it was just another hockey game on the way to bigger and better things.
But for all of them, it was the last time they’d play in a competitive high school hockey game as the Buffalo seniors faced off against some of Rochester’s best.
Among Buffalo’s seniors were Alex Hailey, who led his Niagara Falls team in scoring this year and last and was selected to the Bowman Cup both years as well, but who hadn’t skated since his last high school playoff game in February and whose hockey career likely ended last Sunday.
“I was pretty nervous,” Hailey said. “I hadn’t skated since our last playoff game, so I knew I was gonna be a little rusty going out there in the first period, but I thought I got my legs under me and played pretty well.”
But last Sunday, Hailey scored twice in a 6-3 Buffalo loss, a game that he was just excited to be a part of.
“It was fun playing with some of the best players from around here and Rochester,” Hailey said. “It was a great honor. I was pretty excited coming out here.”
Garrett Downie scored Buffalo’s other goal, sandwiched between Hailey’s two goals. The Niagara Wheatfield senior could be nearly unstoppable on the ice, and everyone knew it. Downie led the Falcons to the large school Section VI finals, where they lost to Williamsville North.
Downie finished the regular season with 13 goals and 3 assists in 16 regular season games, earning him his second Bowman Cup selection. He was excited, and despite some fatigue from spending the weekend playing hockey out of town, Downie gave the game his all.
“It was pretty exciting to know that I got back-to-back years,” Downie said. “I thought it was gonna be a highly competitive game like usual. I just went out there and went as hard as I could.”
His effort resulted in a goal, and despite the loss, Downie enjoyed playing alongside travel teammates and former familiar opponents.
“It was pretty fun to play with the boys; play against people I’ve played with, play with people I’ve played against,” Downie said.
Hailey’s first goal of the game came from Orchard Park defenseman TJ Maloney, a leader whose passion for the game was evident in not only the way he played but in every interview. His contagious attitude spread to his teammates, and the Quakers’ strong season came to an end in the large school semifinals with a tough loss to Niagara Wheatfield.
“Coach texted me through a group chat with our team,” Maloney explained how he learned of his Bowman Cup selection. “To be honest, I was kinda surprised. I didn’t think I had the best year. But I was happy.”
He was disappointed with the loss last Sunday, as were most of his teammates, but also just felt honored to be there. Like Hailey, last Sunday may well have been the end of Maloney’s hockey career.
“I expected to win,” Maloney said. “It’s alright that we didn’t. I’m okay. I had family here, so definitely wanted to win, but it happens.”
He still had fun.
“It was a lot of fun,” Maloney said. “It’s special, something you’re gonna take away the rest of your life. I’m just super happy I was a part of it last year and this year.”
His Bowman Cup experience is something he’ll never forget, but Maloney’s time playing hockey for Orchard Park was full of memories that will last him a lifetime.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better four years from everybody that was a part of it,” Maloney said. “It made my high school life — I can’t trade anything. It was awesome.”
Hailey’s second goal was assisted by a couple of captains — Williamsville South captain Jeff Browne and North Tonawanda captain Kyle Crooks.
Browne spent his junior year playing for the Buffalo Regals before the Regals’ split-season schedule this year allowed him to return to the Billies and lead his team all the way to the small school semifinals before losing in overtime to the eventual state champion, Kenmore East. And, of course, playing for his school and leading his team the way he did led to a Bowman Cup selection for Browne along with his junior (not senior) linemate, Alex Fix.
On Sunday, Browne couldn’t play with Fix, but he found his way onto the score sheet anyway with an assist.
“I love playing with him, so it was tough,” Browne said of Fix. “He’s a guy that I can really work with out there, but not having anybody that I really played with before was tough, but it’s okay. We’re all good players, so everybody meshed pretty well.”
Although he hadn’t played at South with many of the Bowman Cup seniors, there were several that he’d played with in some form or another, mostly on travel teams growing up.
