Lake Forest Academy’s prep hockey team opened its season Saturday, Sept. 5, with an exciting 8-7 win in overtime against the Milwaukee Jr. Admirals.
LFA came out strong in the beginning of the game, setting an aggressive tone that carried through the early stages of the game. Captains Shea Sampson ‘27 and Brody Bierbaum ‘27 discuss the impacts of the game.
“I think it sets the pace for the season, but there’s also a lot of things we need to correct for the upcoming games,” Sampson said.
Bierbum agrees, pointing to the team’s early lead and the way the game tightened up near the end.
“If you’re up six-two and by the end of the game it’s seven to six and you’re not winning, there’s a lot of things you got to work on,” Bierbaum said. “But it’s really good that we came out one of those to start the season.”
One of the biggest changes for the team this year has been the number of new players. With only about seven returning players and roughly 15 new players, the team has had to build chemistry quickly.
“All the new guys are really meshing well, but they’re definitely gonna have to learn with everyone else,” Beirbaum said.
Sampson highlighted Tyson Berbari ‘29 for making an immediate impact in his first game.
“I just want to shout out Tyson. Tyson had a great first debut at LFA,” Sampson said. “He’s a sophomore. Scored two goals, one being the goal that tied it with nine seconds left.”
“The new guys are gelling really well, and I think that comes from the accountability of the older players too,” Sampson said
While the offense was a strength, both players agreed that the team’s defensive play needs improvement heading into the next game.
“I’d like to see more defensive improvements,” Sampson said. “I think we had a great offense out there, but we didn’t lock down on defense, so that’s the one thing you have to work on a bit more.”
“I agree with Shea,” Bierbaum said. “I think our D zone coverage was not very good, and I think that once we get down, once the other team starts scoring, we really have to stay locked in and not get down on ourselves.”
Despite the defensive struggles, the team showed loads of energy and physicality from the beginning of the game.
“We started really well,” Bierbaum said. “Every line had a really good first shift. It was super, super fast and super hard. So we had to start every game like that.”
“I thought we were very aggressive,” Sampson said. “I think that’s a good thing. We kind of set the tone for the season, and there’s only going to be more.”
Along with setting the tone, the team did a good job defending penalties.
“We had like six penalties, and we only got scored on one or two of them, so our penalty kill was really good,” Bierbaum said.
The players also appreciated the support they received from the LFA community, with a large crowd showing up for the Saturday afternoon game.
“Our game was on Saturday at 3 p.m. and we saw most of our school come out,” Bierbaum said. “So I’m very thankful for that.”
Overall, the Lake Forest Academy prep hockey team displayed a strong performance and are hoping to continue to build as a team and carry this momentum into the rest of the season.