First undefeated championship team in the Reynoldsville Era

We have seen a lot of dominant teams since the league moved to Reynoldsville back in 2011, but none of them finished undefeated.   That all changed last night when the Knights were able to narrowly hang on at the end of the 2nd game last night to clinch their 2nd championship in 3 years.  The only undefeated team that we can remember came way back in the early days of the xhl, before Noah and probably several others playing in the xhl now were even born.  Brandon Reiter, Adam McKinley and Bob Anderson are probably the only ones who remember that undefeated Punishers team from 23 years ago.  In the late 2040’s, we will all get to talk about this undefeated Knights team when we are all still going up against one another.   Their 2025 season started with a win against the defending champion yeti way back in January.  That win may have helped give them some confidence for the games ahead, but little did they know they would go on to win their next 15 games with 7 of those wins coming against the Yeti and the Eagles.  The Eagles had them down by 4 goals late in the 2nd period of a game back in March, but they rallied for five third period goals.  The Colonials were only down by one against them late in the 3rd period of their first playoff game, but they outscored them 17-4 the rest of their 2 game series.  The Yeti will simply want to forget 2nd periods.  In the first game last night, a 2-2 score at the end of the first period turned into a 7-3 knights lead by the time the 2nd period ended.  Jason Stamler has been playing in the league since way back in the 2005 to 2010 era and has been known to score a lot of goals, but no championships to show for them.  His big 2nd period in the first game last night played a large role in giving him his first championship.  Brandon Reiter had a big 2nd period as well and would go on to score the only 3rd period goal to give the Knights a comfortable 8-3 win in the first game.  Considering what happened in game 3 of last years series against the Yeti, no lead probably felt safe.  Dave Jewell got the scoring started in this game on a long shot beyond the center line at the 10 minute mark of the first period and they would later go up 2-1 when Ben Rossi set Zach Smith up for a goal but it would be their last lead in this game.  Nate Galentine played a large role in this years undefeated season.  It felt like he was everywhere all season long and that did not change last night.  He scored the Knights first goal of the night to tie the game at 1 and Noah would go on to score on a rebound off a Brandon Reiter shot to tie the game at 2 after the first period.  If you take the 2nd period out of the equation last night, this would be an entirely different write up.    Following the game, Adam McKinley mentioned about being victim of some bad bounces.  Every time he made a good save, someone from the Knights was there to put it in, most notably mentioned were Jason Stamler and Nate Galentine.   Following a 15 minute break, the teams got back on the court for a 2nd game.  We expected this one to be much tighter, and that was the case in the first period when Ben Rossi scored on a rebound off a Zach Smith shot that hit the post.  No one else would go on to score in the first period.  One thing we learned from the Knights all season is that they can score in bunches and that was no different in this game.  Once again, Nate Galentine scored to tie the game at 1 just 2 minutes into the 2nd period and Andy quickly followed to put the Knights up 2-1.  The Yeti temporarily weathered the storm when RJ scored to tie the game at 2 but the storm continued after that.  Brandon Reiter set Noah up for the Knights 3rd goal, then Andy scored a power play goal shortly after Noah’s goal to make it 4-2.   Less than 2 minutes later, their 4-2 lead got up to 6-2 following goals from Nate Galentine and Andy.  Andy’s goal came on a nice set up from Nate which forced the Yeti to call a time out.  Both teams were hurt by penalties in the 2nd period.   The Yeti were able to slow the momentum down following the time out and scored late in the 2nd period on a power play goal to close their deficit to 6-3 going into the 3rd period.   Noah would go on to score for the Knights early in the 3rd period to give them a 7-3 lead and it looked like this was going to be a repeat of the first game last night.  Just a couple minutes later, Brandon Reiter found himself on a break away which would have all but iced the game, but Adam was able to make a big save to keep his team to within 4 goals.  Flash backs to game 3 of last years series started to occur soon afterwards.  Zach Smith would go on to score the Yeti’s 4th goal to draw them to within 3 and Ben Rossi scored soon after to close the gap to 7-5.  For anyone who remembers last year, the Knights were up 7-3 with 6 minutes to go in the 3rd period before the Yeti rallied to score 6 of the next 8 goals in that game.  This game had the making of that when Clint and Jake started cramping up for the Knights.  They called a time out with around 5 minutes to go, but the momentum stayed in the Yeti’s favor when Dave Jewell scored with roughly 3 minutes left to close the gap to 7-6.  Those 3 minutes probably felt like an eternity for Clint and Jake in particular, but they were able to hold on despite some good chances for the Yeti to score late.  Adam pulled himself from net with around 30 to 40 seconds left but all their miracles were used up by then.  Despite the loss, the Yeti went out like champions.  If there would have been 30 more seconds, we could easily be looking at a deciding game 3 next week.  Following the game, Jake laid on the ground for a few minutes before getting up to celebrate another championship with his team and with one special teammate in particular.  The best part of the long, 4 month season of taking everyone’s best shot came when Jake and Noah got to share another father-son photo during their 2nd championship celebration together in 3 years.  Sadly, chances of writing about this in 20 plus years from now are slim to none, but if it takes that long for a championship team to go undefeated again, they will be able compare their team to the 2025 Knights team and the 2002 Punishers team.  Thanks to all for a great 2025 XHL season and congratulations to the Knights for being a part of XHL history this season.  

Clint

1. 16-0 season. What was it like playing on this team? It was great! Everybody came to play every week! Even when we would get down, noone stopped pushing forward! Can't say enough about everyone's effort all season! Gotta shout out Jake though! All season and especially these past 4 games he was lights out, blocking shots and intercepting passes! Makes my job much easier having someone like him in front of me!

   
   

2. How would you compare this championship to the one you got 2 years ago? Definitely a little more bitter sweet! Winning the championship, let alone doing it undefeated, doesn't happen often! Gonna enjoy this one!

3. You looked to be cramping up late in the 2nd game last night. Were you getting worried that they may pull off another big comeback against you guys? Ya, I most definitely was! Must not have had enough water through the day! Pickle juice was a savior though! That's the tough thing about being a goalie! Your mind doesn't stop wondering sometimes so I definitely was thinking about it...just tried to keep my head down and get it done!

4. Jay got his first championship. What can you say about his overall play throughout the season? Jay was great! He played wherever we needed him! On D and scoring some big goals throughout the season! Couldn't have asked for more! Happy to help get his name on the trophy! Well deserved!

   
   

5. Its no secret that we are running out of youth and running thin on goalies. Does it concern you at all that these leagues could be winding down as each season passes by?  It does! I hope we can keep it going for a few more good yrs but the future doesn't look too good when the bulk of your players are on the downhill side! I'll play for as long as it's going!