Last Saturday, the Hockey team hosted Milford. The LIA was packed to the rafters with the biggest crowd in years. Lakeland Coach Matt Busterna observed: “It’s the biggest crowd I’ve seen in years.” The pulsing student section was bolstered by numerous Lakeland and Milford alumni and family. Everyone expected a classic and the teams were poised to deliver like Amazon on Christmas Eve. Spectators not on the edge of their seat were politely asked to leave the arena.

At stake: the vaunted Matt Langley Memorial trophy*. The Mavericks came out roaring, putting the Eagles on their heels forcing junior goalie Paul Baker into hero mode early on as he turned back a dozen shots. The teams traded scoring chances throughout the first but only managed to dial up the tension in the building to ‘night before the SAT’ levels. 0-0 after one.

In the second Lakeland beat a path to the penalty box for much of the period. Not to be outdone, Milford took a five minute major on senior Robby Lewis’ helmet. Emotions were on the rise while the game clock ticked on. The Mavericks’ PK unit was up to the challenge and killed off Lakeland’s entire man advantage. Finally with 1:25 to go in the 2nd the line of Brennan Grant, Luke Weinberger and Ryan Danielson tip-tapped the puck to each other as they entered the Milford zone. When the music stopped Grant found the puck on his stick and he fired it low, beating Junior Cooper Langley as Danielson and Weinberger drove the net. The Lakeland student body erupted led by Blue Crew captain Chey Whitney who best summarized the home crowd’s relief at Lakeland getting on the board: “GYYAHHHHHHH!!!!!”. 1-0 after two.

Lakeland stingily held on to the 1-0 lead. Pucks were sent deep into Milford territory as the Eagles buttoned up their defense. A quick Google search tells us one component of a Classic Game is that both teams must score. And the Mavs did just that taking advantage of a mishandled puck to walk in on Baker alone to tie the match. Scroll further into the search results and you’ll find the second component of a Classic is overtime heroics. 1-1 after three. Please read on.

The Eagles found their stride in the extra period putting 12 shots in Langley’s direction with Baker facing none. As it turned out the baker’s dozen(th) shot provided the winning goal. Facing forecheck pressure deep in the LHS zone, junior Brendan Day blew a tire as he cleared the puck to junior Elliot Smith. Smith made a risky gum-swallowing mid-ice pass that was eventually picked up by Day who had found his footing. Day gained the offensive zone and smartly centered the puck. It fell again to the Grant Danielson Weinberger line as Danielson picked up the puck in the high slot and sent it to the crease where Grant made the play of the game to find Luke Weinberger ready and willing to slam the puck home. 2-1 final.

Coach Tim Ronayne: “One word – Milford. Toss everything out the window. This game is played on emotion, talent and hard work. Coach (Dennis) Gagnon always has his team prepared and stoked for battle. Both goalies played lights out hockey. We had a season high seven penalties but the bottom line is we won. There is a ton of respect between our programs and win or lose it’s special because both teams leave it all out on the ice.”

*Matt Langley is a former Lakeland Eagle Varsity hockey player who we lost at a very young age to undiagnosed cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart). The trophy is a symbol of the Matt Langley Foundation which has partnered with Beaumont Student Heart Check program to build awareness of the often undetected condition and facilitate student testing. The Foundation also awards two $1,000 college scholarships annually to a Milford and Lakeland varsity hockey senior.