Langley Saxons have now won the league for the third year in a row, including an undefeated streak.
At 13-0 for the second consecutive year (3-0 in the playoffs), the Saxons earned the top seed and won the Northern Virginia Scholastic Ice Hockey League championship, defeating Stonebridge 4-1 in the high school club. Team title match held at the Ashburn Ice House.
Adams District champion Langley, which received a bye in the first round, defeated Briar Woods 3-2 in the quarterfinals and Oakton 3-0 in the semifinals.
It was the team's fourth title in the past six years. The Saxons won 34 straight games in three seasons and made 16 consecutive playoff appearances.
“We didn't come into this season thinking about winning another championship,” Langley coach Patrick Keogh said. “We had our players focus on winning shifts, winning periods and winning small parts of the game. The rest will take care of itself.”
Langley was led by a stingy defense led by junior goaltender Harrison Smith and several converting forwards. Smith won 11 games and was named the league's Player of the Year, an award rarely given to goaltenders.
The Saxons allowed just 14 goals (just three in the playoffs) and posted six shutouts, including three in a row early in the regular season.
“We had a good goaltender and smart defensemen who could move the puck well and keep it out of the zone,” Keogh said. “If you play defense well, it will be easier to win.”
When Langley had possession of the puck and offensive coordinator Ian Keogh gave the instructions, Langley scored 73 goals.
Keogh said the depth from a strong junior varsity program allows Langley to play on the fourth line at times. This was another success factor and contributed to exhausting his opponents.
“That was a big advantage because we were able to keep our legs fresh and keep the tempo and crush them,” said Patrick Keogh.
Smith and senior forward and team captain Noah Scheinerman were Langley's two all-league players. Scheinerman was the team's leading scorer with 13 goals and 17 assists.
Scheinerman had one goal and two assists against Stonebridge (10-2-1). James Wu and Alexander Ohm each had one goal and one assist, Nicholas Samberg had one goal, and Chris Valko and Aidan Jack each had one assist.
Shinerman, Owen Slamowitz and Peter Kuligowski scored goals against Oakton, and Valko and Jack had assists. Scheinerman, Samberg and Wu scored against Briar Woods. Scheinerman, Samburg, Jack and Ethan Chao had assists.
With the goalie pulled, Briar Woods had a 6-3 advantage in the final 50 seconds, but Langley survived and escaped a penalty to win.
“It was a long minute,” Patrick Keogh said.
Wu, Valko, Ohm, Jack, Samburg, Chao, Slamowitz, Kuligowski, Grant Segal, Andrew Absleyman and James Prude were also scorers for Langley. Jihan Ekusi, Brady Nicholas, Aidan Flaherty, Zane Abuta, Ethan Oserman and Siddarth Imidisetty also played in a number of games and contributed for Langley.