Jan 16, 2012 | Mark Kraus | 713 views
Hawks Head to Playoffs on High Note
After defeating Brantford by a score of 5-1 on Thursday evening, the boys had the challenge of facing the second place London Junior Knights and third place Waterloo Wolves on the weekend. On Saturday the Hawks were left shorthanded for virtually the entire game when Paul Morra and Tyler Gagne were both forced to leave due to injury early in the first.
The team could easily have been trailing by more than the 2-0 second intermission score had it not been for the fine work of Owen Savory between the pipes. But the third was a different story. The Hawks were slowly gaining more opportunities and, with under five minutes remaining and some fine forechecking, Jake Wilkinson brought the team to within one. Assists went to Brett Wilson and Austin Spiegelhalter. Exactly two minutes later a determined team captain Alex Black tied the score on a shot that deflected into the Waterloo goal. The lone assist went to Wilkinson.
On Sunday the Hawks faced a determined London team. Determined because just a single point would move them up to second seed in the eastern conference. But the Hawks had other ideas. The Hawks were looking to head into the playoffs with a strong effort. And a strong effort they got defeating the Knights by a final score of 5-3. AP Zac Magwood got the team rolling scoring just 1:25 into the game on a nice feed from Nathan Bastian. Paul Morra also earned an assist. Magwood then put the Hawks up 2-0 on a nice shorthanded tally. After London made it 2-1, Morra scored a power play goal. Bastian and Parker Wood earned the helpers. Austin " I'm a decoy " Sine put the Hawks up 4-1 when his centering pass went in off a Knight defenseman in front of the net. Bastian earned his third assist on the evening. With London scoring the next goal, the Hawks headed to the third up 4-2. With Hayden Padalino having a strong game in net, making some key timely saves, the Hawks jumped out to a 5-2 lead when Brett Wilson went Havarti on the Knights goalie. Sine and Alex Ritchie were credited with assists. The Knights managed one more while on a 2 man advantage to make the final 5-3.
The Hawks will now begin their playoff run against the Kitchener Rangers. The schedule will be posted as soon as possible, hopefully later today.