Mustang captain comes up clutch
When the season was on the line, the Saint Michael Mustangs looked to their captain Lucas Nalezinski.
The Grade 12 student didn’t disappoint, scoring twice, assisting on the winning goal and helping his team kill the final seconds on the clock as the Mustangs edge the Blessed Trinity Thunder 4-3 in the Niagara Catholic Athletic Association AAA boys hockey final Wednesday in Grimsby.
“That is your role as captain,” said Nalezinski, who played AAA hockey for the Southern Tier Admirals from age 10 until quitting last year. “When your team gets down 2-0, you have to put your team on your back.”
Nalezinski did just that turning a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 advantage in the second period with a pair of unassisted goals.
The forward has been snake-bit all season and was glad to finally cash in when it mattered the most.
“I’ve been hitting four or five goalposts or crossbars every game before today. When you put in the work that happens,” he said of his offensive outburst Wednesday.
He takes his captaincy seriously.
“You have to show up every game. Some days, some guys don’t show up but you have to be ready to play when the time matters.”
He has been captain for two seasons and is honoured to have the role.
Paul Di Francesco, who coaches the team along with Frank Pietrangelo and John Carmichael, is a big fan of Nalezinski.
“He is probably one of the best captains we’ve ever had at our school. He is a great kid on and off the ice. He is respectful, hard working, a great student and I am so happy that things worked out for him.”
Di Francesco agreed there’s nothing better than when your best players are your best players at important times.
“All year he has been hitting posts or scoring. Every game he has done something. It is not a surprise to us that he is the one that really did well.”
Facing a two-goal deficit was nothing new for the Mustangs.
“Today’s game was like most of our games this year. We have had a lot of leads and given them up or we had to come back from a deficit,” Di Francesco said. “The boys are used to it so there was no fear on the bench or nervousness. Everyone just expected that we would come back and score a couple of goals.”
The squad has a great team dynamic.
“I think it is the closeness of the kids which helps us. Everyone believes in each other.”
The Mustangs won the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association title last season but this year’s squad is much different.
“Last year we had a lot of skilled guys and triple A guys. This year, we are a bunch of grinders and everyone shows up and this is what happens,” Nalezinski said. “You win but it takes a team effort every single time.”
That team effort was especially noticeable in the dying seconds of the game when the Mustangs blocked three shots with Blessed Trinity’s goalie pulled.
“We had a Grade 9 soak in three shots at the end to prevent a goal.”
Nalezinski, who will be starting an electrical apprenticeship at the end of this school year, said there’s no secret to how the Mustangs will be successful at SOSSA.
“Everyone has got to show up and everyone has to play. It’s a team effort.”
Blessed Trinity coach Mark Mazzetti called the final a good game.
“There was a lot of back and forth and we had a lot of pressure on them the whole time. We never gave up and they had a couple of lucky breaks and they held on,” he said. “There was not enough time in the game unfortunately. We needed a few more minutes.”
The adage that a two-goal lead is the worst in hockey held true Wednesday.
“But we battled back and tied it up,” Mazzetti said. “They got a lucky break. It was a broken play with a goal that went off of the defender’s arm and kind of trickled in but that’s hockey. Sometimes you get those breaks and sometimes they go against you. The kids played very well and I was impressed with their work ethic. They played a clean game of hockey today — we didn’t go in the box — but we didn’t have enough goals to win it.”
Mazzetti felt his team had an excellent season.
“We played really well. I think we only lost a game or two and we won the Lakeshore tournament. We ran into a bit of a wall today but best of luck to those guys. They have their work cut out for them at SOSSA.”
The Thunder will lose four or five seniors to graduation, including their starting goalie, their top centre and a couple of wingers,
“The good news is that we are pretty deep and we have a lot of kids who are going to come in and fill that gap,” Mazzetti said.
STATS PACK
Mustangs 4 Thunder 3
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Saint Michael’s Lucas Nalezinski with two goals and an assist.
For the Saint Michael Mustangs: Nalezinski (2); Riley Dugas; Keegan Masterson.
For the Blessed Trinity Thunder: John Carmasino (2); Brogan Barton.
Game stats: Shots on goal: by Saint Michael on Daniel Chiarella 28; by Blessed Trinity on Ethan Westlake 32. Penalty minutes: Saint Michael 4, Blessed Trinity 0. Power plays: Saint Michael 0-0; Blessed Trinity 1-2.
Up next: Saint Michael advances to the SOSSA AAA boys championships March 4 in Hamilton.
