WATERTOWN, NY – The Watertown Wolves went into their signature scoring overdrive in game 5 to pound out a 6 -2 victory on home ice Saturday March 28 and claim the 2015 FHL Commissioner’s Cup.
“It feels surreal to win the trophy in our team’s first inaugural season,” said Watertown head coach Brent Clark. “We hoped for a good season; to have a product the fans would be proud of. I knew as I watched everything develop that we had a contender. Now that we’ve come out on top I couldn’t be more proud of my team, the ownership, and especially the fans.”
The first year Wolves went into the finals with home ice advantage, dominating the Danville Dashers 8 -2 in game one. Undaunted, the Dashers returned the volley 3 -1 on March 21 and sent the contest to Danville even-up. After two contests in Illinois left the series tied once more at 2 each, Watertown sharpened its offensive weaponry for the decisive final win at home.
“This is a great group of guys,” Danville forward Andrew Harrison related after the final game. “We really came together during the season. We finished strong and had a great playoff run. Unfortunately we came up one game short.”
In the end, it was Watertown’s blitzkrieg offense that would put the icing on the season’s cake. The Wolves had won 17 of their previous contests by scoring 6 or more goals; and on Feb. 19 had dealt the Berkshire Batallion a humiliating 13 – 0 loss. Forward Cody Dion was the recipient of the playoff MVP trophy, banging in 6 goals and 4 assists with a post season +9.
“Here’s to everybody that never believed in me,” Goaltender Jo St. Pierre stated on social media. “And to everybody that said I couldn’t. And to the rest that DID believe, let’s all drink from the cup… Champs!!!!!!
Both St. Pierre and forward Lucas LaBelle suffered game stopping injuries during the playoffs, but never missed a contest. During game 3 in Danville, St. Pierre was buried at the net by a crush of players and laid face-down on the ice for several minutes. “Things looked kind of blurry,” St. Pierre said. “I was afraid of a concussion; it would have been the 7th of my career.” Jo was able to skate out with help, and Nick Niedert went in net and would subsequently get the win.
The stretcher was eventually needed by game 4 in Danville, but not for a player. During intermission, a male fan dressed in high heels and carrying a purse fell and was carried off the ice while competing in an intermission relay game. “The hardest part of hockey is saying goodbye to teammates that you spent and share memories with for the past 7 months,” St. Pierre said. “Some of them you may see again, some of them you won’t. It’s been surreal and I’m happy to call you my brothers.”
Watertown photos courtesy of Candi Lago Churchill
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