Finally.
That word summed up the Lancaster Legends’ 3-1 victory over the Williamsville North Spartans to give them a Section VI title for the first time in school history. It’s even sweeter because it came against a powerhouse that wasn’t just the defending sectional champion but also had multiple teams win state and sectional crowns over the years.
“It’s a huge moment for this school and I’m just really happy for those boys in that locker room,” Coach John Bak said. “We’ve had a lot of very good hockey teams but we’ve always fallen a little bit short. To be able to finally accomplish that end goal – win the section in a year that’s had so much craziness with COVID and pauses and not knowing if you’re even going to have a season and actually cap it off this way was outstanding.
“Will North’s a great team. I’ve definitely got to tip my cap to Bob Rosen and his team, but luckily Ruffner held in there for us and gave us a chance to score a couple.”
Ruffner – as in goaltender Joshua Ruffner, who made 35 saves to be named the game’s Most Valuable Player – was ecstatic following the game.
“It’s a great feeling,” Ruffner said. “Going from maybe not even having a season to winning the whole thing… this group of boys is amazing and what they got to accomplish this year is incredible.”
Reed Lasker got Lancaster on the board first late in the first period after a mix-up behind the Spartans’ net led to the puck squirting out in front and the forward scoring into an open net. In the second stanza of play, David Blachowski increased the team’s lead by two after he found himself alone in the slot and wristed a shot past Spartans goalie Henry Braun and the Legends began to dream of a sectional title being theirs.
Williamsville North wasn’t going to go down without a fight though, as Mac Ward cut the lead in half after he deflected a shot past Ruffner nearly two minutes later. Game on, Ruffner thought, as he proceeded to shut down the Spartans the rest of the way.
“Ruffner played outstanding today,” Bak said. “He had an extremely strong game today for us and gave us a chance to win the game.”
Ruffner’s efforts paid off midway through the third period as Carson Schlager sealed the win for the Legends with a goal off a breakaway (his third point of the day – one goal, two assists). Ten minutes later, Lancaster was celebrating their first Section VI championship.
“Carson’s a kid that works so hard in every practice and every game,” Bak said. “As skilled and talented as he is, for him to put in the type of practice time that he does is really outstanding. So to see him have that kind of success in this big of a game is really deserving for him.”
Given the COVID-19 pandemic, it wasn’t confirmed until a few months ago whether there would be a high school hockey season in Western New York at all. Now that the season is over, Bak felt as if his team was fortunate to have the on-ice results that they had.
Janet Schultz/WNYAthletics.com file photo
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