Photo: Jonathan Tenca/NLL
Liam Aston hasn’t been dreaming of playing for his hometown NLL team for too long — it was only two years ago, to the day, that the news broke that the New York Riptide would be relocating to Ottawa.
But for the former Nepean Knights star, the chance to debut for the Black Bears last Saturday in a win over Rochester was still everything he’d imagined.
“I think they’ve kind of died down a little bit by now, just a few days removed, but super, super exciting for me personally,” described Aston of the emotions he’s feeling in the week after the game.
“I was able to have my mom, dad, and my brother come up and watch, so it was special to have them there for it. But, yeah, super cool, something I’ve worked towards for a long time to get in my first game. And obviously got the win at the same time, so it was a pretty special day for sure.”
Aston was activated from the team’s practice roster on Feb. 10, so he knew he would be travelling with the team to Rochester. But it wasn’t until the morning of the game he found out he would be playing against the Knighthawks.
With Rochester being just over a four-hour drive from Ottawa, he texted his parents as soon as he got back to the dressing room after the shootaround so they could make arrangements to be in attendance.
“I knew it was kind of a chance, but it wasn’t for sure,” said Aston. “And then I really didn’t have a whole lot of time [after I found out], which I kind of liked because I didn’t have much time to think about it, just got thrown in, right to it, which was good.”
The 6-foot-2 forward was able to put any nerves aside when Connor Kearnan made a beautiful behind-the-back pass to find Aston all alone in front of Knighthawks goaltender Riley Hutchcraft.
Aston caught the pass and fired it through the legs of Hutchcraft, just narrowly avoiding touching his gloves to the crease before the ball crossed the goal line. It was a memorable first NLL goal — well, Aston hoped. He knew it was going to be a close call even before Rochester decided to challenge for a potential crease violation.
“I knew the pass was kind of low,” said Aston. “I could see it leaving his stick low, and so I just tried to try to stay out of the crease for as long as possible. Obviously, saw it go in, and I knew it was tight because I looked straight at the ref as soon as it went in, and he said good goal. But I knew going back to the bench [that] there was definitely a chance that it was getting waved off.”
After a lengthy review, the goal stood, and Aston could breathe a sigh of relief and put a smile back on his face as his teammates patted him on the back. “That review felt like it took forever for me, but luckily it stood, which was nice,” laughed Aston.
“And (video coach Bennett Drake) was there with the iPad. I was trying to look at the iPad a few times and see. It was close, seeing the replays and stuff, but I’m glad it stood, for sure.”
Aston added a primary assist on Larson Sundown’s third quarter goal to finish with two points in the 10-8 win, an important one for Ottawa as they improve back over .500 and also earn the tiebreaker with the Knighthawks should it be required for playoff seeding.
“Yeah, obviously special regardless of what type of game, but it being that type of game, both of us being .500 going into it, kind of battling for a playoff spot, it was a pretty big game to be your first,” said Aston.
“So that was cool, cool to help the team get the win. [Head coach Dan MacRae] chucked me my goal ball after too, and all the boys were pretty pumped up for me. So it was good to be in the room. I’ve said it before, but this group has been very welcoming and made the transition really comfortable for me. It’s been a good group and it was cool to see that they were fired up for me to get that one.”
One of those teammates is Aston’s coach from last summer with the Toronto Beaches, Reilly O’Connor. Aston spent the final year of his Jr. A career being coached by the Black Bears forward.
“He’s been someone that I’ve definitely gone to since I got here in September for advice, he’s been a really good mentor for me,” said Aston.
“He really didn’t have a whole lot to say with me [before the game]. I think part of it is he kind of understood I was ready to go. But yeah, he just told me to play my game, a few tips, but he mostly kind of just let me do my thing. A couple other guys said a few things, but, you know, no one was overly involved. Everyone just kind of believed in me and had my back and all that.”
Aston grew up a diehard Senators fan — he spoke during training camp of how cool it was to be working towards playing at Canadian Tire Centre — but of course, his debut came on the road without any of the fanfare that would come with a debut in front of dozens of family and friends.
If Aston does play at Canadian Tire Centre this year, though, in any of the final three Black Bears home games left on the season, you can bet the stands will be filled with familiar faces. Ones that won’t have to scramble four hours away on short notice.
