Senior Kevin Bennett and junior Cole Beiter have experienced the joy of a state championship. They’ve also experienced the heartbreak of losing to their biggest rival, St. Joe’s, in the Monsignor Martin finals.
Both players are about to start their third season as members of Canisius’ varsity Fed team, and this year they’re hoping that the tables will turn their way once again.
“My sophomore year, beating Joe’s, that was probably the best game of my life,” said Bennett, this year’s captain. “And then last year — I’ve been on both ends. Been on the losing end, been on the winning end, and last season that just motivated me even more during the summer to just get better and come out this year stronger and better than ever.”
“Losing to Joe’s was just a horrible feeling,” said Beiter. “It was awful, so we’ll just use that as motivation to come back this year and hopefully win.”
Last season, the Crusaders started off the season 2-0 before a one-goal loss to St. Joe’s and two overtime games with Niagara Wheatfield that resulted in a tie and a loss. Bennett and Beiter felt that they started off strong before slowing down.
They ended the regular season with four straight league losses before defeating Timon in the private school semifinals and then losing to St. Joe’s in a hard fought game. The final score was 4-0, but it didn’t tell the whole story.
“We prepared for the game; we left everything out on the ice that night,” said Canisius coach Sam Belsito. “I thought we played very structured defense for the championship game last year. We battled throughout the entire game. The score was 4-0, but in all reality, it was 2-0. They scored two empty-net goals. They had a power play goal, and they scored a goal — I had a defenseman pivot at the blue line and fell down, and they went in on a breakaway. I thought the game was much closer than it was on the score sheet.”
Regardless of how they lost, it hurt, and it’s something the Crusaders would like to leave in the past as soon as possible. To do that, they’ll need to play hard, and they’ll need to be unselfish. It won’t be all finesse from Canisius this year.
“I think we’re gonna be a lot more gritty and blocking shots and just better all around,” said Beiter.
“So far, just seeing everyone showing up to the workouts, I think our work ethic is a lot stronger than it has been, and I think that’s gonna translate into success out on the ice,” Bennett said. “I just think we need to compete more. I thought last year we were almost kind of too individual — too many selfish plays. This year we need to, like Cole was saying, more blocked shots, just those nitty gritty things that will translate into success.”
“I think we need to be more of a family like we were my freshman year,” Beiter added. “Everyone was on the same page that year, so I think we need to start off on the right foot.”
Belsito wants to see more “mental toughness” from this year’s team. He’s made it his focus since last season ended, and he’s already seen a difference.
“You’re gonna make mistakes while you’re out there, things are gonna happen, but you gotta have a short memory and move on from it. And I thought last year, we hung on to a couple mistakes, and it kinda cost us in the end there,” Belsito said. “Mental toughness. That’s what we’ve talked about all summer long. We’ve worked all summer long. Kids have worked out all summer long, the kids have skated all summer long, they’ve been together all summer long. The group that I brought back this year is visibly different mentally. You can just tell by the way practices started, you can tell by the way Kevin Bennett, as my captain, has just kind of grabbed everybody and said, ‘Hey, this is how we’re gonna do this, this is how things are gonna work here, this is how we do it,’ and the guys have stepped right in line, and they’re behind him 100 percent.”
Belsito sets his expectations high for his captains. He did last year with Matt Santora, and it’s no different this year with Bennett.
“The kid has matured incredibly on the ice and even more so off the ice,” Belsito said of Bennett. “He’s right on point all the time, much like Matty Santora was last year. He speaks up in the locker room when something needs to be said, and he’s always down in my office at school asking about this, asking about that, making sure that things are where they’re supposed to be, and keep everything organized. So he’s done a very good job so far.”
“I’m close to a lot of the guys in the room, so I would say I kinda have that big brother type role,” Bennett said. “I try every time I’m on the ice to be the hardest worker on the ice. I’m not always the most skilled guy, but if I’m out there, I’m hopefully gonna be the hardest worker out there.”
Assistant captains have not been named as of yet, but Belsito expects Beiter to take a leadership role as well.
“He’s only a junior, so he played his first year as a freshman when we won the state championship, so Cole knows what it’s all about to get to the very top and compete at that level and what it takes to win at that level,” Belsito said. “So I’m expecting Cole to take a much bigger active role in the leadership department as well. I’m also looking for him to pick up in the scoring, picking up goal scoring where we’ve kind of lost some guys from last year. So he’s gonna have a lot on his plate too for the season.”
“I’ll yell. I get pretty into it, so I think I’ll just be more the disciplinarian,” Beiter said.
“You bring the comic relief too,” added Bennett.
Speed, dedication, and teamwork will be the strengths this year. The Canisius team has always referred to itself as a family. It was evident when the Crusaders won states, but last year, they admittedly lost sight of that motto.
“I think we’re a fast group of guys,” Bennett said. “We got a lot of younger kids who are skilled, and everyone can skate. I think that’s our biggest strength, is just our skating ability and our speed.”
“Everyone’s willing to play. They all want to play. Every single kid wants to play, so that’s what I’m really excited about this year,” said Beiter. “I just think we need to work on our chemistry and make sure that we are all on the same page starting the season, and we need to keep it going throughout the whole season.”
“Hard work. Team dedication,” said Belsito. “We always have this little talk in the locker room about being a family and working for each other and playing for each other and sacrificing for each other, doing things out of character, things that you wouldn’t normally do, and doing it for the betterment of the team, and that’s what I’ve been preaching already, and the kids seem to be following along with that, so that’s where we’re going, that’s where we’re headed this year. We’re gonna work hard, we’re gonna play hard, and we’ll see how the season goes.”
The goal for the season might be considered lofty, but it’s a simple one, a goal every Crusader can agree on.
“Win states, beat Joe’s,” said Bennett.
Canisius opens its season Nov 28 against Orchard Park at HarborCenter. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:30 pm.