It was a tough week for the Dons, with two hard fought games both ending in losses. But Friday night at home changed that story line when the Dons faced off against the Livermore Cowboys.
It was the Cowboys who scored first, followed by some strong play on both sides of the ball to begin the game. Then Grant Condy got the Dons offense started, scoring two beautiful goals in quick succession from mid-range to put the Dons up 2-1 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Dons struck fast again. And again it was Condy giving the junior attack a hat trick very early on in the night. This is the second game of this short season that Condy scored the first three goals of the game. Start of trend? We sure hope so! Very impressive stuff from one of our star junior attacks.
But the Cowboys had something to say about it… getting back in their saddles and scoring quickly to tighten the game to 3-2. The Livermore goalie had some amazing saves early on to keep the Dons at bay. But the combo of Condy/Korzeniowski would prove way too much to handle for the Livermore defense.
Condy continued his exceptional play with a really nice assist to Jan Korzeniowski making it 4-2 Dons. The Cowboys responded once again to bring the game closer. The Dons maintained nice possessions and got off some good shots with the help of solid stick-handling and great ball movement by Luke Dafferner and Curtis Sanders. All of which made it possible for Jan Korzeniowski (to be known as Jan the Don™ from this game forward) to go on an absolute tear. Jan scored three in a row on some fast-paced sequences to put the Dons up 7-3 at half.
Despite the Dons’ momentum going into halftime, the second half started slowly. A couple of odd penalties, including a lost stick challenge for the Dons, had the Cowboys riding high on their horses taking advantage of the short-handed opportunities to score quickly on the Dons defense. New stick for Lanphere? No problem. The faceoff specialist continued to dominate the draw and put the ball in the Dons’ offense to grow the lead in the second half. The short-lived Livermore rally ended when the Dons’ Jackson Tseng fired back, scoring a nice goal from mid-range. Korzeniowski added yet another goal making it 9-4. You know those games when Steph Curry turns a spark into a wildfire? It was that kinda night for Jan the Don™. A minute later, Jan added yet another goal from close range to make it 10-4 giving Korzeniowski a double hat trick of the night! Would that be the end of it for Jan? Hold tight, folks.
At this point, the fire had spread and the rest of the Dons were clicking too. Andrew Iams had an awesome look and great assist to Caleb Mason for a nice goal to make it 11-5. Mason then added a feisty steal, dishing it quickly to Tseng, who knew well enough to get the ball to the hot hand of Korzeniowski who blasted home his 7th goal of the game. This was a gritty all-around exchange from these three Dons. It was also an incredible capper for Korzeniowski, making it seven goals on the night, and adding some flair with a full-body fist pump ala Tiger Woods on a championship Sunday (but cooler…waaaay cooler). This last goal from Jan would cement it for the Dons. Giving us the “W,” and a high-octane 12-5 victory.
The Dons needed this one after a tough week. And while Korzeniowski may have earned the spotlight, the win belongs to all the boys. Great defense and midfield play by Anthony Quinn, strong faceoffs by Mason Lanphere, tough D by Grady Branagh, consistency in the goal by Kyle Sanftner, a show-stopping “rusty gate” steal by Leo Deignan, and the all-too-typical-so-greatly-
Way to get back on track, boys. It’s time to fear the blue again, people!
LET’S. GO. DONS.
