Saturday night, The MCLA Trailblazers beat the Rivier University Raiders 4-3 in a barnburner. It was a historic night for MCLA where they registered their first win in 20 years. To me, the game was more than just a historic night, more than a comeback, more than a win. It was a statement. It was a glimpse of the bright future for a group of resilient, hungry, young men. MCLA fell behind early 2-0 on back to back ti-in goals. The Trailblazers got on their horses, pushed play to the other end and scored within the next few minutes. Momentum would swing back again where MCLA would be called for a questionable boarding minor, shortly after the power play was over, Rivier would score on a nip on a breakaway. 

This resilient team would fight back into the game and rally behind goaltender, Mat Gover, who displayed his athleticism, composure and timeliness of robbing several grade-A chances early in the 2nd period. MCLA reminded me of the 1980’s USA miracle on ice team with their hunger and tenacity. They fought for every puck, guys would be pinching in for puck support and taking hits to move the puck up ice. Just like Herb Brooks’ USA team, they grinded down the other team with their constant forecheck and willingness to fight for every puck. By the 3rd period MCLA was taking it to Rivier University. They were possessing the puck in the offensive zone for lengthy amounts of time and winning almost all of the board battles. Between the devastating forecheck and fast smooth transition game, MCLA was able to score 3 unanswered goals in the 3rd period. MCLA continued to fight for every puck, they refused to sit back and give Rivier a chance to tie it up. 

With the last two minutes and an extra attacker for Rivier, I saw the true ire of the Trailblazers unit. I saw brothers sacrificing their bodies and selling out to win for each other. Defensemen and forwards were blocking shots, diving into passing lanes, and crawling to block the next shot. I lost count of how many blocks there were as the two minutes slowly ticked down. They did it, the clock reached zero. I recall a Raiders fan exclaim towards the end of the 3rd period, “These guys don’t look like the same team that played in the 1st period.” It is true they didn’t have a ton of offensive possession in the first, but they had the same fight for every puck battle. Just like the boxer Mickey Ward, MCLA fought tooth and nail for every 1 on 1 battle in the game, wore down their adversary, and landed the knockout blow. This team is committed to their coaching system, the game, and to each other. I’m excited to see MCLA’s journey, it is going to be an exciting, passionate, and hard fought one.