“It was great, just to play with everybody that I’d played with before,” Browne said. “There was like eight or nine guys on this team that I played with at one point or played against, so it was really cool to play with them all again in your last game. It’s just interesting because everybody comes back together, and to be able to do that is really special.”
Browne’s hockey career isn’t over yet, he hopes. He plans to attend SUNY ESF in the fall and play for Syracuse. But his South Puck career has come to an end, and it’s something he’ll never forget.
“It was awesome to come back this year and go as far as we did,” Browne said. “It’s something that you’ll never forget, so it was great memories, great team bonding. It’s just being a family; it’s unlike anything else you’ll ever experience.”
Kyle Crooks led North Tonawanda through a difficult season to a Division 4 championship, its first ever division championship. The Lumberjacks lost in the playoffs to Hamburg, but they had a season to be proud of, especially Crooks. Another coach once said that he’d have to consider Crooks when drawing up his game plans, and that’s an indicator of a good defenseman.
Crooks was worthy of his Bowman Cup selection, something he’d worked and hoped for all season.
“I was really excited,” Crooks said. “I was looking forward to it. I was hoping I would make it, and I did, so I was happy about that.”
He didn’t expect the game to be easy as North Tonawanda’s lone representative, but he made his way onto the score sheet and enjoyed the experience.
“It would be a new experience because I was usually used to everyone I’m playing with, but I was looking forward to it and just tried my best,” Crooks said. “It was a great learning experience, a lot of fun, and a good way to end my hockey career.”
Crooks shared some memories along with his hopes for the future of the North Tonawanda program.
“I’ve loved the coaches and the players every year,” he said. “They’ve taught me a lot, and I hope they do well in the future.”
Crooks plans to attend Gannon University in the fall, and he hopes to continue his hockey career there.
The assists on Downie’s goal came from the nearly unstoppable combination of state champion Kenmore East’s AJ Marinelli and Trevor Pray. They spent all season setting each other up to finish and each finished with 14 goals and 15 assists.
Pray scored the overtime game-winning goal in the Bulldogs’ semifinal win over Williamsville South, five goals in a 5-1 Section VI championship win, and both the game-tying goal and the overtime game winner in the state championship. More often than not, it was Marinelli setting him up, usually with a backdoor pass.
But last Sunday, the pair set up travel teammate Garrett Downie to score.
“AJ chipped it up the boards to me,” Pray began to explain.
“Yeah, I had it,” said Marinelli. “He was calling for it, and I just heard him and I knew exactly where he was, so–”
“And then I picked it up, I slid it over to Garrett, and the guy actually deflected it into his chest, and Garrett batted it out of the air and into the net,” Pray finished.
Pray spent last season playing for the Jr. Sabres before returning to Kenmore East hockey this season to play for his father, coach Kyle Pray, and alongside some of his best friends, including AJ. Trevor informed AJ of his selection, and both were excited to play with each other and other players they knew in one more high school game.
“I was pretty excited that I got to play one more high school hockey game,” Trevor said.
“Trevor texted me and I was pretty excited, especially because I played in it last year, two years in a row, so it was pretty cool,” said Marinelli.
“There were only a couple kids on the team we just had that I hadn’t played with before, so it was fun, but we just couldn’t bury the puck.”
But the bittersweet feeling they had after the game didn’t have much to do with the loss; it had more to do with the end of their high school hockey careers and their time playing together.
“It was fun playing my last high school hockey game,” Pray said.
“Pretty upsetting at the same time though,” Marinelli added.
Pray and Marinelli are playing on the same team in a league at HarborCenter this spring, and then Pray’s plans are to play junior hockey in either Boston or Philadelphia, while Marinelli hopes to play club hockey at either Niagara University or the University at Buffalo.
While it’s sad to see their high school careers come to an end, there isn’t much more they could have asked for than a state championship followed by the Bowman Cup.
“It was fun playing with all your buds and winning a state championship, so that’s what I’m gonna miss,” said Pray.
“It’s been a great four years,” added Marinelli.