The season began on a positive note by beating Flatbush at home 7-6, led by our MVP to be, assistant captain Zachary Kramer who scored a hat trick. Our biggest rivalry, of course, was HALB. They were the favorite to win it all. The first game we played against them was one to remember. The HAFTR Flames beat the HALB Lions at HALB 3-0. Not just a win, but a shutout! This was the first time in five years that a team shutout HALB and for our goalie, Ryan Gluck, it was the pinnacle of his three-year career as goalie for the Middle School Flames. From that point on, the team understood that anything was possible. If you beat the best you can beat the rest.

Our last game of the season was a commanding 5-0 win over Magen David which propelled us into the playoffs. After all the hard work and perseverance, what an end to an amazing season for the HAFTR Middle School Flames finishing the season with a winning record of 5-4!

Now it was on to the playoffs.

The road to the championship began with a Quarterfinals 3-2 double overtime win against Flatbush, the game winner scored by Jack Winkler. Then we needed to get past HALB in the Semifinals. We beat them during the regular season in their gym and the confidence level of the team was very high that we could do it again. In fact, the atmosphere at HALB that night felt like a championship game, not the semifinals. You see, this was a rematch for some of the players on the team who lost to HALB in double overtime when they were in 6th grade and everyone in attendance realized that a trip to the championship game was on the line.

The Flames opened up with a 2-0 lead and finished strong with a 4-2 win; all 4 goals were scored by Zachary Kramer.