After a Saturday off, the Hawks travelled to Brantford for a
Sunday afternoon game. The Hawks came
out strong from the first puck drop. All
players were skating hard and were hungry for the puck. It was a fast-paced game that the Hawks
controlled.
Short two defenseman (Hammer and Westwood on family vacations), the Hawks ran four defenseman and those defenseman worked hard all game. McConnell, McGowan, Koehler and Corbeil were all taking shots on net when they got the puck at the point. This created rebounds and goals. The defence also wouldn’t even let Brantford get in their end. They were able to break up the play at the blue line. When Brantford did break into the Hawks’ zone, the defence was also responsible for clearing many pucks when goalie Blake Fletcher gave off rebounds. Fletcher wasn’t stuck looking for the puck for second and third shots on many plays. Corbeil, Koehler, McConnell and McGowan were hustling on every play. When a defenseman was stuck in the box, it was nice to see Justin Vandervelde and Trent Gillies each move back from forward to help out on the penalty kill. This team has many skilled players who are able to play multiple roles.
Now, on to the goals. Alex Deeb got the first goal for the Hawks. It was another time where Deeb went to the net and was rewarded. The second goal for the Hawks came with 30 seconds left in the first period. Connor Gignac scored with an assist from Ben Hedges.
The Hawks saw another goal come from Ben Hedges with a breakaway pass from Andrew Corbeil. Brantford came back with 3 quick goals, before the Hawks continued their offensive push. The second period saw four more goals from the Hawks. Nolan Branco scored with an assist from Justin Vandervelde and Alex Deeb. Next, Connor Gignac scored a nice goal with help from Ryland MacPherson. MacPherson was tying up the Brantford player in front of their net. The defenceman and the goalie for Brantford were focussed on MacPherson that Gignac was able to walk right in and put the puck in the top corner, blocker side. Carter Whissell continued the scoring for the Hawks with a perfect breakout play. The play started in the defensive end with Cameron Koehler getting the puck to Trent Gillies who -then passed it out to Whissell. Whissell scored another goal 13 seconds later and the Hawks were up 7-3 at the end of the second period.
The Hawks were still full of energy in the third period. Just a minute and a half in, Trenten Gillies got a goal with a great assist going to Jackson Kent. Justin Vandervelde scored the ninth goal for the Hawks, and the Hawks weren’t done with scoring. With less than a minute left on the clock, Nolan Branco got a breakaway goal.
This was a great game for the Hawks. Not only did they get a win, but they did every single thing the coaches have been showing them. The Hawks were skating hard and winning races to the puck; they were battling hard and were strong on their sticks; the defencemen were shooting pucks on net instead of just dumping the puck down the boards; on the penalty kill the Hawks were simply icing the puck; the Hawks were going to the net for dirty goals; they were protecting the goalie; they were passing the puck and setting up teammates; and last of all, the Hawks weren’t playing for themselves. Every member of the team was playing for the team. They were all working hard because those around them were working hard. The Hawks team that was on the ice tonight can compete with any team in their division. Let’s keep this up boys.