Last season ended in disappointment for the Chesapeake Bayhawks. They were one second away from going to overtime in round one of the MLL playoffs with the Boston Cannons.
One goal with one second left sent the Bayhawks packing, and looking ahead to 2012. They lost Kyle Hartzell and they lost their starting goaltender.
They brought in general manager Brian Reese, who built the Bayhawks a Championship squad. “Â Winning the championship was a great feeling.” said Reese. “I was extremely happy for the players and the staff who worked so hard to reach that goal.”
Chesapeake brought in Drew Westervelt and Kip Turner, two players who turned out to be key contributors to winning. “I’m most proud of how close the team became and how tight the locker room was.” Reese said. “The team added a lot of very good players and strong personalities but everyone accepted each other, accepted their roles and were committed to the team and committed to winning.”
It is very hard to repeat as champions in MLL, especially with eight teams now, but that is the goal of the Bayhawks this off season.
“Â I’m sure this offseason will be hard and we will have to prepare for some potential roster loses, although it won’t be as bad being that it’s not a expansion year. We will try to target the right type of players for the draft and continue to build to defend our Championship.”
