Days before his final hockey season was to begin Alex Fix suffered a devastating injury.
In one of the last practices before their first game a freak accident with a teammate resulted in a sliced tendon in his right hand. Delaying the start of what was to be a very promising year for the Williamsville South Billies hockey club.
I happened to be at the Northtown Center that afternoon looking to speak with Fix and other players for a season preview. Fix’s condition took precedent and he was rushed to Immediate Care for treatment. Initially, the prognosis was that he’d miss 10 days. That turned out to be false information and Fix missed about six weeks.
“That was the hardest part, just watching, wishing I could be out there with the team” Fix said. The four-year Varsity player sat idly by while his team went 3-6. Fix still travelled with the Billies including down-state to Skaneateles to play Pelham a Section I powerhouse and John-Jay in early January.
“It hasn’t been easy. After receiving some false information and then talking with the school trainer the decision was made to have surgery. It was definitely a punch in the gut.” Fix said.
Last season Fix was a 2nd Team All-Star in Division III, and led his team in goals with 17. He had hopes for improving this year but has had to set new goals. It was no secret that Fix was going to be one of the players to watch this season.
The roster improved as well with the addition of Zach Rehbaum, just a junior but already committed to Brown University. The tandem of Fix and Rehbaum is enough to keep opposing coaches and goaltenders for that matter up at night.
Fortunately for Fix and the Billies, wounds heal. Alex returned to the Will South lineup on January 19th in an 8-1 loss to Kenmore West. Since then however, the Billies have gone 4-1 including back-to-back wins over West Seneca East and North Tonawanda. And Fix was a big part of the resurgence. In 7 games Fix has scored three goals and have added 4 assists, good for seven points.
In Friday’s 6-1 win over the Trojans Fix scored a goal and added three assists. He followed the four-point performance up with a goal Saturday in the 2-1 win over the Lumberjacks.
The Billies have one more regular season game left, a 1pm puck drop vs St. Francis this coming Saturday. The last time the two teams met was on December 17th with the Red Raiders taking the 5-3 decision.
“We have an opportunity to surprise some teams” coach Sean Green said. “We’ve got Alex back and the boys are really excited about that, we’re not out of it.” He’s right, the Billies are coming together at the right time and seem to be firing on all cylinders, the win over West Seneca East was a huge confidence boost because it came just a few days after being blown out by Grand Island.
“I had personal goals for myself but with what happened and this late in the season that’s just not possible, but there are still the team goals. That’s always the most important. The team aspect of it, getting the guys to believe. Getting everybody to contribute because that’s really what we need if we are going to make a run.” Fix said.
With Alex back in the fold that just might have been the Fix the team needed.
(Photo Courtesy of Will South Hockey)
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