Coach David Ambler knew something was different after his hockey club went on a holiday trip to Detroit to play in a tournament in December.
The Mansfield Hockey Association went up against some tough competition from some Michigan and Canadian high schools. Ambler’s players also got to bond in a way they haven’t before.Thanks to that trip, Ambler’s group has roared through AT&T Metroplex High School Hockey League Silver Division playoffs and won the Silver Division championship. MHA took down Grapevine 5-2 on Thursday in the championship game.The win capped off a dominant run by MHA, which outscored its opponents 14-3 in the playoffs. Ambler believes it was that Detroit trip in December when things turned around.“Being an ISD team, we’re made up of four different high schools,” Ambler said. “The guys don’t see each other day to day, only on the rink. When you’re on the road, you’re together all the time.”It also helped that MHA went on a run in that trip, all the way to the tournament championship. MHA didn’t come out with a win, but Ambler said that experience gave the team confidence when it came back to Texas.That showed in the final stretch for MHA. The team lost to Southlake Carroll and Plano East by only two goals combined. Carroll and Plano East are two of the top teams in the entire league.MHA won its three playoff games in three days, which Ambler said was no easy feeat with fatigue settling in toward the end of the run. MHA won its first playoff game 3-0 against McKinney. Goalie Joe Sheppard stopped every shot he faced and Kyle Watson, Bobby Baumeister and Cameron Clark scored the goals.Ambler said he was proud of how his entire team stepped up. It also helped that Baumeister got healthy at the right time. Baumeister led the team in scoring in the playoff games.“He was injured and dinged up all year but he was back to 100 percent for the playoffs,” Ambler said. “He provided Watson with some support.”Against Marcus on Wednesday, MHA dominated the second and third periods to win going away, 6-1. Watson scored two goals and Baumeister added another to help secure the win.In the championship, MHA never trailed, grabbing a 2-0 goal lead at the end of the first period. Grapevine would close the gap to 4-2 in the third but Baumeister scored an empty-net goal to seal the win.The championship means that MHA will now travel to Houston this weekend to compete in the Texas Cup State Tournament. Ironically, its first-round opponent will be Marcus, who MHA bested in the first round of the playoffs.Ambler, who is in his first year of coaching this group, said the run was just a combination of the team coming together at the right time and executing when it mattered most.“The guys really played well and they executed,” Ambler said. “We’ve gotten strong goaltending, paid attention to the details and had good special teams, taking advantage of the power play.”Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
