On March 19th the Freshmen Gold Team won the Developmental Suffolk County Division. To those outside the program this may have looked like an upset, but internally we all saw the mometum heading in the right direction since Dec. 2024.
The team coached by Dennis Fagan and Ed Friers, along with Steve Neumann, started off playing catch up with some of the teams, such as Kings Park, Sachem and East Islip. But we could all see loses by 4 and 5 goal differtials the first time we played a team went to 1 or 2 goal differentials, and by the 3rd time we were beating these same opponents. Off to a 2-7 start all the players could see the promise, and turned their efforts into a 10-10 record to finish the season.
In the playoff they faced a 19-1 East Islip squad, and thanks to excellent goaltending and bend but don’t break defense, the T-Birds knocked of the overwhelming favorites 3-2 through a Shootout. Danny Friers stopped more then 40 shots throughout the game, and all 5 Shootout opponents.
In the championship game the T-Birds carried the play vs Kings Park and took a 3-1 Lead into the 3rd period thanks to goals from Chace McManus and two from Logan Dietz, off of great plays by Matt Teller and Frank VanGordon to set up Logan. In the third period Danny Friers once again backstopped the T-Birds to the victory and championship with another 3-2 win.
This was the first season for the T-birds to enter a team into the Developmental Division, and needless to say it was a successful one! Big thank you to the parents for their support throughout the season and at the games. Truly a Team built on success through team work and strong support. Congrats to the Team and Coaches.