Dec 03, 2017 | Bryan Box | 670 views
Novice White- November in Review
Once again the calendar has turned. The young Hawks are preparing for the festive season, and we will take a look back on their journey during the month of November.
November began with the Novice White Hawks continuing to face the upper class in Tier 3, with games against Woodstock and Brantford. The Hawks played an aggressive game against the Jr. Navy Vets and found themselves short handed too often and learned a valuable lesson of what happens when you take too many penalties. Woodstock capitalized on some great scoring chances and handed the Hawks their second loss and first on home ice. With a short time to heal their wounds the Hawks suited up in Brantford and played a solid team game lead by some spectacular saves by the dynamic duo in the net! The Hawks however were unable to find the net other than one end to end rush with the Hawk player showing some great skill. With a second loss in as many days the Hawks' record fell to .500 with a 3-3 record heading into the first Alliance reseeding.
While the Hawks waited for the new schedule to be released, they travelled to London to take part in the Bob Stark Novice Tournament where the Hawks' finished by winning the "C" final. The great weekend was capped off with lots of smiles around the pool before heading home to the remainder of the first half of the season.
The Hawks started the second half with what the coaches have labelled "the best team effort to date". The White Hawks faced the Novice Red Hawks and came out flying. The younger hawks jumped out to a lead and continued the strong play for the entire game. The highlight of the game was the White Hawks' having 3 players score not only their first of the season but their first as Hawks!
The schedule maker was not nice to the young Hawks as they again had to face Brantford and Woodstock back to back. The game against the 99ers was a back and forth affair but the Hawks were again unable to find the back of the net, while the team from Brantford was out to make sure that the previous game was not a fluke. The young Hawks fell and again found themselves at .500 on the season.
The Hawks travelled to Woodstock for a Sunday afternoon affair. The team seemed off as they received news earlier that morning that one of the up and coming forwards was going to be out until after Christmas, and one of the steady match up defenders was unable to play due to the flu. This short bench was too much for the young Hawks as they fell back on the aggressive style and were out duelled again to fall below .500 with a 4-5 record as the headed towards the final game of the month.
For the first time since game 1 of the season the Hawks faced the Huskies from Hamilton. The Hawks again with a shortened bench fought hard in this evenly matched game. A minor change to the line up lead to another first goal ever for a Hawk! The team came out in the last 3 minutes to secure a 4-3 win. This ended the month with the young Hawks sitting at .500 with the 5-5 record.
The White Hawks have played some very good hockey in November. They have continue to learn valuable life lessons and develop friendships both on and off the ice. The coaches are pleased with this progression and see bright things for the months ahead as these young Hawks continue to learn and have fun.