Tournament Finalists. Great Work Hawks
The Hawks strolled into the Bradford Blue and Gold Tournament ready to play hard and prove Cambridge proud. They accomplished that goal and more. The Hawks went undefeated during round robin play with two wins and a tie taking them to the championship game, where it took a team in a higher division, the MD Waterloo Wolves, to finally take them down. See Game details below.
The tournament started with an afternoon game against the Thornill Rebels. The Hawks came out flying in this contest controlling the first period of hockey, outshooting Thornhill 7-2.
Alec Frias got the Hawks on the board with a couple minutes left in the period knocking in the rebound off a Cameron Squirrell shot and the Hawks were off. The second period saw Cambridge continue forcing Thornill in their zone with great forechecking.
After Thornhill tied the game at 1, Dominic Fitzgerald picked up the puck inside his own line and skated down ice firing a hard shot past the goaltender to give the Hawks back the lead. Brady Mackey picked up the assist. The Hawks then went up 3-1 when Frias tipped in a beautiful Adam Floto shot to give the Hawks a 3-1 lead going in to the third, Squirrell picking up the second assist.
The third period saw a lapse in the gameplan, and in 48 seconds, the Rebels scored 2 goals to tie the game. The game ended 3-3. It was a disappointing result as the Hawks outplayed the Rebels in many areas of the game, but they were happy to take the tie and and learn a lesson in protecting a lead in the process.
The second game was a short turnaround, just 3 hours after the first game. This game pinned the Hawks up against the Lorne Park Wild.
The Hawks jumped out early again with Frias taking a Squirrell pass and breaking in alone burying a shot top corner to open the scoring. Brady Mackey then broke in 2 minutes later on a breakaway and buried his shot top corner, a carbon copy of Frias' shot and Cambridge led 2-0 after one period.
The second period brought chances at both ends but Adrianna Violi shut the door on the Hawks end. The period ended scoreless.
For the second game in a row, the Hawks led 2-0 going into the third and they were ready to show the last game was a blip on the radar. The Hawks played a controlled third period, protecting the lead. Alex Quarrie popped in an empty netter with 45 seconds left to give the Hawks the 3-0 lead. Unfortunately Lorne Park broke Violi's shutout scoring with 20 seconds left. The game ended 3-1 for Cambridge to score 3 of a possible 4 points on the day.
The third game was a winner moves to the championship game as Cambridge lined up against the tough Milton Winterhawks team.
The game entertained from the drop off the puck. It felt like the championship game as both team skated their butts off.
Milton opened the scoring 6 minutes in when their captain skated and to end and fired a beautiful top corner shot beating Calvyn dragun to give the Winterhawks the lead. But the Hawks rebounded with 10 seconds remaining in the period, Frias again banged in the rebound of a Squirrell shot and the game was tied.
The second period pace picked up even more with chances at both ends. Tyson Verner scored his first of the year knocking in the rebound off another great Floto shot and the timely goal put the Hawks up. One minute later, Jared Main extended the Hawks lead knocking in a goalmouth scramble. Squirrell and Frias picking up the assists.
It was the third straight game of the tourney, Cambridge led by 2 going into the third. Once again, a controlled period of smart hockey, keeping the puck deep and constant forecheck kept the chances minimal and Dragun shut the door on the chances on net.
Cambridge picked up 3 penatlies in the last 3 minutes making things interesting as Milton pulled the goalie for a 6-3 advantage. The trio of Frias, Squirrell, Floto killed off the first minute and change before Milton jammed in a goalmouth scramble to bring the lead to one. The Hawks held on though winning the game 3-2 and moving to the Championship.
What a game it was, the intensity rolled through the rink and the atmosphere was electric as the parents were the loudest ive heard. Great job parents!!! Cudos to Milton for such a great game.
The championship was on the line although the toughest test was ahead. The championship lined the Hawks up against a higher division team in the MD Waterloo Wolves, who steamrolled the competition going 33-0 goals for in the first 3 games. The Hawks played hard and held the game scoreless for the first 5-6 minutes but Waterloo broke through and started scoring goals to win the game.
A great accomplishment for the team as the coaches were very proud of how the team played. Hard forechecking, efficient line changes, great defense challenging constantly and solid goaltending led to success for the tourney.
The weekend was great with a ton of team bonding, team events and the Hawks really came together as a unit on and off the ice.
The week brings 2 more games as the Hawks head to Chedoke and Acton.
Great job Hawks, You did us proud!
Coach Bob