With a perennially strong team, the Langley Saxons have come to expect to enjoy successful seasons. But an undefeated campaign? That was better than anticipated, according to Patrick Keough, the head coach of the high-school ice hockey club team.
Langley skated to a final 13-0 record, including a 3-0 mark in the playoffs, to win a second straight Northern Virginia School Hockey League tournament championship. Top seed Langley nipped No. 2 seed Briar Woods, 3-2, in overtime, in the championship match at the Ashburn Ice House in Loudoun County, in a repeat of last season’s final.
Overall, the title was Langley’s third in five seasons.
“Yes, we expect to be successful every season, because we have a group of players who have a lot of synergy, are dedicated to hockey, they work hard and put a lot into the season,” Keough said. “To go undefeated is very hard and exciting, because the teams in this league are so good.”
Langley finished the regular season with a 10-0 record and atop the Adams Division to earn the top seed in postseason play. With the three playoff victories, that upped the team’s two-season winning streak to 21 matches.
Against Briar Woods (10-2-1) in the title match, Kam Khazai scored the game-winning goal in overtime. He and Aidan Jacques scored the goals in regulation, with Noah Scheinerman having two assists and Cole Samburg one.
In goal, Harrison Smith stopped 47 of 49 shots to earn the win, and Langley survived four penalties, with Briar Woods having an extra-player advantage each time.
Langley had nipped Briar Woods by one goal, 5-4, in a regular-season match this winter.
“You would think eventually the hockey gods would go in favor of Briar Woods, maybe because we have had so many close matches with them recently,” Keough said.
In Langley’s other two playoff matches, it defeated eighth seed Riverside, 5-1, in the quarterfinals, then No. 6 seed Yorktown, 5-1, in the semifinals. Goals in those matches were scored by Khazai, Scheinerman, Andrew Abousleiman, Andy Zhang and Ethan Zhao. Assists went to Samburg, Scheinerman, Owen Slamowitz, Chris Valko and Keith Sun.
Smith got the wins in goal, with defensemen Valko and Jacques also leading that unit, as well.
Strong defense was a big reason for Langley’s success. The team outscored opponents 89-23, recorded two shutouts, and there were 10-1 and 8-2 victories.
“Our defense was outstanding and Harrison’s goaltending kept us from losing,” Keough said.
The coach said another big reason for the team’s success was being able to always play three quality lines without any dropoff.
“Three strong lines has big value and is a big advantage, because by late in games that can wear opponents down,” Keough said. “All of those lines could score, and they did score.”
Other players who scored with goals or assists during the season for the Langley team were Alex Oehm, Peter Kuligowski, Brady Nicholas, Gino Colabatistto, Sohil Kadam, Jack Hutchinson and Rohan Reddy.
NOTE: Last season, Lanley finished with a 10-3-1 overall record and was the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.
