After a tough weekend away in London last week, the Hawks
were ready to get back on home ice on Saturday night to face off against the
99ers.
The Hawks will be without defenseman Alex Hammer for three games as he cruises the waters with family. The Hawks look to Ethan McCoy from Novice White to fill this void.
Cambridge got on the board first with Alex Deeb knocking in the rebound off a shot from line mate Justin VanderVelde. The Hawks were heading to the net and definitely had their fire back. It was great to see the Hawks using the basics again and playing as a team. Liam Westwood took the puck deep into the Brantford end, and right away Ryland MacPherson rolled back to cover his position.
The Hawks went up 2-0 in the second period with a goal from Nolan Branco. McCoy got the assist on the play. He was able to hold the line for the Hawks and got the puck to Branco in front. Brantford then got on the board, but the Hawks answered with two goals from Branco to finish up his hat trick. Branco’s second goal came from a pass out front from Jackson Kent who was battling all game. The fourth goal for the Hawks was started in the defensive end and Cameron Koehler got the breakout pass to Branco who took it into the offensive zone without much pressure.
Brantford came out strong in the third, but the Hawks were not easing up. Trenten Gillies and Ben Hedges both had some solid steals and were able to get the puck into the offensive zone. The 99ers got their second goal before Connor Gignac scored the last goal for the Hawks with a breakaway goal.
Blake Fletcher got the start in net for the Hawks and his focus was back. While Fletcher was focused on stopping pucks; the rest of the team was focussed on getting shots on net, and in the end the Hawks had an impressive 44 shots on the Brantford goalie.
The defense were solid for the Hawks again, letting very few pucks into their end. Ben McGowan did a great job holding the line for the Hawks and keeping the puck in the offensive zone. Luke McConnell also had a great game on defense, making smart plays and going into the offensive zone when appropriate.