Troy

Title defended

By Mike Moore
C & G Sports Writer

Athens recaptures OAA Division crown for second time in two seasons

TROY — Technically, they are the Red Hawks, but when the 2009-10 season began, the guys on Troy Athens’ hockey team, in the words of senior Mike MacKinnon, were the “top dogs.”

And they had a target on their backs.

After claiming the Oakland Activities Association Division II crown last year, Athens entered the current season heavily favored to defend its title, but maybe more importantly, with some new expectations of greatness for a program still just a few years old.

“We’re not going to surprise anyone anymore,” coach Joe Barone said in November. “We should be pretty solid again.”

His foresight has been right on.

At press time, the Red Hawks were 12-3-2 overall, 9-0-1 in D-II, and had already clinched their second straight division title.

“I don’t think anyone’s too surprised with how things have gone,” Barone said. “This is something I expected when the year began. We started a little slower than I think we wanted to, but since the first of the year, we’ve been on a pretty good roll.”

“We expected something like this, but it still means a lot,” MacKinnon said. “To be undefeated to this point in league play is pretty cool.”

The only non-win in league play was a 4-4 tie against Berkley High Dec. 5. And when asked why Athens had done so, well, near perfectly thus far, there were a number of different reasons given.

An offense that has averaged nearly six goals a game is one reason.

A defense surrendering just over two goals has also helped.

Those reasons, coupled with the fact 10 seniors are on the roster and the team returned a healthy portion of last year’s squad, add up to a near-perfect start.

Still, there was something else Barone, MacKinnon and senior Matt Lining all spoke of when asked about the team’s success, an idea that went well beyond goals, numbers or roster spots.

“Chemistry,” Lining said. “This was a group that was able to mesh pretty quickly. That gave us a big advantage when the season began. … I’ve been on teams before that were much more talented than this group but didn’t play together — that didn’t have that unity. This group has it.”

“Watching these guys play on the ice and interact off of it, it’s clear to me this is a group that gets along real well,” Barone said. “That has been a big advantage.”

And with the league all sewed up, and four regular-season games remaining prior to the March 1 pre-regional, Athens can now look ahead to the next challenge.

“The playoffs are our next focus,” MacKinnon said. “We want to go as far as we can, and with this group, we feel we have a good shot to have a long run.”

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Mike Moore at mmoore@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1038.