On a two game home stand this past weekend the HAWKS split a pair of games losing to the Burlington Bulldogs on Saturday night but bouncing back strong in a 4-1 win over the first place Waterloo Wolves.
"Good teams don't lose three in a row" indicated trainer John 'Rudy' Papalia. "The players and staff have all bought into this saying all season and today's game was a huge bounce back win after yesterday's upset. The boys paid the price to win today. Neil and Craig have preached to them about playoff hockey and what it takes to compete in order to be successful and today they competed. Today they played HAWKS hockey and everyone knows that when we do play HAWKS hockey we are pretty tough to beat."
Lead by a two goal performance by Aidan Desousa and another stellar performance by Isaac Hammer the HAWKS finally started the game off by taking it to their opponent for a change...and most importantly the never looked back. "I'm pretty happy for both those players" said Head Craig McLaren. "Hammer Time has been lights out for us in net since the playoffs began and unfortunately we just haven't been able to reward him with as many wins as he deserves. Sous, in my mind, is skating better than I have seen him skate in the last 2 seasons. He has elevated his game and it just goes to show that when we have all 3 lines going we are a dangerous hockey team. Today's game was a big test against the first place team. We answered the bell and it sure was nice to see that familiar site of wave after wave of black jersey's dominating the offensive end of the ice. The boys stuck to the game plan and like most games when we stick to the game plan, we see good things happen. And most importantly, we stuck to the game plan for 3 periods!"
On the heels of a 2-1 loss to the Burlington Bulldogs on Saturday the HAWKS knew their backs were against the wall going into the game against the Wolves. "I think Coach Rick summed it up best last week when he indicated that he thinks we play more desperate to stay out of last that we do when we have a chance to finish first...we just have to change the mind-set in the room" mentioned Coach Neil Fewster. "Today our pre-game chat was basically leaving it up to the players. We gave them the X's and O's but at the end of the day if you can't get amped up to play a meaningful hockey game in March, in hopes to propel us into the final 4 then there is something wrong...this is what competitive hockey is all about. We were pretty certain the boys would answer the bell and they did a great job. It's funny, after every big win we walk into the dressing room and say to the boys 'see, you know when you do the things we talk to you about we generally win' and that's the frustrating thing, we can be really good when we have all 17 players ready to play the game...mentally and physically."
Well folks there ya have it. Definitely a good sign to see the HAWKS compete in both games on the weekend. Can't wait to see what next weekend brings. I would think that next Saturday's game against the Bulldogs the HAWKS will bring a big push back effort. Now I'm no statistician and I would have to go through the rules to confirm but I think with yesterday's win there is a pretty good chance that our beloved HAWKS clinched a top 4 seating!! These boys have come a long way since September of their major atom years and we all should be pretty proud of them!! Looking forward to seeing you all in Burlington next Saturday! Should be a GREAT game!
(HSN from the HAWKS' nest)