They’ll never forget how last season ended. They were 38 seconds away from defeating Kenmore East in the small school semifinals. But Kenmore East tied the game then and won in overtime, while Williamsville South was left to think about all they’d accomplished that season.
It was a season to remember, and while the Billies might wish that final minute had gone differently, they had plenty to be proud of last season. They had a strong group of senior leaders, including Brendan DesRosiers, Jake Fuzak, and Jeff Browne, and a high-scoring offense that included a top line of Browne, Mason Cool, and junior Alex Fix.
Fix is back this year, and while he’ll start the season with an upper body injury that will likely keep him out of a few games, this year’s team has a returning defensive core and goaltender Michael Woods, who carried South through its playoff run last year. Last year’s leaders left behind a legacy that this year’s seniors are eager to carry forward.
“We had a lot of success last year, a lot of good things that happened,” coach Sean Green said. “So our boys were excited about that, and the underclassmen were using that as motivation, so I think they’re looking forward to continue the strong leadership that we had last year. This year’s team, we have a lot of young guys, a lot of new fresh faces, so we’re trying to instill that South character and the tradition of what we do and how we play.”
Fix won’t let his injury keep him from being one of those leaders this year, regardless of how much he can be on the ice to start the season.
“I’m still gonna be around all the time, all the practices and stuff,” Fix said. “I plan to skate a little bit to keep my legs in shape, and I’ll just be there for the guys. I’ll be there all the time just like nothing happened.”
Woods and defenseman Dylan Utz will be leaders on this year’s team as well, both on and off the ice. And they want to see last year’s strong teamwork carry into this year.
“We were so close last season and things are starting to look up for us. If we come together as a team and keep battling, we can get just as far if not further,” Woods said. “I think there’s a lot of togetherness on this team. It’s like a family environment, and I think that helps and it translates onto the ice when we’re playing together. And hopefully it’ll all come together, everything will piece together, and we’ll have a great season moving forward. I hope to give my team the best chance to win every night, and when I’m not playing, support everyone else on the team and have a positive attitude and try to contribute to the team in the best way possible.”
“Last season, all the seniors brought us together. We worked as a team and that’s probably what brought us to how far we got,” Utz said. “On the bench, even off the ice, I’ll try to influence my guys to play better, hopefully give them more purpose to skate harder, go fight for the pucks more, and win every battle.”
There’s an almost even mix of returning players and new, but Green pointed out that the new players had a successful season with the JV team last year. Green, Woods, and Utz already like what they see from the younger players and hope it continues.
“We got about seven or eight kids coming off a very successful JV team last year, so we’re hoping to see that help us out this year,” Green said. “A lot of young guys, a lot of new guys, even guys who were on the team last year and didn’t have a prominent role, now will be forced into that. They have the skill to play here. As soon as they get their confidence, the faster they can get acclimated and the better we’ll be right off the bat.”
“We have a lot of returning guys that have played together for a long time since they were young, so there’s a lot of fluency there, but we have a lot of young talent coming up too, and they’re energized and they’re fighting to play and they’re ready to go, and once the doors open, they’re ready to hit the ice,” Woods said. “I think there’s a lot of guys that developed in the offseason. Nobody specific, but there’s a lot of surprises and a lot of guys who have gotten a lot better. They’re working hard every day to get even better because there’s no such thing as perfect, and that’s for any position, so guys keep working, keep developing.”
“Kids that made the team this year are gonna try harder to start, even with the returning kids,” Utz said. “And hopefully their determination stays with them the whole year, if they start or if they don’t start.”
Green is excited to see what Woods, Utz, and Fix will bring to the team this year as well. All three have been reliable at their positions in the past, and Green expects it to continue.
“[Woods] came through for us in the playoffs and just got on a run and played phenomenal,” Green said. “As the playoffs went on, he kept getting more and more confidence. Last year, he split the duties with Cam Carney and did a great job, and Woods started the playoffs and just went on a run there, so hopefully that carries through for Michael. He’s working really hard and he’s a team leader, very well respected in the locker room.
“Dylan [Utz] will be a four-year varsity defenseman player. His brother played for the program — he’s been around for a long time. Just a hardworking, all-around tough-nosed defenseman with great leadership. Dylan can play shutdown defense. If we need offense, he can lead the attack and play offensively. He’s just a very coachable young man, and he’s one of the kids we’re expecting to step up as a leader.”
Beginning the season without Fix won’t be easy for the Billies, but they’ll take every precaution to be sure he’s prepared for the end of the season and especially the playoffs.
“Bringing back Al Fix was huge for us; we’re expecting big things out of Al Fix,” Green said.
“I hope to be able to come back strong and get right back into it and help my team succeed from whatever position we’re in,” Fix said.
The Billies also return Austin Martin, Jake Wehr, Brady Homberger, Will Holyoke, and Dan Berke this year. Green expects depth and speed to be strengths this season, with a focus on defense and goaltending.
“I think one of our assets could be depth, just seeing how guys are performing so far,” Green said. “We’ll know as the scrimmages and games get going. Depth-wise this year, we might be able to roll more lines and we should have more defensemen. I like our speed. A lot of kids out there who can really skate well. I like the fact that we’ll be able to instill that component in our systems, having speed all over and trying to cause congestion everywhere, so that’s gonna help us.”
“We have strong goaltending,” said Utz. “We’re strong all around, I think, even with the new guys and returning players. The flow of the game might start out rough, but by the time we get into the season, we should be ready and flowing like we did last year.”
And like they did last year, the Billies hope to go far this year. They’ll need to work hard and work together, and they hope to once again have the support of one of the most loyal student sections in the area.
“The ultimate goal is to get to states and win states,” Woods said. “I think that’s the goal every season — always set the bar high. Never sell yourself short because if you believe in what you can do, you can go very far.”
“I think we need to come together as a team, not have any disputes between us, and if we work as a team, we should be able to get as far as we did, maybe even farther,” Utz said.
“We gotta come together like last year, get our school involved with it, and try to just start with what we had at the end of last season,” said Fix.
Williamville South begins its season tonight at 6 pm against McQuaid before beginning league play Dec. 1 against Niagara Falls. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:30 pm at Northtown Center.